W. Justin Dyer

W. Justin Dyer is the editor in chief of BYU Studies and a Professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. He joined BYU in 2010, teaching in the School of Family Life before moving to Religious Education in 2015. He teaches courses on religion and family as well as research methods and statistics, combining his background as a social scientist with his commitment to faith-based scholarship. Dyer earned his Ph.D. in human and community development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed postdoctoral work at Auburn University.

His research examines how religion, family life, and mental health shape and strengthen one another. He has published more than 80 academic studies on topics such as adolescent and young adult mental health, the influence of religious faith on well-being, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His work has received several honors, including BYU’s Young Scholar Award, and he has served as the Moral Education Professor in Religious Education and as a Fellow with the Wheatley Institute. In his role at BYU Studies, Dyer is committed to fostering scholarship that deepens understanding of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and enriches both academic and faith communities.