ABSTRACT
When I, an Englishman, assumed a position teaching religion in the American South, I thought of it more as an experimental exercise in social dislocation and one which would, if I am honest here, probably prove short-lived. Fast forward twenty years, I am now a Full Professor at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Even more surprising, as a transplanted Limey devoted to liberal politics and the Labour Party, I actually delight in my students, most of whom come from and remain immersed in the conservative, evangelical world. They are, after all, in the Lone Star State, home to the mega-church and cowboy Jesus, though they might be more apt to describe Texas as a model of Christian America. While the disconnect between my own theological leanings and that of my students invites numerous challenges, my students do, nevertheless, take religion and matters of faith seriously. Or to reverse the phrase, faith matters to those who sit in my classroom.
