Latest Research
Laudato Si’ in the United States:
Constructing a Public Theology
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This project constructs an evidence-based public theology with which to shape U.S. climate change discourse and policy. Specifically, the project analyzes Catholic public theology in the United States and suggests how people of faith can most compellingly bring Laudato Si’ (LS) into the American public square. These recommendations are derived from social scientific research, especially a national public opinion survey that I conducted to measure Americans’ agreement with LS-based messages on the need to address climate change
Laudato Si’, Reception, and
the Fate of God's Earth
(Paulist Press)
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This proposal has been accepted by Paulist Press as part of its Theology at the Frontiers series. The book will be co-authored with Michael Agliardo, S.J., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago. It will provide a sociological analysis of how Laudato Si' has been received around the world as a "theological event."
The Green Encyclical:
Exploring Pope Francis’s Ecological Vision
(Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, December 2017)
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This volume for which I serve as General Editor provides reflections on Laudato Si' from twelve senior Catholic scholars in the United States. Each chapter includes Review Questions, In-Depth Questions and Suggestions for Further Study, and the book is arranged into five sections: Background and Reception, Cosmology, Interal Ecology, Ecological Conversion, and Peace and Justice.
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“Creation Care through
Consumption and Life Choices"
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This will appear as Chapter 12 in The Theological and Ecological Vision of Laudato Si’: Everything is Connected, ed. Vincent J. Miller (London: T&T Clark/Bloomsbury, 2017). It was originallly presented at “Laudato Si' - Everything is Connected: Teaching Pope Francis' ‘Integral Ecology’” at the University of Dayton on March 5, 2016.
https://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/ctr/hsi/conferences/laudato-si/index.php
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“Laudato si’, Public Theology and Northern Appalachia:
Shaping Energy Discourse and Policy”
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This paper suggests how Laudato Si’ can function as a document of public theology in order to shape energy discourse and policy in Northern Appalachia. It was originally presented at “Laudato si’ and Northern Appalachia: A Conference on the Environment and Catholic Social Teaching” at Saint Vincent College on October 21, 2016.
https://www.stvincent.edu/community-events/events/theology-conference
Laudato Si' Reception in North America:
A Multi-City Study
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I serve as a co-researcher on this three year Louisville Institute-funded project which assesses the reception of Laudato Si' in six North American cities: Miami, Louisville, Chicago, Seattle, Hamilton (Ontario), and Edmonton. The project is led by Michael Agliardo, S.J., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago, and Randolph Haluza-DeLay, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology at The King's University (Edmonton, Alberta).