Mormon Studies Fellows
UVA Mormon Studies Fellows are UVA undergraduate or graduate students actively engaged in Mormon Studies scholarship. Through meals together, presentations from special lecturers, and collaborative research and study sessions, our fellows deepen their involvement in the ever-changing field of Mormon Studies.
Nicholas Shrum
Ph.D. Student, Religious Studies
Nicholas Shrum is a Ph.D. student in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, where he studies postwar American religious nationalism. He earned an MA in Religion from Yale Divinity School and a BA in American Studies from Brigham Young University. His work has appeared in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Journal of Mormon History, Latter-day Saint Historical Studies, and The Conversation. His 2024 article with Dialogue, “Materializing Faith and Politics: The Unseen Power of the NCCS Pocket Constitution in American Religion,” was awarded the Mormon Historical Association’s “Best Article Award.” He is also the host of the UVA Mormon Studies podcast Scholars & Saints.
Reilly Brady
Ph.D. Student, Religious Studies
Reilly Brady is pursuing a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, concentrating in American Religions. Reilly received a B.A. in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2024. She studies gender and sexuality in American religious history, with research interests in Mormonism, purity movements, and gender-based violence. Her 2025 article in the Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association, “‘Guard Your Virtue with Your Life’: Current and Former Latter-day Saint Women’s Experiences with Purity Teachings and Gender-Based Violence”, analyzed the mutual embeddedness of purity expectations and gender-based violence for Latter-day Saint girls and women.