Dr. Kristy Slominski (Ph.D. in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara) specializes in the interaction of religion, science, and health in U.S. history; the history of sex education in the United States; and the impact of religion on U.S. public health discourses. Her current book project, Teaching Moral Sex: An American Religious History of Sex Education (under contract with Oxford University Press), examines religious contributions to public sex education from the late nineteenth century to the present, especially around issues of sexually transmitted diseases. It argues that liberal religions—primarily Protestant—laid historical foundations for both the conservative and liberal sides of contemporary controversies between abstinence-only and comprehensive sexuality education. As important players within mainstream movements for sex education, ministers and ecumenical organizations like the Federal Council of Churches strategically combined progressive and restrictive approaches to science and sexuality, influencing major shifts and divisions in venereal disease education. Before joining the faculty at the University of Arizona, she taught at the University of Mississippi and Georgia State University and served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Religion.
Slominski, Kristy
Assistant Professor
Religion, Science, and Health in U.S. history; Religious Studies for Health Professionals
This course explores the diversity of religions and religious experiences across the globe. Religions to be examined include, but are not limited to, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as indigenous traditions.
This course explores diverse religious and spiritual conceptions of health in the United States and their relationships to experiences of sickness and healing. It will include a critical examination of historical and contemporary cases in which religious and spiritual views of health have interacted with healthcare systems, including cases of cooperation and conflict.