Resisting violence is both a worthwhile and complicated endeavor. Pure non-violence is entirely unachievable, yet I remain committed to...
S. Kyle Johnson
Writer, teacher, activist, theologian, pilgrim.
S. Kyle Johnson is a committed educator, scholar, minister, and activist. He is currently a PhD Candidate in Systematic Theology at Boston College, completing his dissertation "Decolonizing the Demonic: Christianity and Discernment Among Demonized Peoples," which considers the relationship between Christian accounts of the demonic and both colonialism and anti-Black racism—noting the particular ways that Christian demonology has contributed to the demonization of black and indigenous bodies—and arguing for the consequent need to decolonize Christian accounts of evil. Kyle has ministry experience in Presbyterian and other Protestant contexts in the US and Southeastern Europe. He is also committed to ecumenical and inter-faith work, and has experience in anti-racist activism and conflict transformation.
Recent blogs
CV
Education
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Boston College: PhD in Theology, anticipated January 2022.
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Boston College School of Theology and Ministry: Master of Theology, May 2016.
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Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: Master of Divinity, May 2015.
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Houghton College: Bachelor of Arts, 2012. Summa Cum Laude.
Teaching Experience
At Boston College:
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Teaching Fellow: "God, Self, and Society." 2020-2021.
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Teaching Assistant: “Ethics, Religion and International Politics,” Dr. Mara Willard. Fall 2018, Spring 2020, and Spring 2021.
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Teaching Assistant: “Exploring Catholicism,” Dr. Mary Ann Hinsdale. 2018-2019.
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Teaching Assistant: “Introduction to Christian Theology,” Rev. Michael J. Himes. 2017-2018.
At Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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Teaching Fellow: Semlink Online Education. Fall 2013-Fall 2014.
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Assistant to Fr. Dean Borgman, Fall 2014-Spring 2015.
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Assistant to Dr. Gwenfair Adams, Fall 2013-Spring 2014.
Other Professional Experience
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Graduate Assistant for New Testament Abstracts. Fall 2015-Spring 2016.
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Assistant Director of Worship and Discipleship. Bethany Presbyterian Church. Brookline, MA. 2015-2016.
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World Vision Fellow (campus representative). Gordon-Conwell. Fall 2014-Spring 2015.
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Intern: Balkan Institute for Faith and Culture. Skopje, Macedonia. Summer 2014.
Fellowships and Awards
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Participant in Collegium Institute's Genealogies of Modernity III Symposium (University of Pennsylvania). June 2019.
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Donald White Excellence in Teaching Award (Boston College Center for Teaching Excellence). 2019.
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Graduate Fellow in the Lilly Fellows in Humanities and the Arts, Cohort 9.
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Graduate Fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy. 2018-2019.
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Media
Book Reviews
Published Online
Recent Presentations
"Socialism, Mysticism, and the Demonic in Paul Tillich." Presentation for the College Theological Society Annual Meeting. Online. May 2020.
"What does a Demon Look Like?" Presentation for Mystical Theology Network Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. February 2019.
"Who our Highways Have Taught us to Love." Paper presented at American Academy of Religion panel on Architecture and the Common Good. Denver, CO. November 2018.
"The Mystical Body and the Black Christ." Paper presented at the Mystical Theology Network Annual Meeting. Leuven, Belgium. June 2018.
"‘Trapped in a History Which They Do Not Understand:’ Reading James Baldwin with Thomas Merton, Toward a Spiritual-Theological Interpretation of Mass Incarceration.” Presentation for panel on mass incarceration, featuring Michelle Alexander and Walter Fluker, at the American Academy of Religion. Boston, MA. November, 2017.
Article: “Love Amidst Fear: Julian of Norwich, Affect, and Orthopathy,” in Spiritus: The Journal of Christian Spirituality, Vol. 22 (Fall 2021) [Forthcoming].
Forthcoming
