Tricia C. Bruce, PhD

Sociologist. Author. Researcher. Speaker.

Tricia C. Bruce, PhD, is a Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, a 2025-2026 Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Religion & Society at the University of Notre Dame, President-Elect of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and a five-time marathoner. She served previously as President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, a papal-appointed consultor to the Synod on Synodality, and a tenured professor. She is the author of numerous award-winning books, articles, and reports in the sociology of religion and U.S. Catholicism.

Happenings

  • Discussion at Saint John XXIII Parish, Knoxville

    Thanks to Saint John XXIII Parish and Catholic Center at the University of Tennessee Knoxville for inviting me to lead a discussion on polarization in the US Catholic Church. Issues raised in the book I coedited with Mary Ellen Konieczny… Continue reading

  • The Sociology of Fear

    Around Halloween time, haunted houses and spoofs on the paranormal abound. Drawing from Chapman University’s 2018 Survey of American Fears, my interview with WBIR suggests that our fears are as much sociological as they are psychological.   Continue reading

  • Explaining Hate Crimes (My Interview with WBIR)

    In the wake of the tragic shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, Knoxville’s WBIR invited me in-studio to discuss religious diversity in the US and the sociology behind hate crimes. View the segment here. Continue reading

  • SSSR Author-Meets-Critics

    Sociologists and other scholars of religion convened in Las Vegas for the 2018 meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR). Among the sessions was an author-meets-critics session for my book, Parish and Place: Making Room for… Continue reading

    SSSR Author-Meets-Critics

  • New Affiliation with the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame

    I am excited to announce my new affiliation with the University of Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society, which is “dedicated to advancing social scientific understanding of religion in society through scholarly research, training, and publications.”… Continue reading

    New Affiliation with the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame

  • “Cultural Catholics in the United States”

    My chapter, “Cultural Catholics in the United States,” has just been published in Volume 9 (2018) of the Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion: The Changing Faces of Catholicism, edited by Solange Lefebvre and Alfonso Pérèz-Agote Poveda! Book description: Catholicism… Continue reading

  • Review of Parish and Place in Sociology of Religion journal

    The journal Sociology of Religion has just published a review of my book Parish and Place: Making Room for Diversity in the American Catholic Church. Linda Kawentel (University of Notre Dame) writes that the book “is an excellent study that will be of… Continue reading

  • YWCA-Knoxville 2018 Tribute to Women

    I’m honored by my nomination and selection as a finalist in YWCA-Knoxville’s 2018 Tribute to Women. The award ceremony showcased inspiring area women working to reduce inequality, empower others, and promote dignity for all.   I am committed to continuing… Continue reading

    YWCA-Knoxville 2018 Tribute to Women

  • Invited Lectures at Tennessee Wesleyan

    I enjoyed the opportunity to give a series of lectures at Tennessee Wesleyan in Athen, TN. The first, “The Place of Diversity in Contemporary U.S. Religion” drew from my award-winning book Parish and Place to understand the mutual role of… Continue reading

    Invited Lectures at Tennessee Wesleyan

  • Review of Parish and Place in Reading Religion (a publication of the American Academy of Religion)

    [Excerpt] “Bruce deftly manages multiple axes of inquiry and data across six chapters, probing how place and purpose—the two organizational principles shaping the experience of American Catholic life—interact…[…]…The work of Parish and Place opens up a door for important further… Continue reading

engaging A Sociological Perspective

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