University of St. Thomas Director | Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies Sr. Adj. Professor | College of Arts and Sciences 2115 Summit Ave., Mail 57P St. Paul, MN 55105 hsgustafson@stthomas.edu (651) 962-5798 office
Duties: Provide strategic academic and administrative leadership for all center activities, enhancing organizational effectiveness and programmatic initiatives. Lead strategic initiatives in alignment with the organizational mission, overseeing fundraising efforts and cultivating donor relationships to secure grants that support programmatic goals. Collaborate with the Faculty Fellows and CAS Deans to enhance programmatic and communication efficacy. Spearhead innovative programming and research design, while managing fiscal responsibilities. Cultivate and maintain relationships with community partners, institutions, and faith communities to expand outreach locally and globally. Organize and facilitate workshops, symposia, and training sessions, and teach courses on interfaith dialogue, religious literacy, and leadership. Founder and director of the Faculty Fellows Program, overseeing and advising on undergraduate interreligious research grants and projects. Direct the Interfaith Fellows Program and manage undergraduate and graduate courses aligned with the center’s mission. Manage staff recruitment and development, budget oversight, and digital presence, including website maintenance and social media engagement, to effectively promote center initiatives.
---- Diagnostic Foundations of Interreligious Studies: A Relational Framework for the Study of Interreligious Encounter (under review)
2025 Everyday Encounters: Humanizing Dialogue in Theory and Practice (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2025)
2023 Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2023)
2020 editor, Interreligious Studies: Dispatches from an Emerging Field (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020)
2018 editor, Learning from Other Religious Traditions: Leaving Room for Holy Envy (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
2016 Finding All Things in God: Pansacramentalism and Doing Theology Interreligiously (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016).
2026 “From Indifference to Engagement: A Secular Response to Religious Diversity,” in Beyond Dialogue: New Paradigms in Interfaith Discourse, eds. Daniel Ross Goodman, Elaine Jean Lai, and Anthony A. Lee (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2026), 350–73.
2025 "Busy Being Born: Earthing Interfaith Engagement in the Complex Soil of Religious Diversity," Interreligious Insight: A Journal of Dialogue and Engagement 23, no. 2 (December 2025): 30–40.
2025 “Engaging Religious Diversity: Radical Hospitality in Catholic Universities for the Common Public Good,” in Beneath the Roar and Tumult: Promoting Radical Hospitality and Belonging in College Classrooms, eds. Rachel Wheeler and Karen E. Eifler (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2025), 171–84.
2023 “Deflecting Myself: A Failure of Leadership,” in With the Best of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps and Mistakes, eds. Lucinda Mosher, Elinor J. Pierce, and Or N. Rose (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2023), 18–23.
2022 “Mover of Energies,” Sikh Research Journal 7, no. 2 (2022): 25–26.
2022 “An Emerging Phronetic Framework in Interfaith and Interreligious Studies Courses in the United States: A Response to Jones and Meyer,” Journal of Interreligious Studies 36 (2022): 64–74
2022 “Sparring with Spider Silk: Models for the Relationship between Interreligious Studies and the Interfaith Movement,” in Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies, edited by Lucinda Mosher (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2022), 32–40.
2021 “Interreligious Studies and Personal Changemaking Pedagogy for Leadership and the Common Good: The My Story Assignment” Teaching Theology & Religion 24 (2021), 42–48; DOI: 10.1111/teth.12572.
2020 “Defining the Academic Field of Interreligious Studies,” Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology 4, no. 2 (2020): 131–54, https://doi.org/10.1558/isit38613.
2020 “Vitality of Lived Religion Approaches,” in Interreligious Studies: Dispatches from an Emerging Field, edited by Hans Gustafson (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020), 91–97.
2020 co-authored with Elinor Pierce, “Interreligious Encounter and Civic Leadership in Spaces of Commerce and Transportation,” a learning module for Under-told Stories, a journalism project focused on consequences of poverty and the work of change agents addressing them with Fred de Sam Lazaro and PBS Newshour; link.
