Ryan C. MacPherson, Ph.D.

This website is intended primarily for my students at Bethany Lutheran College. It contains various resources that will assist them in their classes with me.

This website also is available to the general public, particularly since I intend to post some of my publications which may be of interest to a broader audience.

What I Teach and Research

I teach courses in American history, history of science, and bioethics. I am especially interested in American religious history as it relates both to science and to politics.

My doctoral dissertation explored the relationship between religion and science in the years just before Charles Darwin published Origin of Species (1859). At that time, Americans were debating another evolutionary theory, proposed anonymously by the Scottish journalist Robert Chambers, who wrote Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844).

In recent years I developed two new courses at Bethany Lutheran College to assist students in understanding the relationship between religion and politics. One course surveys the history of American religion. The other course examines transformations in the judicial philosophies of Supreme Court justices, with particular attention on the declining role of natural law in public policy.

My current research deals with religious liberty in relation to the politics of abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and homosexual "marriage." I have provocatively argued that a coercive reality lies behind the pro-choice rhetoric deployed to defend these objectionable practices.

Meanwhile, I am also passionately exploring the theological significance of the family and the importance of Christian education in both the home and the church. You'll find these themes appearing in several of my publications. As a husband and father, as well as former Sunday School Superintendent, I think about these issues often.

If you share any of my academic interests or wish to provide feedback concerning my work, I welcome you to contact me.