Jason AsheAssistant Professor
Jason Ashe is a health disparities researcher. His work engages the intersection of African American Christianity, Black psychology, structural racism, and cardiovascular health. He earned a BS in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MDiv and ThM from Duke University Divinity School, where he was awarded the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Fellowship, and a PhD in community psychology and behavioral medicine from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in epidemiology and population sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has received funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the NIH, and the Association of American Medical Colleges. Much of his work examines how religion and spirituality “get under the skin” to influence the onset of aging-related diseases and racial health disparities. He studies how engagement in religious practices and coping behaviors might either diminish or worsen the impacts of stress on our biological health. Some of his research can be found here.
Also, his forthcoming book considers racial health disparities a theological problem, relying on public health research, Black theology and Womanism, and historical episodes of medical racism as conversation partners. He reflects on the implications of traditional Christian language surrounding health, suffering, and illness, and how the Black Church has responded to pervasive health inequalities in America. He teaches courses on topics that include religion and health, the psychology of religion, and the Black Church. Outside of his work, he enjoys singing, playing tennis, and visual arts.
Education
- PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2023
- ThM, Duke University Divinity School, 2016
- MDiv, Duke University Divinity School, 2014
- SB, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
Research and Teaching
- Black Church Studies
- Psychology of Religion
- Religion, Medicine, and Population Health