2019 “Pansacramentalism, Interreligious Theology, and Lived Religion” in Religions 10 (7): 408, 54–68; Special Issue on Sacramental Theology: Theory and Practice from Multiple Perspectives, edited by Bruce Morrill (doi: 10.3390/rel10070408).
2019 “The Silent Witness of Intuition: Pansacramentality, Interreligious Encounter, and a Fractal Interpretation of Religious Diversity,” in New Paths for Interreligious Theology: Perry Schmidt-Leukel’s Fractal Interpretation of Religious Diversity, edited by Alan Race and Paul Knitter (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2019), 66–82.
2018 “Suppressing the Mosquitoes’ Coughs: An Introduction to Holy Envy,” in Learning from Other Religious Traditions: Leaving Room for Holy Envy, edited by Hans Gustafson (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), 1–12.
2018 “Interreligious Community Engagement and Service-Learning in Higher Education: Pedagogical Considerations,” in Intersections: Faith, Church, and the Academy, eds., Mark E. Hanshaw and Timothy S. Moore (Nashville, TN: United Methodist Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2018).
2017 “A Primer on Teaching Interreligious Encounter and Undergraduate Course Design,” in Teaching Interreligious Encounters, edited by Marc A. Pugliese and Alexander Y. Hwang, American Academy of Religion’s series on Teaching Religious Studies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).
2016 “Is Transreligious Theology Unavoidable in Interreligious Theology and Dialogue?” Open Theology (2016); 2: 248–260
2016 “Descandalizing Multiple Religious Identity with Help from Nicholas Black Elk and His Spirituality: An Exercise in Interreligious Learning,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 51, issue 1 (Winter 2016), 80–113.
2014 “Vexation and Promise in the New Testament: Experience of God for non-Christians,” in Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: A North American Response to A Common Word between Us and You, Nathan R. Kollar and Muhammad Shafiq, eds. (Rochester, NY: Nazareth College, Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, 2014).
2013 “Sacramental Spirituality in The Brothers Karamazov and Wendell Berry’s Port William Characters.” Literature and Theology 27, no. 3 (Sept., 2013): 345–63. doi:10.1093/litthe/frs034
2013 “Place, Spiritual Anthropology, and Sacramentality in Merton’s Later Years,” in The Merton Annual: Studies in Culture, Spirituality, and Social Concerns, Volume 25, David Belcastro and Joseph Raab, eds. (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2013), 74–90.
2013 “Sacramental Mediation between Theology and Spirituality” (long version) in Spirituality in the 21st Century: Explorations, John L. Hochmeier and William S. Schmidt, eds. (Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2013, First Edition; ISBN: 978-1-84888-168-6), 63–82.
2012 “Sacramental Mediation between Theology and Spirituality” (short version) in Spirituality: Theory, Praxis and Pedagogy, Martin Fowler, John D. Martin III, and John L. Hochmeier, eds. (Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2012), 341–48.
2011 “Collapsing the Sacred and the Profane: Pan-Sacramental Possibilities in Aquinas and the Implications for Spirituality.” The Heythrop Journal (Wiley-Blackwell), 2011; doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2265.2011.00684.x
2008 “Substance Beyond Illusion: The Spirituality of Bede Griffiths,” The Way, 47/3 (July 2008), 31–48.
2021 “Teaching Lived Interreligious Encounter in a Virtual COVID-19 World,” Interfaith America, Interfaith Youth Core, published 27 JAN 2021, link.
2020 co-authored with Amy L. Allocco, Brian Pennington, Matt Maruggi and Marty Stortz, “A Tale of Two Pandemics: Interreligious Engagement in the ‘Fierce Urgency of Now,’” Interfaith America, Interfaith Youth Core, published 14 AUG 2020.
2018 “Growing Beyond the Families of Abraham – Part 3: Sharing the Burden,” TheInterfaithObserver.org, July 15, 2018; also published Aug. 19, 2018 on StateofFormation.com.
