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Every four years, the International Association for the Psychology of Religion<\/a> (IAPR) chooses one scholar whose impact on the field is most deserving of their biggest honor. This year, a Baylor professor earned that honor.<\/p>\n Dr. Wade Rowatt<\/a>, a Baylor psychology since 1997, was honored with the 2017 IAPR Godin Prize for the Scientific Study of Religion<\/a>. He rose to the top of what IAPR called a \u201cfierce competition with several worthy candidates among the nominees\u201d to earn the prestigious award.\u00a0Rowatt\u2019s research at Baylor has often focused on the psychology of religion, particularly the intersection of religion and prejudice.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very affirming to receive this research award… Those of us who continue to work in the field are simply carrying the torch handed to us by our mentors, and we\u2019re passing it on to the students we mentor,\u201d Rowatt says.<\/p>\n When Rowatt talks about mentorship, he\u2019s talking about an area that\u2019s personally meaningful, just like his research. He takes a mentorship approach to teaching his psychology students, and his efforts have paid off; numerous former students have gone on to become active in the field, and he was awarded a national mentoring award by the American Psychological Association<\/a> in 2014.<\/p>\n