I am honored to receive word of my election to Council for the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR). This is a great organization with a supportive network of scholars in the sociology of religion and related fields. Its Sociology of Religion journal ranks among the top in the sub-discipline. While we won’t be able to meet for ASR 2020 in San Francisco as originally planned, I’m already looking forward to ASR 2021 in Chicago.

Who’s leaving Catholicism? This was one of the driving questions behind a documentary project of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for which I was invited to consult. Who leaves? Half of American Catholics do, at some point in their lives. View this documentary video to learn more, including how Catholic leaders are thinking through a response.

I enjoyed my conversation with Iowa Catholic Radio’s latest episode of “Straight Talk” hosted by Jeanne Wells, during which we talked about Catholics in and out of the church. Social distancing from the church is not a new phenomenon! Listen to the show here or on any podcast player.

In this extraordinary time, we recognize just how connected we are to one another. Thanks to WBIR for the invitation to speak to concerns raised by Covid-19 and the collective network of support its response requires. Grateful to join a panel in-studio as well as doing this interview earlier in the week.

https://www.wbir.com/video/news/health/coronavirus/dr-tricia-bruce-talks-about-keeping-calm-as-coronavirus-spreads/51-608effa7-4316-4f8d-8bd2-04a35028176e

The trial and conviction of Harvey Weinstein signals an important outcome of global efforts to address sexual harassment in the workplace.

Thanks to WBIR for the invitation to talk through what this conviction says about social movements and their promise for lasting social change.

The Proceedings of the Sixth Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture held last June in Indianapolis, IN are now available online.

They include a written version of an invited panel I participated in on the topic of religion and refugees. Thanks to Indiana University-Purdue’s Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture and Religion & American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation for hosting this collegial conversation.

The Review of Religious Research journal has published an advance online version of my 2019 H. Paul Douglass Lecture, “I Can’t Keep Quiet: Engaging with Scholarly Research on Religion.” I was honored to deliver this address to the annual meeting of the Religious Research Association and Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. A print version is forthcoming in the RRR journal.

Access the article here, or email me for a PDF.

The occasion of Communion denial by a bishop to a politician provided an opportunity to talk with Religion New Service reporter Jack Jenkins about politics and notions of a “good” Catholic. Read the RNS article with my sociological commentary on the topic here. Also check out the book I coedited with Charles Camosy and Mary Ellen Konieczny, Polarization in the US Catholic Church, and stay tuned for forthcoming research I’ve conducted with a team of interviewers on the issue of Americans’ attitudes toward abortion across the spectrum.

“I Can’t Keep Quiet: Engaging Scholarly Research on Religion” was the title of my H. Paul Douglass Lecture, presented at the 2019 meetings of the Religious Research Association / Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in St. Louis. I am grateful for the invitation to step into the shoes of giants who have delivered this address in years past. The experience was an honor and a career highlight.

I’ll post a video of the talk once available, and the address will be published in a 2020 issue of the journal Review of Religious Research. Send me an email if you would like to read a copy sooner.