2018 “Growing Beyond the Families of Abraham – Part 2: Welcoming Marginalized Traditions,” TheInterfaithObserver.org, June 15, 2018; also published Aug. 3, 2018 on StateofFormation.com.
2018 “‘They’re Not Really Christians’: Acknowledging Oppression and Violence in our Traditions for the Sake of Interreligious Understanding,” StateofFormation.com, May 27, 2018.
2018 “Growing Beyond the Families of Abraham – Part 1: Enlarging the Interfaith Tent,” TheInterfaithObserver.org, May 15, 2018; also published July 27, 2018 on StateofFormation.com.
2018 “Gateways to Engagement with Religious Diversity,” StateofFormation.com, May 7, 2018
2018 “What Does it Mean to be (Inter)Religiously Literate?,” StateofFormation.com, Apr. 27, 2018
2018 “‘Interfaith’ is So 1970s! Navigating the Linguistic Quagmire of the ‘Interfaith’ World,” StateofFormation.com, Apr. 12, 2018.
2017 “Interreligious Wherewithal: Cultivating a Leadership Virtue,” StateofFormation.com (Nov. 16. 2017); TheInterfaithObserver.org (Jan. 15, 2018)
2016 “The State of Interreligious Encounter in North America: Contemporary Challenges and Concerns for Interreligious Dialogue,” Wake Up, Lazarus!, December, 2016.
2015 “Nostra Aetate: In the Classroom and Looking Forward,” Vatican II and the Future of the Church, an internet Vatican II Conference, curated and edited by Pierre Hegy (October, 2015)
2015 “Why Merton Matters to this Non-Catholic,” The Merton Seasonal, vol. 40 (spring 2015), no. 1, pp. 23–24
2015 “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies in Relation to Religious Studies and Theological Studies” on StateofFormation.com, Jan. 6.
2014 “Interreligious Encounter in the Classroom” in Interfaith News Vol. 3 (2014) 2, 1–2
2013 “The Awe-Filledness of Awfulness: Experiencing God in Suffering,” Christian Spirituality Studies, Sept. 11, 2013.
2013 “‘Chop Wood. Carry Water.’ Holy Envy, Zen, and a Spirituality of Work” on StateofFormation.com, on August 5, 2013.
2013 “Pope Francis’ Ignatian Tradition and Interfaith Relations” on StateofFormation.com, on April 2, 2013
2013 “Knowing the Religious Other” on StateofFormation.com, on Feb. 21, 2013.
2012 “Are We Living in Hell? The Sandy Hook School Massacre and the Presence of God” on StateofFormation.com on Dec. 15, 2012.
2012 “Reflections on Nicholas Black Elk: Constructive Convergence, Appropriation, Inculturation, Syncretism, and Multiple Religious Belonging” on StateofFormation.com on Nov. 2, 2012.
2012 “Encountering the Painful Past in the Present: A ‘Cloudy Spirituality’ of Remembering the US-Dakota War of 1862” on StateofFormation.com on Oct. 1, 2012.
2006 The Metaphysics of Karl Rahner’s “Symbolic Reality” & Paul Tillich’s Theology of the Demonic through the Postmodern Lens of Kierkegaardian Epistemology: with emphasis on Kierkegaard’s thesis that “Subjectivity is Truth”: Thesis (M.A.) – University of St. Thomas (Saint Paul, Minn.), 2006 (OCLC# 70851002).
---- “‘A Lotta Ins, Lotta Outs, Lotta What-Have-Yous’: A Critical Review of Theology without Walls Founding Essays,” in Journal of Interreligious Studies - forthcoming.
2026 Review of Beyond Boundaries: Essays on Theology, Dialogue, and Religion in Honor of Perry Schmidt-Leukel, edited by Melanie Barbato et al., in Journal of Ecumenical Studies 61, no. 1 (Winter 2026): 141–144. doi:10.1353/ecu.2026.a988786.
