Dr. Julia Robinson Moore is an Associate Professor of Religion in the Department of Religious Studies and an Affiliate Faculty member in the Departments of Africana Studies and History. Trained as a historian, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in American and African American religious history. Her current book project, René Girard in the American South: New Frontiers in Mimetic Theory explores how René Girard’s work can speak to the lived realities in American contemporary culture. Her most recent book, Race, Religion, and the Pulpit: Reverend Robert L. Bradby and the Making of Urban Detroit (2015 and republished in 2024), explores the history of the first Black Baptist Church in Detroit and its partnership with influential figures like Henry Ford and Clarence Darrow during the Great Migration.
Research Interests
American religious history, mimetic theory, historic preservation, memorialization, and the history of Presbyterianism in the city of Charlotte.
Community-Engagement
Preserving Sacred Sites and Histories Initiative: Connecting History, Religion, and Architecture for the Public Good in the City of Charlotte
The Preserving Sacred Sites and Histories Initiative (PSSI) facilitates student learning through religious literacy, architectural history, architectural design, and historical research of Charlotte’s most sacred sites and built environments. PSSI is under the direction of Julia Robinson Moore. She stands in an interdisciplinary partnership with Matthew Gin, Assistant Professor of Architectural History in the College of Arts & Architecture, and Adreonna Bennett, Community Archivist at J. Murrey Atkins Library. Students who participate in courses related to PSSI interface with local community stakeholders to provide story, design, and re-envision spaces for community engagement that promotes public good.