For Associate Professor Katharina Paxman, the relationship between philosophy and faith is fueling her work on the LDS Philosophy Project.
When most people hear the words philosophy and religion in the same sentence, they might not guess how the two relate, but large amount of research about their intersection does exist. For Katharina Paxman (Early Modern Philosophy) that intersection is fascinating. However, outside of Latter-day Saint philosophical circles, there is an absence of discussion linking philosophy and the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so Paxman got together with a few of her peers to create the LDS Philosophy Project.
Filling a Need
With a varied background in philosophy and many years of experience under her belt, Paxman is familiar with the philosophical discourse on Christianity, which, she says, “has a really long, really robust, interesting tradition.” Paxman theorizes that the lack of philosophical discourse on the LDS religious tradition stems from the fact that the Church is a relatively young religion and, at least in academic spheres, is usually considered a piece of American history rather than as a theological tradition.
This dearth has created roadblocks for Paxman and other professors. “Our ability to become full professors depends on our ability to publish in recognized professional philosophical spaces,” she explains, and, currently, work on LDS philosophy is rare in such venues. The LDS Philosophy Project was born out of the need to “really help support and legitimize work in the Latter-day Saint tradition.”
A Supportive Space
The project, established in 2021, provides a space to support professional philosophical literature on LDS theology. Philosophers and others interested in the project gather at annual workshops and conferences to present their work and develop their projects. The most recent workshop, held in August 2025, had a unique approach because it was, as Paxman called it, a “read-ahead conference.” Rather than following the usual format of academic conferences, where the audience has no prior knowledge of the research being presented, this workshop collected papers, “a week in advance . . . and the expectation was, if you were to attend a session, you would try and read the paper beforehand.” Then, those whose papers were submitted had a few minutes to summarize their paper, and the rest of their time was devoted to receiving feedback from those attending the conference.
Rosalynde Welch (Latter-day Saint Scripture, Theology, and Literature), who attended the August 2025 conference, notes, “One thing that’s unique about philosophy compared to literature, my discipline, is that philosophers really challenge each other.” She feels that in other disciplines, feedback tends to be a bit more tentative, but philosophers “are not afraid to jump right in and say, I think you’re wrong on this . . . They understand that it’s all intended to really improve the final product, to strengthen the thinking.” She enjoys attending these conferences, even though she is not a philosopher herself, because she loves learning about the perspectives that these presentations provide, and she finds it exciting to see their ideas “develop and grow in the discussion.”
Paxman looks forward to the future of the LDS Philosophy Project, knowing it will continue to be instrumental to the LDS philosophy community. “The vitality of this project is going to depend on young scholars,” she says, and she hopes to see undergraduate students begin to take an interest in this discourse.
A Personal Contribution
To add to the space created by the project, Paxman, along with her colleague Taylor-Grey E. Miller (Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion), is working on an anthology called Contemporary Philosophy and the Latter-day Saint Tradition. While the anthology is not directly affiliated with the LDS Philosophy Project, the existence of the project, and the supportive space it provided, were instrumental in its publishing. In fact, the presentations at the 2025 read-ahead conference were all drafts of papers that are to be included as chapters in the anthology. She hopes that this compilation “will act as a foundation for ongoing philosophical engagement with Latter-day Saint thought.”
Paxman has enjoyed editing the anthology: She is involved in determining the order of the pieces, the way the introduction sets them up, and the volume’s narrative. The anthology, which will be published by Routledge and released in 2026, will be accessible online. Paxman and Miller appreciate this open access format and hope to encourage anyone who is interested to engage with the ideas included in the volume.
Similarly, the LDS Philosophy Project welcomes all Latter-day Saints who are interested in philosophy and faith. Just as Welch enjoys attending these conferences because of the compelling, testimony-building discussions, so can other members of the Church and religious community. Welch appreciates the LDS Philosophy Project and the community that it has provided, saying, “it makes me proud and grateful to be a Latter-day Saint.”
Learn more about the LDS Philosophy Project here.
The creation and production of Contemporary Philosophy and the Latter-day Saint Tradition was made possible, in part, by financial support from the College of Humanities.