2024 “Religious Diversity, Secularization, and Indifference: A Review Essay of Isabella Kasselstrand, Phil Zuckerman, and Ryan T. Cragun, Beyond Doubt: The Secularization of Society (NYU Press, 2023),” in Journal of Interreligious Studies 43 (2024): 1–6.
2023 Review of State of Religion and Young People 2023: Exploring the Sacred (Springtide Research Institute)
2022 Review of Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative, edited by Jerry L. Martin (Routledge, 2019) in Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology 6, no. 1 (2022); doi.org/10.1558/isit.20249.
2019 Review of Pope Francis and Interreligious Dialogue: Religious Thinkers Engage with recent Papal Initiatives, edited by Harold Kasimow and Alan Race (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) in ReadingReligion.com
2019 Review of Raimon Panikkar, Cultures and Religions in Dialogue: Part One: Pluralism and Interculturality Opera Omnia, Vol. VI.1. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2018) in Theological Studies 80, no. 1 (2019): 233–34.
2018 Review of J.R. Hustwit, Interreligious Hermeneutics and the Pursuit of Truth (Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2014) in Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology, vol. 2 (2018), no.1, 122–124.
2018 “Guidance for Contemporary Pilgrims” a review of Fred Dallmayr, Spiritual Guides: Pathfinders in the Desert (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2017) in The Merton Seasonal vol. 38 (no. 1), spring 2018, 32–34.
2017 Review of Miroslav Volf, Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015) in Anselm’s House’s (a center at the University of Minnesota) online newsletter, March 7, 2017.
2016 Review of Friendship Across Religions: Theological Perspectives on Interreligious Friendship, edited by Alon Goshen-Gottstein (Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2015) in Theological Studies 77 (2016) no. 3, p. 780.
2016 Review of Religious Identity and Renewal in the Twenty-First Century: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Explorations, edited by Simone Sinn and Michael Reid Trice (Leipzig, DEU: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2015) in Lutheran Quarterly, vol. 30 (no. 4), winter 2016, 493–494 (doi: 10.1353/lut.2016.0118)
2016 Review of Interreligious Dialogue: An Anthology of Voices Bridging Cultural and Religious Divides, edited by Christoffer H. Grundmann (Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2015) on CatholicBooksReview.org on July 12, 2016 and on StateofFormation.com on August. 31, 2016.
2016 Review of Oddbjorn Leirvik, Interreligious Studies: A Relational Approach to Religious Activism and the Study of Religion (London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014) in StateofFormation.com, June 20, 2016.
2016 Review of Leonard Swidler, Dialogue for Interreligious Understanding: Strategies for the Transformation of Culture-Shaping Institutions (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) on CatholicBooksReview.org on May 5, 2016 and on StateofFormation.com on May 16, 2016.
2016 Review of Building the Interfaith Youth Movement: Beyond Dialogue to Action, edited by Eboo Patel and Patricia Brodeur, (Rowman and Littlefield, 2013) in Collegium, Spring 2016, 6–7.
2015 Review of Aaron Thomas Raverty, Refuge in Crestone: A Sanctuary for Interreligious Dialogue (Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2014) in Dilatato Corde (Monastic Interreligious Dialogue), October, 2015 (www.dimmid.org).
2015 Review of Understanding Interreligious Relations, edited by David Cheetham, Douglas Pratt, and David Thomas (Oxford UP, 2014) in the CatholicBooksReview (Sept. 10, 2015) and StateofFormation.com (Sept. 17, 2015).
2015 Review of Murphy Pizza, Paganistan: A Contemporary Pagan Community in Minnesota’s Twin Cities (Farnham Surrey, England; Burlington: Ashgate, 2014), CatholicBooksReview.org on March 5, 2015.
2015 Review of Andrew Robinson, Traces of the Trinity: Signs, Sacraments and Sharing God’s Life (Cambridge, UK: James Clarke, 2014) in Theological Studies, 2015, vol. 76(3), pp. 613–614.
