Jordann Heckart

Advisor

Dr. Andrea Turpin and Dr. Benjamin Pietrenka

Education

M.A. in Church History, Cum Laude and M.A. in Theology, Magna Cum Laude, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2018

B.A in Religion and Human Services and a minor in Oxford Studies, Magna Cum Laude, Carson-Newman University, 2015

Biography

I graduated from Carson-Newman University with a B.A. in Religion and Sociology. I minored in Oxford Studies, which included a term of archival research in the Angus Library & Archive at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, under the supervision of Dr. Larry Kreitzer. Then, I attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary where I received a Master of Theology and a Master of Church History. I have worked in public history at the State Historical Museum of Iowa and in higher education as an adjunct professor and first year student success advisor.

Exam Fields: American Religious History, U.S. History to 1877, and Global History of Feminism & Womanism

Academic Interests & Research Narrative

I am a historian of religion and gender in early America. My research examines how women in religious minorities, such as Baptists and Quakers, experienced and responded to the colonial church-state systems in eighteenth-century British North America. My research expands our understanding of how religious identity and gender norms contributed to colonists’ relationships with church-state structures. We need to examine how women appealed to their religious beliefs and gender identity to effect social change to better understand the origins and impact of the separation of church and state. 

As a trained historian with a background in religious studies, I am equipped to teach courses that address not only religion in America but a diverse set of traditions globally. My seminary degrees provided a broad foundation in church history and theology, while my doctorate offers a specialization in American religious history. Previously, I taught Survey of World Religions at Des Moines Area Community College, and I teach U.S. in Global Perspectives at Baylor. The latter course traces the experiences of non-Christian communities in the United States through the themes of contact, conflict, conversion, and cross-culturalism. 

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

Heckart, Jordann. “Susanna Backus: Daughter of Christ.” Baptist History and Heritage 56, no. 2 (2021): 6-19.  

Allen [sic], Jordann. “Kathleen Manley: Missionary Nurse.” Tennessee Baptist History 17, no. 1 (2015): 71-84.

Book Reviews

Heckart, Jordann. Review of The Emergence of Religious Toleration in Eighteenth-Century New England: Baptists, Congregationalists, and the Contribution of John Callender, 1706-1748, by Jeffrey A. Waldrop. Reading Religion (July 2020)

Allan, Jordann. Review of The Collected Works of Hanserd Knollys: Early English Baptist Texts, edited by William L. Pitts, Jr. and Rady Roldan-Figueroa. Reading Religion (September 2017)

Selected Activities

Awards

• 2023, Graduate Student Fellowship, Baylor University  
• 2018 Division of Christian Thought Hamilton Award Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary  
• 2016 Byington Scholarship Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary 
• 2015 - 2018 Billy Graham Scholarship  
• 2015 Outstanding Graduate in the Department of Religion Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, TN 
• 2014 Robert M. Shurden Outstanding Junior Religion Award  
• 2014 Theology Student of the Year 
• 2014 Student Ambassador of the Year

Grants

• Donald and Judy Schmeltekopf Fellowship at Baylor University, 2026-2027  
• C. Conrad & Elizabeth H. Wright Fellowship at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 2026-2027 
• Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellowship at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 2026-2027 
• Michael Kraus Research Grant from the American Historical Association, 2026-2027 
• Graduate School Travel Award, Baylor University, 2025, 2026 
• History Department Travel Award, Baylor University, 2025 
• Baptist History and Heritage Society Travel Award, 2025 
• Graduate Student Fellowship, Baylor University, 2023 to Present 

Recent Presentations

“Dissenting Women and the Fight for Religious Liberty in New England.” Paper presentation at the Colonial Society of Massachusetts Graduate Student Forum, May 22, 2026. 

“Sisters in Affliction and Your Real Friends: The Role of Gender and Religion in the Petitions of Quaker Exiles.” Paper presented at the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, July 17-20, 2025.   

“Priscilla, Preacher, or Pastor's Wife: Remembering Martha Stearns Marshall.” Paper presented at Baptist History and Heritage, May 19-21, 2025.

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LinkedIn: Jordann Heckart