The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey A 1st-century street in Corinth, Greece
RelSt 306 Religion from Athens to Istanbul (January 2007)
Dr. Craig Wansink
Professor and Coordinator,
Department of Religious Studies
Virginia Wesleyan College
Dr. Wansink is Professor and Coordinator of the Department of Religious Studies at Virginia Wesleyan College. He has his PhD in New Testament and Ancient Christianity from Yale University, and has studied at universities in Japan, Jordan, Germany, and Israel. His primary research interests are in New Testament and world religions. Dr. Wansink was raised in Sioux City, Iowa, where he studied economics as an undergraduate at Morningside College. He received his Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and served churches in Illinois and Virginia. He is a member of the CIVIC Leadership Institute (2004), he serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at Morningside College, and he regularly 
speaks in a variety of venues in Hampton Roads, including at the Joint Forces Staff College, at the Institute for Learning in Retirement, at local elementary schools and high schools, and at local churches and synagogues. In 1987 he was ordained as a Presbyterian (PCUSA) minister, and he currently is pastor at Squires Memorial Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Wansink, his wife, Susan, and 2 children make their home in Virginia Beach.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Virginia Wesleyan College (757) 455-3406
1584 Wesleyan Drive cwansink@vwc.edu
Norfolk, VA 23504
COURSES REGULARLY TAUGHT:
RELST 116 World Religions
RELST 217 The Old Testament World
RELST 218 The New Testament World
RelSt 265 Extreme Religion: The Body, Pain, Sex, and Martyrdom
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Dr. Wansink’s current research interests are in three areas. He is writing a monograph that grows out of his “Extreme Religion” course at Virginia Wesleyan. The book focuses on distinctive religious practices and rituals within contemporary world religions. He is writing a monograph on methodologies involved in reading the first chapter of the New Testament. Through the Rehoboth Project, sponsored by the Lilly Foundation, he is also working with six other pastors from the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia on a project that focuses on humor and joy in the Christian life.
CURRICULUM VITAE:
Education, International Study, and Academic Honors/Fellowships
Selected Research and Publications
Service and Community, Including Selected Speaking Engagements
UNIQUE EXPERIENCES, PERSONAL INTERESTS, AND BACKGROUND
Formative personal and professional factors
LINKS OF INTEREST:
VWC Religious Studies Homepage
Squires Memorial Presbyterian Church