2014 Review of The Question of Theological Truth: Philosophical and Interreligious Perspectives, edited by Frederiek Depoortere and Magdalen Lambkin, (Rodopi, 2012) in The Journal for Ecumenical Studies, Spring 2014, Vol. 49 Issue 2, p. 357-358.
2014 Review of Panentheism Across the World’s Traditions, edited by Loriliai Biernacki and Philip Clayton (Oxford UP, 2013) in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion 82.2 (June 2014), p. 551-555. (doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfu022)
2013 Review of Jon Paul Sydnor, Ramanuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2011), CatholicBooksReview.org on Dec. 14, 2013.
2013 Review of David Cheetham, Ways of Meeting and the Theology of Religions (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013) in Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 23 (2013) 2: 251–253.
2013 Review of Eboo Patel, Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2012) in Collegium, fall 2013, pp. 10–11.
2013 Review of Dagmar Heller, Baptized Into Christ: A Guide to the Ecumenical Discussion on Baptism (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2012) and Anthony R. Cross, Recovering the Evangelical Sacrament: Baptisma Semper Reformandum (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2012) in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 48, iss. 3 (2013): 436–437.
2013 Review of James Charlton, Non-Dualism in Eckhart, Julian of Norwich and Traherne: A Theopoetic Reflection, Spiritus 13, no. 2 (Fall 2013): 288–90.
2013 Review of By Faith and Reason, The Essential Keith Ward, Wm. Curtis Holtzen and Roberto Sirvent (eds.), (London, England: Darton, Longmand, and Todd Ltd., 2013), CatholicBooksReview.org on April 18, 2013 and a review of part on Interfaith Dialogue on StateofFormation.com on April 18, 2013.
2013 Review of Richard W. Miller (ed), Suffering and the Christian Life (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2013), CatholicBooksReview.org on March 18, 2013.
2013 Review of Miroslav Volf (ed), Do We Worship the Same God? Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Dialogue (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2012), CatholicBooksReview.org on February 8, 2013 and on StateofFormation.com in two parts on February 7, 2013.
2013 Review of Dermot A. Lane, Stepping Stones to Other Religions: A Christian Theology of Interreligious Dialogue (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2012), CatholicBooksReview.org on January 9, 2013 and on StateofFormation.com on January 11, 2013.
2012 Review of Kristin Johnston Largen, Baby Krishna, Infant Christ: A Comparative Theology of Salvation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011), CatholicBooksReview.org, on April 9, 2012.
2012 “A Twenty-First-Century Prophet.” Review of Fr. Anthony Ciorra, Thomas Merton: A Spiritual Guide for the Twenty-First Century in The Merton Seasonal, vol. 37.1 (Spring 2012) 34-36.
2012 Review of Bruce G. Epperly, Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed, (London, UK: T&T Clark International, 2011), CatholicBooksReview.org, on March 8, 2012.
2011 Review of Ursula King, The Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for the Spiritual Life, (New York, NY: BlueBridge, 2008), CatholicBooksReview.org, on April 3, 2011.
2010 Review of Karl Rahner, The Mystical Way in Everyday Life, Annemarie Kidder, trans. and ed., (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010), CatholicBooksReview.org, on August 20, 2010.
2026 “Homegrown: Substantial Nonreligious Lifeways and Belonging in the Comparative Theology Classroom,” Religious Diversity, Identity and Belonging, Duffy Symposium in Comparative Theology, Boston College (Dover, MA, October 10, 2026).
2026 “Belonging Through Difference: The Why and How of Engaging Religious Diversity in Catholic Higher Education,” co-presented with William McDonough, The Teaching Hub, St. Catherine University, February 2026.
2025 “Mapping Interreligious Studies: Locating the Field in the Academic Ecosystem,” Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit, Presenter, American Academy of Religion Annual Gathering (Boston, MA, Nov 21, 2025).
2025 “Interactive Workshop,” Presider, Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit, Presenter, American Academy of Religion Annual Gathering (Boston, MA, Nov 21, 2025).
