Albert Beck, Ph.D.

Education

Ph.D. in Religion, Politics, and Society, Baylor University (2008)

M.A. Church History and the History of Christian Thought, cognate in Philosophy of Religion, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1996, Magna Cum Laude)

B.A. in History, Elementary Education, cognate in Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1991, graduated with distinction)

Biography

Dr. Beck joined the Honors Program staff in the summer of 2007. His roles include advising current and prospective Honors Program students, administering and developing Honors curricula, and coordinating courses for students in the Honors Program. He also regularly teaches World Cultures IV in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core.

Academic Interests and Research

• History of American Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism.

• History of Christian School Education.

• Civil Religion and American Education.

Professional Awards/Activities/Grants and Fellowships

Head of School, Texas Christian Academy, Waco, Texas, 2005-2007.

Elementary Principal, Texas Christian Academy, Waco, Texas, 2001-2005.

Active Member, Alliance Bible Church, Waco, Texas, 1996-present. (Sunday-School Teacher, Missions Committee, and Deacon)

Association of Christian Schools International, Southwest District Accreditation Team Member, 2004-2007.

Calvin College Faculty Seminar in Christian Scholarship, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1999. (With George Marsden)

Member of Phi Alpha Theta (history honor society), Pi Sigma Alpha (political science honor society), Conference on Faith and History, National Japanese-American Historical Society

Selected Research Articles

"Church - State (overview)." In Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Edited by Hans Hillerbrand. New York: Routledge Press, 2004.

Book Review: The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture.  By Michael Ashcraft.  Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2002. Review in Church History 72, no. 4 (2003): 897.

“New England, Colonial to Early Republic.” In Encyclopedia of Religious Freedom. Edited by Catherine Cookson. New York: Routledge Press, 2003.

 “Church and State, 1500-1789.” In Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Edited by Derek Jones.  London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001.

Entries in Encyclopedia of Religion and American Politics.  Edited by Jeffrey D. Schultz, John G. West, Jr., and Iain Maclean.  Volume 2 in the American Political Landscape Series.  Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999.  (Over 20 entries, including ones on Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism, Theonomy, and a number of significant Supreme Court cases dealing with church-state matters.)

Book Review: Interpreting the Free Exercise of Religion: The Constitution and American Pluralism. By Bette Novit Evans. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1997. Review in Church History (December 1998): 810-11.

Book Review: Evangelicals at the Ballot Box.  By Albert J. Menendez. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1996. Reviewed in The Journal of Church and State (Autumn 1997): 822-23.

"'Freedom to do that Which is Right': A Look at the Early American Synthesis of Liberty and Virtue." In Freedom and Order. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, 1997, pp. 1-10.

"Evangelical Historical Scholarship, 1994." With B. Hankins and G. Treloar.  In The Furtherance of Religious Beliefs, A Special Combined Edition of Lucas: An Evangelical History Review 19/20 (1995-1996), ed. by G. Treloar.  Sydney: Evangelical History Association of Australia, 1997, pp. 217-41.