The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture (RAAC) just released the proceedings from its June 2022 gathering:

In June, many of the top scholars studying and teaching about religion in North America gathered in Indianapolis for the Seventh Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture. Proceedings from the sessions are now available online! Topics include: White Christian Nationalism in the United States; Religio-Racial Nationalisms in Global Contexts; Refugees and New Immigrants in the United States; Resonance and the Good Life; Religious Practice in a Digital Culture; Digital Scholarship and Teaching; Reproductive Rights; and Religious Freedom in the Age of Pandemic.

Among this insightful set of conversation-starters is my own contribution drawing upon insights from the National Abortion Attitudes Study. Talking to ordinary Americans about abortion + religion reveals the limits of absolutes and imperative to broaden our categories.

Read the full proceedings here.

In midst of the changing legal landscape for abortion in the U.S., I appreciated the opportunity to reappear as a guest on Larry’s Rifkin’s podcast, America Trends. We talked through where things stand today and what can be learned from the comprehensive interview study my team conducted with ordinary Americans regarding how they think and feel about abortion.

Listen to the full episode here.

Thanks to the Association of Pittsburgh Priests for the invitation to share findings from the National Study of Abortion Attitudes, complicating narrow depictions of where Americans (and American Catholics) stand on this complex issue. We had a great (Zoom!) turnout and rich conversation that is sure to continue.

As states deliberate abortion access and regulation in the wake of the new federal landscape, I wrote this new piece for TIME magazine to shed light on how ordinary Americans themselves think through these questions. Most of our interviewees in the National Abortion Attitudes Study didn’t hold much familiarity with state abortion laws (or the medical markers upon which they rest). Some may find themselves reviewing them more closely in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

Read my article — What Americans’ Complex Views on Abortion Mean for Its Legal Future.

The Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization raises important questions regarding policy in the context of abortion restrictions. Interviewing hundreds of Americans about abortion, we heard many allude to adoption as an alternative — lauding adoption success stories, personal connections, and need, while also leveling critiques at the high cost of adoption and perceived shortcomings of foster care. This report explores Americans’ overall adoption perceptions as well as narrowing in on ways that women facing unplanned pregnancies narrate their pregnancy decisions. Thanks to the Opt Institute for supporting this secondary analysis of my team’s in-depth interview data.

I’m excited to share my new article out in Time Magazine!

I share some takeaways from the National Abortion Attitudes Study (NAAS) in light of the Supreme Court leak — namely, that the pending ruling’s implications remain unclear amid the context of complex abortion attitudes held by most ordinary Americans.

I’m grateful to my research team (Bridget Ritz, Kendra Hutchens, Maureen Day, & Patricia Tevington) and the McGrath Institute at the University of Notre Dame as well as to each of our NAAS interviewees.

Read the article here! => We Asked Hundreds of Americans About Abortion. Their Feelings Were Complicated

I enjoyed the invitation to talk through what’s often missed in summaries of Americans’ abortion attitudes on the latest episode of the radio show, Interfaith Voices.

Check out the full episode, “Abortion is the Story,” with the insightful host Ambereen Khan.

I joined Notre Dame faculty members Tamara Kay and Susan Ostermann in this piece for the LA Times, published today. It references Americans my team interviewed for the National Abortion Attitudes Study who — even amid opposition to abortion — draw exceptions to save the life of the mother.

My new article in The Conversation draws from collaborative work with Sarah Cowan, Brea Perry, Bridget Ritz, Stuart Perrett, and Elizabeth Anderson in Science Advances. Using interview data from the National Abortion Attitudes Study, I explore what’s behind the willingness of some Americans who express moral opposition to abortion to help a friend or family member obtain one.

Like so much of the abortion landscape, people’s views are complicated. The nexus of values and behaviors can be more complicated, still. Exploring these tensions gives us a more accurate, data-based understanding of what abortion attitudes look like for ordinary Americans. And, in this case — what it looks like to engage in pro-social behavior that conflicts with another deeply held value.

Read the full article: “Opposition to abortion doesn’t stop some Americans from supporting friends and family who seek one.”

Thanks also to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Ethics Today, Buffalo News, Times Union, Pittsburgh Currier, and other outlets for also publishing my article!