2025 “Doing Dialogue Across Religious Differences Now,” A Panel Discussion and Small Group Dialogues, Panelist/Presenter, Association for Interreligious / Interfaith Studies (Boston, MA, Nov 19, 2025).
2025 “A Shared Sacred Story in a Pluralistic World: A Scholarly-Practitioner Panel,” moderator of panel (featuring Bill Vendley, Anantanand Rambachan, Judith Simer-Brown, Anna Sun and Mohamed Elsanousi), American Academy of Religion Annual Gathering (Boston, MA, Nov 20-22, 2025).
2025 “A Critical Review of Theology without Walls’ Founding Essays,” in book panel (featuring Catherine Cornille, Jeffrey J. Kripal, Rory McEntee, Jeffrey Long, Trina Jones, and Mark Heim), American Academy of Religion Annual Gathering (Boston, MA, Nov 20-22, 2025).
2025 “Bridging Academy with Community,” Organizer and Moderator, American Academy of Religion Applied Religious Studies Committee Webinar (October 2025)
2025 “How to Use Under-Told Stories in Your Classroom,” Panelist, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (September 2025).
2025 “Between ‘Am I Wrong?’ and ‘Calmer Than You Are’: Interreligious Leadership in a Diverse and Disagreement Society,” presentation at Interfaith and Faith-Based Universities Conference, hosted by Religious Education and the Moral Education Professorship, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, September 17–18, 2025.
2025 “Interreligious Phronesis: Bridging Practical Wisdom and Interfaith Engagement,” in panel Earthing Interfaith Dialogue: The Personal Level (featuring Alan Race, Perry Schmidt-Leukel, Hans Gustafson, Mathias Schneider, Sonya Wratten, Achim Riggert, and Fabian Volker), European Academy of Religion (Vienna, Austria, July 8-12, 2025).
2025 “Interreligious Studies Unit,” moderator/facilitator, Upper Midwest American Academy of Religion, Augsburg University (Minneapolis, MN, April 25).
2024 “Interreligious Studies within the Taxonomy of the Study of Religion,” New Directions Roundtable, American Academy of Religion Annual Gathering (San Diego, CA, Nov 24, 2024).
2024 “Everyday Encounters: Humanizing Dialogue in Theory and Practice,” Theology Beyond the Classroom, Department of Theology, University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN, Nov 19, 2024).
2024 Guest Speaker on interreligious studies to graduate course “THEO 585: Themes in Catholicism and Interreligious Studies,” St. Mark’s College, University of British Columbia, Canada (July 19, 2024)
2024 “Religious Literacy for Government DEI Professionals,” Equity Connect Minnesota, Minnetonka, MN (April 26, 2024)
2024 “Applied Interreligious Studies as Practical Wisdom,” New Frontiers Lecture, Theology Department, University of St. Thomas (Spring 2024)
2024 Interdisciplinary Colloquium guest speaker and presenter on new book Everyday Wisdom, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas (26 FEB 2024).
2024 “Interreligious Studies as Everyday Wisdom for the Contemporary World,” invited lecture, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo, Norway (January 2024)
2023 “Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World,” New Publications Roundtable, American Academy of Religion (San Antonio, TX, Nov 20, 2023).
2023 “Religious Identity and Interfaith Engagement Among Young People,” invited co-presenter with Dr. Danielle Clausnitzer at the annual conference, “A Place of Welcome? Hospitality in Minnesota,” for the Minnesota Multifaith Network (St. Paul, MN, Nov 9, 2023)
2023 “Religion and DEI in Higher Education in Minnesota,” invited facilitator at the annual conference, “A Place of Welcome? Hospitality in Minnesota,” for the Minnesota Multifaith Network (St. Paul, MN, Nov 9, 2023)
2023 invited panelist for “Religion and Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities,” at event “Religion, Space, and Communities: Doing interdisciplinary work in religion, architecture, public history, and higher education,” An event honoring Jeanne Kilde, Director of the Religious Studies Program, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Oct 20, 2023)
2023 invited guest interviewed about Everyday Wisdom (Fortress, 2023) by Dr. John Martens on podcast What Matters Most (October 2023)
2023 Selected thought leader and consultant to “Religion and the Health Professions” convening with Interfaith America (Chicago, Aug 3-4, 2023)
2023 “Exploring Interfaith/Interreligious Pedagogies for the Undergraduate Classroom,” symposium presenter and panelist, hosted and sponsored by Journal of Interreligious Studies, Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College, Boston University School of Theology, and Hartford International University for Religion & Peace, webinar (19 JAN 2023).
