Washington University Professor Presents, "There Will be Oil"

February 8, 2013

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Contact: Terry Goodrich, Assistant Director of Media Communications, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (Feb. 8, 2013) - Who would have known evangelism and oil had so many similarities?

Darren Dochuk, Ph.D., associate professor in the humanities at Washington University in St. Louis, will explore these similarities in a lecture presented by Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion.

The lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, in Kayser Auditorium of Baylor's Hankamer School of Business, 1428 S. Fifth St.

Dochuk's lecture, "There Will be Oil," will employ previously untapped church, corporate and personal archives to chart the impact of religion on the culture of business and industry in America.
"Professor Dochuk will be discussing the deep, surprising connections between the oil industry and evangelical Christians (including Baptists), and the difference that faith has made in the shaping of that industry, which is so crucial to the history of Texas," said Thomas Kidd, Ph.D., professor of history in Baylor University's College of Arts &Sciences.
"Students will gain a new appreciation of the religious background of a topic that, at first glance, might not seem to have any spiritual significance at all." Kidd said.
Dochuk earned a bachelor's degree from Simon Fraser University and a master's degree from Queen's University in Canada before completing his Ph.D. in 2005 at the University of Notre Dame. Between 2005 and 2012, he taught courses in 20th-century U.S. political and cultural history at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

Admission to the lecture is free, but registration is requested. To register, visit www.baylorisr.org.

For more information, contact Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion at 254-710-7555 or by email at isr@baylor.edu.

by Rebecca Malzahn , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDIES OF RELIGION
Launched in August 2004, the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) exists to initiate, support and conduct research on religion, involving scholars and projects spanning the intellectual spectrum: history, psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, theology and religious studies. The institute's mandate extends to all religions, everywhere, and throughout history, and embraces the study of religious effects on prosocial behavior, family life, population health, economic development and social conflict. While always striving for appropriate scientific objectivity, ISR scholars treat religion with the respect that sacred matters require and deserve. For more information, visit www.baylorisr.org