Jess Navarette
Doctoral Candidate
Comparative Theology
Minor: Systematic Theology
Jess Navarette
Contact
Stokes Hall N 430G
Email: jess.navarette@bc.edu
Education
- M.A., Comparative Studies in Religion, Claremont School of Theology
- B.A., Music Performance, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Courses
Teaching Fellow
- Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue (2026-2027)
Teaching Assistant
- Judaism and Christianity in Dialogue (Spring 2026) Instructor: Dr. Ruth Langer
- The Everlasting Covenant: The Hebrew Bible (Fall 2025) Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Cooley
- Islam and Christianity in Dialogue (Spring 2025) Instructor: Dr. Jason Welle
- Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue (Fall 2024) Instructor: Dr. Catherine Cornille
Biography
Jess Navarette works in Comparative Theology and Comparative Religion, particularly between the Hindu and Christian traditions. His current research focuses on Vaiṣṇava bhakti practices, figures, and texts, exploring their parallels within Christianity. His broader research includes South Asian traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism, Transnational Hinduism, Christian Mysticism, and Ritual Studies. Jess works with Hindi and Sanskrit as research languages, in both historical and contemporary contexts.
Jess is also engaged in interreligious dialogue and interfaith events, academically and within local communities. He works with the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium as an event coordinator and facilitator for the Interreligious Leadership Certification program and has been a community interfaith organizer for many years.
Jess also has nearly a decade of experience as an educator in public and private schools in California. Further fields of interest include music and religion, hybrid religious belonging, spirituality and mysticism, contemplative practices, new religious movements, and religious pluralism.
Scholarship
Peer-Reviewed Publications
“Striving for Religious Ideals: Hindus and Christians, Dalits and Oppression,” Journal of Interreligious Studies (forthcoming).
“Jainism: Tools for Religious Pluralism and Interreligious Dialogue,” ISJS-Transactions 5, no. 4 (October–December 2021).
“Holy Humanity: A Theopoetic Response to Suffering," New Horizons, 6, no. 2 (2021).
Academic Presentations
"Intra-Hindu Perspectives on Ecological Preservation,” Society for Hindu-Christian Studies at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting (forthcoming, November 2026).
“Nature as Divine Model: Hindu-Christian Perspectives on Ecology, Sustainability, and Spirituality,” Yale Divinity School, Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology (2026).
“Striving for Religious Ideals: Hindus and Christians, Dalits and Oppression,” Comparative Theology Unit at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting (2024).
“Hindu Integrations of Jesus Christ in a United States Context,” Society for Hindu-Christian Studies at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting (2024).
“The Liberative Power of Traditional Chinese Buddhism,” Burning Refuge Inaugural Conference, Harvard Divinity School (2024).
“Theistic Meditation Techniques in the Hindu Tradition,” Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative, Harvard University (2023).
"Yoga in a Global-Religious Context," Prem Yoga Certification Training; online (2023) and in-person at the Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas, TX (2021).
"Interfaith Music Night," Grace Episcopal Church, Newton, MA (2023). Secured grant funding, designed the programming, and performed alongside members of the Won Buddhist Temple of Boston, ISKCON Boston, and various Christian representatives.