School of Religion

As a result of generous support during the Vision 2020 campaign, Landon Sayler became the first student to receive the Arthur Graham Maxwell Scholarship for Excellence in the Study of Religion.

“When I applied to the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University, I had dreams of someday in the future pursuing further training in religion, but it was always a distant dream,” he said. “Now the opportunity is directly before me and being offered freely.”

Loma Linda University School of Religion offers two master’s programs that can be taken by students of other Loma Linda University schools in a dual degree arrangement. One is the Master of Arts in Bioethics. The other, which Sayler pursued in the 20182019 school year, is a recently-revamped program called the Master of Arts in Religion and Society.

Asked how he would articulate the core of Maxwell’s teachings, Sayler said, “The God of Scripture is on the pursuit to reveal Himself as a loving God to humanity, and you can see that woven through the entirety of the Bible. His message is absolutely still needed today,” Sayler said. Maxwell was a professor of New Testament at Loma Linda University for 27 years, and is widely known for his writings and teachings on the foundationally loving and trustworthy nature of God.

As a professor, Maxwell had a passion for educating the future medical professionals studying at Loma Linda University to also have a greater understanding of the Bible and theology.

School of Religion Accomplishments

• The Graham Maxwell Fund, for medical or dental students wanting a religion degree in addition to their clinical degree, reached its $500,000 milestone, marking a strong future for

Christian, mission-minded healthcare professionals.

• Established the Center for Understanding World Religions which creates an exchange and understanding of diverse ideas from different religious beliefs with the goal of integration of spirituality and health.