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

  • Conversation on Women in Ministry with the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC

    Wonderful to share a Zoom room with a group of thoughtful interlocutors regarding women in ministry. Grateful to engage in dialogue across difference, informed by social science, with an eye toward community and understanding. Watch the recorded webinar here. Continue reading

  • Talk @ Westmont College — “Deeper Thinking on Abortion”

    Thanks to the Gender Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology/Anthropology Departments at Westmont College for the invitation to come to campus, converse with students and faculty, and deliver a campus lecture, “Deeper Thinking on Abortion.” We had a full house… Continue reading

  • National Abortion Attitudes Study in The Washington Post

    Great to see findings from the National Abortion Attitudes Study (NAAS) featured once again in The Washington Post. Though comic representations, reporter Hannah Good weaves through complex questions of who has abortions and why — alongside Americans’ perceptions gleaned from… Continue reading

  • Presentation at Congreso Internacional De Pastoral Urbana CDMX

    Wonderful to visit Mexico City for the first time to deliver a talk (“Territorialidad y Desterritorialización de la Ciudad y la Parroquia”) to a gathering of Catholic bishops, priests, and lay leaders from México and beyond. Urban parishes were in… Continue reading

  • 2022 RAAC Proceedings Published

    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… Continue reading

  • Appearance on America Trends Podcast

    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… Continue reading

  • Fall Lecture Series, Association of Pittsburgh Priests

    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… Continue reading

  • My latest in TIME Magazine

    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… Continue reading

  • How do Americans perceive adoption?

    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… Continue reading

  • Guest Appearance on Jesuitical

    Thanks to the hosts and producers of the America Magazine podcast, Jesuitical, for inviting me on to talk through how Americans — and Catholics, in particular — think about abortion. It’s a timely conversation in light of the pending decision… Continue reading

engaging A Sociological Perspective

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