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

  • Where Catholicism Lives

    Kudos to organizers at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University (Durham, England) for putting together a lively virtual conference around the theme of Lived Catholicism. I was honored to give a keynote address entitled “Where Catholicism Lives” alongside… Continue reading

    Where Catholicism Lives

  • Voting Catholic

    America Magazine put together a compelling set of podcasts in the lead-up to the Fall 2020 Election, considering multiple angles of issues that many Catholics weigh as they head to the ballot box. I’m grateful for the invitation to participate… Continue reading

  • What Americans Really Think About Abortion (WSJ)

    My new essay in the Wall Street Journal (page C3 in the September 26-27 issue) brings attention to what we learned from interviewing hundreds of Americans in-depth regarding how they think and feel about abortion. A big takeaway? Americans’ views… Continue reading

  • Media Coverage of “How Americans Understand Abortion”

    My report on American’ Abortion Attitudes – a study and publication of the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life – has received wide attention in media sources. I am thankful for reporters who have engaged with its… Continue reading

  • How Americans Understand Abortion

    We may think we already know the answer to this question, but common perceptions don’t map well on to what I learned from interviewing 217 ordinary Americans about abortion. For one, abortion discussions are uncommon or nonexistent in everyday life.… Continue reading

  • Adapting Closed Churches

    What happens to a church that closes? This is a question I’ve researched for a few years in the context of closed Catholic parishes, with funding support from the Louisville Institute. A new article from CityLab brings attention to one… Continue reading

  • “_American Parishes_ is a specialized publication of the best kind…”

    These are the words that Kevin J. Christiano uses to describe American Parishes: Remaking Local Catholicism, a book I edited with Gary Alder and Brian Starks (2019, Fordham University Press). Christiano brings the reader in with the following personalized account… Continue reading

  • Empty Pews

    Invited lectures necessarily get creative during this time! Thanks to the Community of Saint Peter in Cleveland, Ohio, for welcoming me – virtually – into their homes to deliver a talk entitled “Empty Pews” about the religiously non-affiliated. This was… Continue reading

    Empty Pews

  • Election to ASR Council

    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… Continue reading

  • Who’s Leaving Catholicism?

    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… Continue reading

engaging A Sociological Perspective

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