Candy Gunther Brown

Professor of Religious Studies · Indiana University

Courses · mentoring · civic education

Teaching & Debate

In the classroom and in the debate chamber, I ask students to do the same thing: take ideas seriously enough to argue both sides of them, with evidence and courtesy.

Courses at Indiana University

Introduction to Christianity
New things about a familiar religion: not a single, unchanging faith but an ever-changing network of practices, beliefs, and communities — traced across two thousand years, from Jesus and his first followers to Christianity’s global expansion today.
Evangelical America
Who are evangelicals, what do they believe, and how — from Great Awakening revivals to presidential campaigns — have they shaped American culture? Explored through history, literature, and religious studies, drawing on fiction, poetry, music, television, film, ethnography, and food.
Religion, Illness, and Healing
Is religion good or bad for your health? The meanings, ethics, and law of spiritual healing in America — from complementary and alternative medicine and Christian healing prayer to religious refusal of treatment and the First Amendment questions raised when spiritual practices enter schools and hospitals.
Superheroes and Religion
American culture’s modern myths read alongside its religious traditions — what caped saviors, chosen ones, and cosmic battles borrow from, and reveal about, the religious imagination.

My teaching has been recognized with Indiana University’s Trustees’ Teaching Award and Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, and Harvard’s John Clive Teaching Prize. I advise doctoral students in American religious history and serve on committees across religious studies, history, and American studies.

The Civic Education Debate Tournament

I am the founding organizer of the First Annual Civic Education Debate Tournament at Indiana University Bloomington — Saturday, October 10, 2026 — commemorating the 250th anniversaries of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Middle school, high school, and college students debate questions of liberty, equality, and religious freedom; no prior experience is needed, entry is free, and parents, educators, and civic leaders judge.

Debate background

Debate is an old love: I competed as a National Forensics League national finalist and California state champion in high school, and the National Speech & Debate Association has recognized my coaching with its Degree of Premier Distinction. The tournament grows out of a conviction that arguing both sides of hard questions — with evidence, courtesy, and respect for the person across the aisle — is the civic skill our moment most needs.