Daniel McClellan

Daniel O. McClellan is an American biblical scholar and social media personality. He is a public scholar of the Bible and religion and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. McClellan was the winner of the Society of Biblical Literature's 2023 Richards Award for Public Scholarship.

Biography
Daniel McClellan is originally from West Virginia. In 2006, he was married and, as of 2024, has three daughters.

Education and academic career
Between 2013–2023, McClellan worked as scripture translation supervisor for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. McClellan completed a bachelor's degree in ancient Near Eastern studies from Brigham Young University, a master's degree in Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, and a master of arts in biblical studies at Trinity Western University.

In 2020, he received a PhD from the University of Exeter, where he wrote a dissertation under the supervision of Francesca Stavrakopoulou. In 2022, he published a revised version of his dissertation, titled YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach. His formal academic areas of expertise include Second Temple Judaism, the early Israelite religion, the cognitive science of religion, and textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible.

Social media
Since 2021, McClellan has been active on social media, confronting misinformation being shared on social media about the academic study of the Bible and religion. He leads online classes, cohosts the Data Over Dogma Podcast, and is also active on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. On TikTok, he has become popular by "stitching" videos containing misinterpretations of the Bible.

Political career
Daniel McClellan has run for office in Utah twice, though he lost both elections to incumbents. His first bid was for Utah State House of Representatives (District 52) in 2018; he received 33.5% of the vote. In 2020, he ran for Utah's State Senate (District 10) and received 34.8% of the vote.

Articles

 * "Forming divine bodies in the Hebrew Bible." Pages 171–94 in Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies. Edited by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (T&T Clark, 2021).
 * "Religion and Description." Pages 106–13 in Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion. Edited by Brad Stoddard (Equinox, 2018)
 * The Gods-Complaint: Psalm 82 as a Psalm of Complaint Journal of Biblical Literature 137.4 (2018): 833–51. https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:30469/
 * Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer in Religious Educator Vol. 10 No. 3 · 2009. https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-10-no-3-2009/outreach-conversation-james-e-faulconer
 * Ancient Studies: Research Update in Review Magazine Fall 2009 https://rsc.byu.edu/fall-2009/ancient-studies
 * The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament in New Testament History, Culture, and Society. https://rsc.byu.edu/new-testament-history-culture-society/use-old-testament-new-testament
 * The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.
 * Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer in Religious Educator Vol. 10 No. 3 · 2009. https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-10-no-3-2009/outreach-conversation-james-e-faulconer
 * Ancient Studies: Research Update in Review Magazine Fall 2009 https://rsc.byu.edu/fall-2009/ancient-studies
 * The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament in New Testament History, Culture, and Society. https://rsc.byu.edu/new-testament-history-culture-society/use-old-testament-new-testament
 * The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.
 * The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.
 * The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.