Academic Interests
I have trained as a historian within the field of theological studies, bringing the tools of gender history and feminist theology to my research. My research interests cluster around gendered approaches to the Christian life, how gendered bodies have moved through Christian spaces differently, and how intersectional notions of power and normativity have been tied to theological ideas over time. My doctoral dissertation, “Building Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: White American Evangelical Complementarian Theology, 1970-2010,” focused on the development and dissemination of anti-feminist teachings within evangelicalism as a reaction to the Second Wave feminist movement. I am currently co-author on a project examining dynamics of power and celebrity in evangelical spaces and how they contribute to unhealthy and abusive communities and relationships. I am also interested in exploring the international dissemination of complementarian theology and gendered experiences of students in Christian post-secondary institutions.
Background
- Sessional Instructor, Social Development Studies Department, Renison University College affiliated with the University of Waterloo, 2022-2024.
- Humanities Teacher, Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, 2021-2024.
- Teaching Fellow, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, 2016-2018.
- Co-editor, Women in Theology, 2018-present.
- PhD in Theological Studies, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, 2021.
- Dissertation: Building Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: White American Evangelical Complementarian Theology, 1970-2010
- Supervisor: Phyllis Airhart
- Master of Theological Studies, Conrad Grebel University College & the University of Waterloo, 2012.
- Research Project: Women in the Eyes of the Reformers: Calvin, Luther, and Menno on Women
- Supervisor: Troy Osborne
- Bachelor of Arts, History and Religion & Culture, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2008.
Courses Taught
- TFF2003 – Gender Perspective on Religion and Theology
Academic Networks/Memberships
- American Academic of Religion (Evangelical Studies Unit)
- Berkshire Conference for Historians of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
- American Society of Church History
- Purity Culture Research Collective
Publications
Edited Volumes
- Cutter, Elissa and Allison Murray, eds. Women and Public Theology: Emerging Voices. New York: Paulist Press, 2024.
Chapters
- Barbera, Alexandria and Allison Murray. “Unholy Trinity: Incel Ideology, Complementarian Theology, and Toxic Masculinity.” In Women and Public Theology: Emerging Voices, edited by Elissa Cutter and Allison Murray, 109-124. New York: Paulist Press, 2024.
- Murray, Allison. “Unpacking ’Biblical Womanhood’: Theological Nostalgia, Gender, and History.” In Women and Public Theology: Emerging Voices, edited by Elissa Cutter and Allison Murray, 57-69. New York: Paulist Press, 2024.