Laura Gilbertson

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Laura Gilbertson

Email: laura-gilbertson@bethel.edu

Job titles

  • Associate Professor of Christian Ministries
    -select- College of Adult and Professional Studies
  • Associate Professor of History, Philosophy, and Political Science
    History, Philosophy, and Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences

Highlight

American Evangelicalism, culture, sociology of religion, race, gender, and topics connected to justice and reconciliation.

Started at Bethel

2005

Education

  • University of Minnesota - B.A., 2000
  • Bethel Seminary - M.Div., 2005
  • University of Minnesota - M.A. in Sociology, 2021
  • University of Minnesota - Ph.D. in Sociology, 2026

Biography

Laura Gilbertson has taught at Bethel University since 2005 and is Associate Professor of Christian Ministries. She holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Minnesota. Her research has examined the cultural dimensions of American evangelicalism, including church responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. She previously served as Pastor of Care Ministries at Westwood Community Church, and continues to serve in a non-staff position through teaching and preaching. At the beginning of her career, she served as Assistant Director of Spiritual Formation at Bethel University, where she oversaw small group discipleship. While in seminary, she received training for hospital chaplaincy. She is passionate about equipping women and men to use their gifts in diverse ministry settings.

Courses taught

Current courses

  • SOC101: Introduction to Sociology
  • CORE300: Community, Self, and Formation
  • CHMN300: Foundations of Christian Ministry
  • THEO441: Christian Theology
  • CORE330: Examining Crucial Questions
  • ANT200U: Introduction to Anthropology

Previously taught

  • RES201: Inroduction to Reconciliation Studies
  • SOWK200: Sociology for Social Workers
  • BIB308J: Biblical Theology of Reconciliation
  • BIBL341: The Gospel in Cross Cultural Perspective
  • THE201: Christian Theology
  • THEO415: Understanding Worldviews

Awards

2019 Faculty Excellence Award (CAPS/SEM/GS)

Publications

Daniel Cueto-Villalobos, Laura Gilbertson, Penny Edgell, “There Wasn’t A Playbook For This”: Local Congregations and the Crises of 2020, Sociology of Religion, Volume 87, Issue 4, Autumn 2026, Pages 619–643, https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sraf023

Certificates and licenses

Licensed Pastor at Westwood Community Church, Excelsior, MN

Areas of expertise

American evangelicalism, culture, sociology of religion, race, gender.