Jessica Luther Rummel

Status:

Headshot: 
Photo of Jessica Luther Rummel with a green background
Major: 
Religious Studies & Ancient History
Mentor: 
Dr. Terra Rowe
Research Topic: 
Klan culture and protestant theology; normalization of white supremist ideologies
Abstract: 
Building on existing scholarly research relating to the “religious primitivism” typical expressed by Texas Klans via an “imagined purity” associated with Anglo-Saxon descent, Jessica’s philosophical-historical case study examines the assimilation of Klan culture and Protestant faith in 1920s Denton as a means for understanding the normalization process of white supremacist culture in the post-Civil War American south. Specifically, her study examines whether the concurrent recruitment campaigns of Denton’s Protestant churches and Klan organizations active during the 1920s were mutually dependent or reciprocal in nature and the extent to which the organizations relied upon co-membership for functionality. The majority of her research is based on a primary source analysis, comparing rhetoric found within recruitment and teaching materials used by the Klan and rhetoric incorporated within the evangelical messaging of Protestant churches and leaders active within the Denton community.
Alma Mater: 
B.A. Religion | University of North Texas 2020