The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics draws on the vast experience and resources of many people to fulfill its mission: to deepen academic and public understanding of religion and politics in the United States.
My research focuses on Islam, gender, and race in America. My first book analyzes American Muslim women’s religious authority, examining how they negotiate the Islamic tradition and build gender-equitable worship spaces.
I work on contemporary religious ethics and political theory with an emphasis on feminist thought, Christian theology, and modern forms of power critique. My first book is about uncertainty in loving relationships and its lessons for contemporary ethics and politics.
I love that my work as a faculty assistant with the Center allows me to continue developing critical skills while pursuing my academic interests by acting as a teaching assistant and offering research support on a wide range of projects for our faculty.
John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor in the Humanities
Most of my scholarship centers on American Christianity, including the changing profile of American evangelicals and ongoing conflicts over gender, sexuality, and marriage.
Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion and Professor of Political Science (by courtesy)
As a scholar of law and religion, my primary interests are the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and related questions of legal and political theory.
I study the manifold questions and problems of Jewish political theology including issues related to antisemitism, Zionism, and American Judaism and race.
It’s been an honor to be a part of the Center’s growth from an idea to a thriving academic community exploring some of today’s most urgent issues with a hand in educated action and a heart for the humanity in our differences. It’s a job that gives me hope every day.
As a historian of Asian American religion, I explore how Japanese American Buddhists navigated American legal and cultural dynamics of religion, race, and citizenship in the early-twentieth century.
I study how Americans have understood their world since the 1860s. My current book traces a predominantly Jewish women’s book club from 1879 through the present.
Professor of Practice and Executive Editor, Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera
I am interested in the history of American religion, in the practice of journalism and other forms of nonfiction writing, and in Anglophone fiction. My current projects include biographies of Judy Blume and Ann Landers and a documentary about the word “like.”
I enjoy helping our faculty and students with a wide range of administrative operations and curriculum support. Getting to work with our students is one of the highlights of my job!
Managing events for the Center is deeply rewarding! I have the opportunity to organize gatherings that bring people together to share in their collective passions and unique personal perspectives.
Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor
I am a historian of American religion and culture; my topics of research have ranged widely: evangelical revivalism, ritual studies, consumer culture, religious liberalism, atheism, and secularism.
Director and Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics
My current research concerns how Anglo-American Protestants described other religions and developed new ideas of religious conversion from 1660 to 1760.
Associate Professor, Department of English; Associate Professor of Religion and Politics (by courtesy)
My scholarship focuses on religion and literature, especially on seventeenth-century Puritans and the way they have been remembered and remade in American culture.
