Eric Isaac
Bio
Eric Isaac is a teaching fellow at the FIU Honors College, the Religious Studies Department, and the School of Communication. Professor Isaac’s scholarly pursuits are deeply rooted in his personal journey as a Latinx survivor of spiritual abuse. Finding little scholarship on the phenomenon, he worked to conduct research and create a body of scholarship on the topic of spiritual abuse. To that end, Professor Isaac conducted the largest qualitative and quantitative survey of Latinx spiritual abuse survivors. From that data and other sources, he created a body of scholarship that offered a working definition of the phenomenon that serves multiple disciplines, such as psychology and law. His research explains why spiritual abuse occurs, how to prevent or reduce it, as well as suggests legislation that ought to be passed to prevent or reduce abuse in religious settings.
Professor Isaac has created multiple courses on spiritual abuse, such as REL 4150, spiritual power & abuse, the first university course ever offered on the subject. This course offers students the ability to interview survivors, as well as psychologists, attorneys, and journalists who serve those survivors. In addition to this course, he worked to create a course on the role of spiritual power and abuse in the Caribbean during the Colonial and Post-Colonial period as it relates to race, slavery, and other abuses of power. Professor Isaac is the faculty director of two study abroad programs, one to Scotland and another to Japan that use his theory of spiritual power and abuse to bring new insights cultural and legal phenomenon in those countries. In addition, he directs two collaborative online international learning, (COIL), programs on the topic. One COIL course is a first of its kind project that sees students from Miami collaborate online during the semester with students from University of Kansai in Japan, who then participate together in person in Japan to present and collaborate via an in-person exchange. Professor Isaac also oversees multiple undergraduate and graduate research projects that investigate spiritual power and abuse, that apply his theory to other religious contexts. Professor Isaac won the Rewarding Excellence in Teaching award in light of his efforts academically and his engagement of students.
Professor Isaac is a founding faculty member for an academic certificate for the study of Christianity at FIU. He also is currently engaged in research with the University of Michigan investigating how religion influences Latinx youth to take action to address social issues and how that action is supported or hindered through their relationships. Eric currently holds two master’s degrees, one in Latin American and Caribbean studies from FIU, as well as a master's in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has made numerous popular appearances and academic presentations to bring awareness and clarity to this often-overlooked phenomenon. Professor Isaac serves as an academic resource to multiple advocacy organizations such as Sacred Wilderness that serve survivors of spiritual abuse across the United States.
Areas of Expertise
Spiritual Abuse & Religious Trauma
Religious Analysis & Interpretation
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods
Latin American History
Courses Taught
REL 4150 Spiritual Power & Abuse
REL 3066 Race, Slavery, Christianity, & The Caribbean (Collaborative Online International Learning-ULACIT, Costa Rica)
REL 3583 World Christianity (Japan Study Abroad & Collaborative Online International Learning)
IDH 1001 The Borders of Knowledge and the Knowledge of Borders (Honors College)
IDH 1002 The Origin of Ideas and the Idea of Origins (Honors College)
REL 3530 Protestantism
REL 3532 Reformation
REL 3505 Introduction to Christianity
REL 2011 Introduction To Religion
REL 3308 Studies in World Religions
REL 4937 Special Topics: Religious Violence & Abuse
SPC 2608 Public Speaking
Degrees
MA Latin American & Caribbean Studies, FIU, Miami, FL 2024
MA Theological Studies, Fuller Graduate School, Pasadena, CA 2019