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

  • Survey stuffing day!

    My national survey on personal (non-territorial) parishes is in its final stages of preparation for dissimination. Georgetown University’s CARA (the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) has been an exceptional partner in this process. Above, student intern Mason takes… Continue reading

  • Support from the National Science Foundation

    The National Science Foundation has recently awarded my project, entitled “Formal Responses to Increasing Diversity within Social Institutions.” Together with funding from The Louisville Institute, this generous support will enable me to carry out a national survey and follow-up case… Continue reading

  • Gender, Family, and the Workplace

    Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer just joined the ranks of a very small number of women at the top of Fortune 500 companies (19, to be exact). And at six months pregnant, she is a visible and public reminder of… Continue reading

  • Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church: Gender, Power, and Organizational Culture, by Marie Keenan (2011)

    “Among the explanations posited for child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy is the notion that abusers constitute a few ‘bad apples’ in an otherwise healthy orchard. In writing Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church: Gender, Power, and Organizational… Continue reading

  • Recent reviews of Faithful Revolution

    Spring 2012 introduced another round of journal reviews for my book, Faithful Revolution: How Voice of the Faithful Is Changing the Church (Oxford UP, 2011). A review written by John C. Seitz (author of No Closure: Catholic Practice and Boston’s Parish… Continue reading

  • Visiting the Highlander Center with my social movements class

    What better way to bring social movements to life than with a visit to the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, TN with my Collective Behavior & Social Movements class. Rich in movement history and social activism, the… Continue reading

  • Sociology and Sustainability

    Earth Week provides good occasion to reflect upon connections between sustainability and one’s own field. A recent Sustainability Workshop for Maryville College faculty gave me the chance to do just that. In what ways does Sociology incorporate intentional consideration of the earth… Continue reading

  • Thank You to The Louisville Institute

    I offer my sincere gratitute to The Louisville Institute for supporting my current research on “personal” (non-territorial) parishes in the Catholic Church. Thanks to a 2012 Project Grant for Researchers, I will be able to expand my work nationally and… Continue reading

  • Faithful Revolution Reviewed in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

    The most recent issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (December 2011) features a review of Faithful Revolution written by Jerome P. Baggett (Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University). A snippet from the first paragraph: “This is a fascinating story.… Continue reading

  • Faithful Revolution profiled in Catholic Books Review

    Catholic Books Review has just published a review of my book, Faithful Revolution: How Voice of the Faithful Is Changing the Church (Oxford UP 2011). Following an insightful summary, Melissa Cidade of CARA (Georgetown University) suggests that “This book would… Continue reading

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