Welcome
Thomas J. Davis is Professor of Religious Studies, Adjunct Professor of Philanthropic Studies, former Associate Dean of Academic Programs, and former Dean at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI (Indianapolis). He has also served, since 1989, as Managing Editor of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation.
He is the author of the award-winning novel The Christmas Quilt. Published in 2000 by Rutledge Hill Press, the book has been a selection in the Doubleday Book Club, Crossings Book Club, and Stage and Screen Book Club. It has been published in a special "Sam's Club" edition, and it has appeared in mass-market edition from Steeple Hill. The Evansville Courier and Press enthused that the book is a "fictional jewel," and BookPage declared that the novel "glistens with the wisdom of childhood." Set in 1942 in the north Georgia mountains, the book celebrates the hope and love a grandson learns as he watches his dying grandmother make a Christmas quilt for a son who's been too long gone. As the Knoxville News Sentinel said in a glowing review, "This is one great read at Christmas or anytime of the year." The Christmas Quilt has been a favorite of local book clubs around the country. No wonder that Philip Gulley, author of the beloved "Harmony" series, has said that The Christmas Quilt "touches the heart and stirs the soul."
A sequel to The Christmas Quilt appeared in 2005 titled The Aluminum Christmas Tree. The book was chosen by Ingram Book Company, the world's largest book distributor, as a Premier Pick, raving, "The Aluminum Christmas Tree is more than nostalgia. It touches the soul and feeds the senses... Read The Aluminum Christmas Tree. It is a beautiful story for any time of the year." The book was highlighted by Marta Salij of the Detroit Free Press as one of the twelve best holiday books of the year for 2005. Likewise, Dennie Hall of the Oklahoma City Oklahoman chose The Aluminum Christmas Tree as one of twelve Christmas books that would best help a person catch the holiday spirit. It has also appeared as a mass-market paperback from Steeple Hill.
In addition to his novels, Thomas J. Davis is a prolific nonfiction writer. For a general audience, he has written By the Waters of Babylon: One Family's Faith-Journey through Illness, which was optioned by Readers' Digest and translated into Chinese. Another book on grief followed, entitled God in My Grief: The Music of Grace When Loss Lives On.
As far as academic books, he is the author of The Clearest Promises of God: The Development of Calvin's Eucharistic Teaching, John Calvin (a short biography), and This Is My Body: The Presence of Christ in Reformation Thought. He is the editor and a contributor to John Calvin's American Legacy and Religion in Philanthropic Organizations: Family, Friend, Foe? In addition, he is the author of numerous articles, book chapters, reviews, and encyclopedia entries.