Department of Theology & Religious Studies

The serious, interreligious study of faith and meaning — at the heart of a Jesuit university.

Few questions are bigger than those of faith, meaning, and the sacred. The department offers serious, interreligious study, with endowed chairs in Islamic, Catholic, and Jewish studies and faculty representing multiple traditions.

It is connected to the Tuohy Center for Interreligious Understanding, reflecting JCU’s Jesuit, dialogue-centered mission.

Thomas Blanton

Visiting Assistant Professor

Thomas Blanton is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Noah Bickart, Ph.D.

Assoc Professor/Mandel Chair

Noah Bickart is an Assoc Professor/Mandel Chair in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Edward Hahnenberg, Ph.D.

Professor; Jack and Mary Jane Breen Chair in Catholic Systematic Theology

Dr. Edward P. Hahnenberg is the Breen Chair in Catholic Theology and Director of the Tuohy Center for Interreligious Understanding at John Carroll University.
Zeki Saritoprak, Ph.D.

Professor; Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies

Zeki Saritoprak is a Professor; Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Kristen Tobey, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Kristen Tobey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Rev. Jim Bretzke, S.J.

Professor

Jim Bretzke is a Professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Michele Freyhauf, ABDiss

Lecturer

Michele Stopera Freyhauf (M.A. '12) is a Part-Time Professor specializing in cultural heritage, biblical archaeology, and the ancient Near East. A provenance researcher and Ph.D. candidate at Durham University, she brings expertise in repatriation, heritage policy, and gender and cultural memory in the Second Temple period.
Megan Bolin

Lecturer

Megan Bolin is a Lecturer in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Sr. Lisa Marie Belz, OSU

Lecturer

Lisa Marie Belz is a Lecturer in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.
Nathaniel Morehouse, Ph.D.

Lecturer

Nathaniel Morehouse is a Lecturer in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at John Carroll University.