ADJUNCT PROFESSOR

Jeffrey B. Speaks is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University’s School of Theology, specializing in Theology and Philosophy. He is a graduate of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (M.A.) and the University of Minnesota (B.A.). Jeffrey’s research interests include Reformed theology, religious and ecstatic naturalisms, pragmatism, and process philosophy. His writing explores the resonance between Reformed theology’s radically theocentric religious piety and contemporary religious naturalism. In addition to his academic pursuits, Jeffrey is an avid musical theater actor, guitar player, singer, and cook. He lives in Lake Elmo with his wife and his two children and is a member of Lake Harriet United Methodist Church in Minneapolis.

Honors

2020 – Aristotle Prize recipient, the Metaphysical Society of America.

Peer Reviewed Articles

“Piety and Theocentric Naturalism.” Toronto Journal of Theology. Vol. 36, No. 1. Spring 2020.

“A God Clothed in Our Form: Intensifying the Iconoclasm of William Ellery Channing.” Journal of Unitarian Universalist History. Vol. 42. 2020.

“Safe and Responsible God-Talk: Beyond F. LeRon Shults’ ‘Abstinence-Only’ Version of ‘The Talk.’” American Journal of Theology and Philosophy. Vol. 39, No. 3. September 2018.

Presentations

“Transcendence, Immanence, and Ultimacy: The Theological Adequacy of Religious Naturalism.” Annual Conference of the Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought. Salt Lake City, UT. June 22, 2022.

“Experience and Value: Radical Empiricism and an Axiological Religion of Nature.” Metaphysical Society of America, Aristotle Prize Recipient. Worcester, MA. March, 2020

“The Piety of a Theocentric Naturalist.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Open and Relational Theologies Unit. San Diego, CA. November 25, 2019.

“A God Clothed in Our Form: Intensifying the Iconoclasm of William Ellery Channing.” Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Studies. Baltimore, MD. October 19, 2019.

“Dialectical Pragmatism and the Role of Culture in Political Theology.” Annual Conference of the Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought. Asheville, NC. June 19, 2019.

“Safe and Responsible God-Talk: Beyond F. LeRon Shults’ ‘Abstinence-Only’ Approach to ‘The Talk.’” International Conference of the Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought. Berlin, Germany.  June 20, 2018.

“Radical Iconoclasm: Critical Reflections on F. LeRon Shults’ Theology After the Birth of God.”  Dr. F. LeRon Shults Responding. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. March 7, 2017.

Courses

Classics of Reformed Protestant Theology