Dr. Christopher Chase, a religious studies

lecturer at Iowa State, knows that teaching religion requires

walking a very fine line.

“When you’re dealing with religion, you’re

dealing with people’s connections to power, and it’s a touchy

subject for a lot of people,” Chase said. “There’s just no way

around that, no matter what type of institution you’re at.”

Chase has taught at religious universities in

the past. For him, teaching religion at a secular university like

Iowa State means that some things aren’t appropriate to cover in

class.

“Students aren’t always used to making those

distinctions,” Chase said. “You kind of have to negotiate . . .

what is appropriate and what’s not appropriate to talk about.”

Chase tries to err on the safe side in his

classes, putting the religious topics he discusses in a historical

context. On the first day of every class he teaches, the class

dives right into discussion of how it is going to look at the

various topics covered in the course.

Chase said the context he gives isn’t

necessarily for the sake of objectivity, a quality he is skeptical

of.

“We are not objects,” Chase said. “We bring

our experiences with us. If you want to say everything’s

subjective, to some degree, that’s true . . . That doesn’t mean,

however, that we can’t engage things honestly and fairly. That’s

kind of what my goal is.”

As a teacher of religion, Chase takes

controversial material like beliefs, texts and practices and

presents them in a way students find accessible.

“Part of what we do is deliberately making the

kinds of material we put out there so broad, so that everyone will

be exposed to something unfamiliar [to] them,” Chase said.

“Everything’s unfamiliar to somebody. But at the same time, no

matter what background you bring to this, you’re going have to use

your imagination at some point to try and enter a worldview that’s

different from your own.”

Chase comes from a religiously diverse family.

His mother is Catholic. His father is a Methodist. His sister is a

Third Level Priestess in the Blue Star Wiccan tradition.

A taste for teaching also runs in his family.

His grandparents were teachers in Costa Rica, and his father is a

history teacher. But it’s pop culture, rather than family

tradition, that exerts the strongest influence on the

professor.

“My interest in popular culture and music,

especially the music of The Beatles, was pretty big for me,” Chase

said.

Chase was introduced to Indian music through

The Beatles. In a sense, they also introduced him to Indian

religions. The spiritual practices of guitarist George Harrison

sparked his interest in Hinduism

“Through [George], I got in touch with reading

some of the sacred Hindu scriptures in high school,” Chase

said.

Chase’s courses do not address the question of

which religions are “true” and which aren’t. He acknowledges that

those questions are important, but they aren’t what he focuses

on.

“My classes are designed to investigate why

insiders to a tradition feel compelled by their beliefs and

practices and texts,” Chase said. “It’s about the human side of

religion. It’s about trying to use one’s imagination to see what it

would be like to feel compelled by that.”

Chase believes that anyone would benefit from

religion classes.

“What [we teach] is important and applicable

for any student with any major,” Chase said. “I don’t care what

someone’s major is, I bet I can find a connection to religion

that’s important.”

Though some might view teaching about religion

in a secular institution like Iowa State as limiting and risky,

Chase finds it freeing and beneficial. He’s able to teach the way

he wants and to develop courses in a way that speaks to students’

interests.  

Even non-students are welcome in his

classroom. He’s open to letting parents and state officials attend

his classes to see what’s going on. 

“I’m a strong believer in public education,”

Chase said. “What I’m doing is part of the public interest and the

public good, and I believe classes should be open. As long as

[guests] don’t disrupt the class, I’m fine with it.”