Dr. Jack Mulder Jr.
Professor of Philosophy, Department ChairJack Mulder ɫə00 joined the Hope College faculty in 2004. Jack currently chairs the Department of Philosophy at Hope. He is also the assistant director of the Saint Benedict Institute, a Catholic organization serving Hope College.
Jack writes and teaches in the areas of philosophy of religion, philosophy of race, Catholic thought, applied ethics and the thought of Søren Kierkegaard. His book Civil Dialogue on Abortion (co-authored with Bertha Alvarez Manninen) was published by Routledge in 2018. His book What Does It Mean to Be Catholic? (Eerdmans) was published in 2015. Many of his publications and presentations have been made possible by collaborative research with Hope students.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Jack specializes in the philosophy of religion, especially issues of Protestant-Catholic dialogue, interfaith dialogue and the thought of Søren Kierkegaard. He also has scholarly interests in sexual and reproductive ethics (especially the abortion debate) and the philosophy of race.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., philosophy, 2004, Purdue University
- MA, philosophy, 2003, Purdue University
- BA, religion and philosophy, 2000, Hope College
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Books
- (with Bertha Alvarez Manninen), Routledge, 2018
- , Eerdmans, 2015
- , Indiana University Press, 2010
Select Articles and Book Chapters
- ɫɜWhiteness and Religious Experience,ɫɝ&Բ;International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 2021
- ɫɜOriginal Sin, Racism, and Epistemologies of Ignorance,ɫɝ&Բ;Zygon: A Journal of Religion and Science(special issue on Evolution and Original Sin), 2021
- ɫɜThe Philosophy of Conversation: We Owe It to Our Students to Teach Them to Disagreeɫɝ (with Bertha Alvarez Manninen), Liberal Education, 2019
- ɫɜAugustine and Kierkegaard on Martyrdom and ɫɘPolite Persecution,ɫəɫɝ in Augustine and Kierkegaard, ed. Kim Paffenroth and John Doody, Rowman and Littlefield, 2017
- ɫɜGrace and Rigor in Kierkegaardɫəs Reception of the Church Fathers,ɫɝ in A Companion to Kierkegaard, Blackwell, 2015
- ɫɜ,ɫɝ&Բ;Think: Philosophy for Everyone, 2013
- ɫɜWhy More Christians Should Believe in Maryɫəs Immaculate Conception,ɫɝ&Բ;Christian Scholarɫəs Review, 2012
- ɫɜOn Being Afraid of Hell: Kierkegaard and Catholicism on Imperfect Contrition,ɫɝ in Kierkegaard Studies: Yearbook 2007, de Gruyter, 2007
- ɫɜMust All Be Saved? A Kierkegaardian Response to Theological Universalism,ɫɝ International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 2006
Outside the College
Jack is a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Holland, where he teaches occasionally in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program for new Catholics. He is married to Melissa Mulder (Spanish) and has two kids, Maria and Lucas. He enjoys punk rock, kidsɫə sports and going to the beach with his family.
616.395.7294
mulderj@hope.eduLubbers Hall-Room 213 126 East 10th Street Holland, MI 49423-3516