2022 “Interreligious Studies and Early Encounters in Colonial Jamaica” co-presentation with Dominique Stewart, for Intercultural Theology and Ecumenical Studies Colloquium, Faculty of Theology, University of Bonn, Germany, June 29, 2022.
2022 “Engaging Religious Diversity in 21st Century Minnesota,” three-part series, invited lecturer for the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning at the University of St. Thomas (March 2022).
2021 “Pluralisation of Theologies at European Universities: Responses to the Book” roundtable at the “Issues in Interreligious Studies Interactive Workshop” at the “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” unit at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Antonio, TX (Nov. 20-22, 2021).
2021 “Dissection of the Pedagogical Anatomy of Interreligious Studies Courses in the United States” invited keynote speaker for Theology and Philosophy Research Seminar Series, Centre for Interreligious Dialogue, Dublin City University (21 Oct 2021).
2021 “Teaching Interreligious Encounter Amid the Pandemic and the ‘Summer of Racial Reckoning’ in Minneapolis and St. Paul,” brief reflection session at the virtual conference “The Pandemic as Challenge for Intercultural and Interreligious Relations,” hosted by the European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies, (12 MAR 2021).
2020 “Interreligious Friendship for Changemaking and Leadership” roundtable at the “Religious Reflections on Friendship: Round-Table Paper Discussions” at the “Religious Reflections on Friendship Seminar” at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, MA (Nov. 21-24, 2020).
2020 “Interreligious Studies: Dispatches from an Emerging Field” roundtable at the “Issues in Interreligious Studies Interactive Workshop” at the “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” unit at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, MA (Nov. 21-24, 2020).
2020 “Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative Meets Its Readers” panel responding to recently published Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative (Routledge, 2019) at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, MA (Nov. 21-24, 2020) – panelist.
2020 “Opening our Hearts: A Community Conversation on Rethinking Justice and Equity in a Time of Crisis,” hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas, June 9, 2020 – panelist.
2020 “Tips for Teaching Interfaith Courses Online - a Conversation With Faculty,” panelist with Barbara McGraw, Dawn Moore, and Younus Mirza for webinar hosted by Interfaith Youth Core moderated by Dr. Carolyn Roncolato, June 3, hosted by Interfaith Youth Core – panelist.
2020 “Interfaith Engagement and Changemaking in Higher Education” panelist/presenter at the annual Ashoka U Exchange (17 APR 2020); moved online due to Covid-19 global pandemic.
2020 “What Does ‘Multifaith’ Mean? Scholarship, Teaching & Mentoring in Interreligious Contexts,” symposium speaker with Dr. Corrine Dempsey and Dr. Shana Sippy moderated by Dr. Amy Allocco, Elon University, North Carolina, March 11, 2020 – presenter and panelist.
2020 “What is Religion? And How do we study it?” at Theology Night Live hosted by the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (Mar. 3, 2020).
2019 “Lived (Inter)religious Encounter: Introduction to Interreligious Studies” presentation for the pedagogy workshop at the “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” unit at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, CA (Nov. 23-26, 2019). – presenter.
2019 “The Value of Lived Religion Methods for Interreligious Pedagogy and Leadership” at the biennial conference of the European Society of Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies, The Hope and Despair of Religions: Exploring the Nexus of Theory and Praxis, in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (Apr. 24-27, 2019).
2019 “Putting a Human Face on Religion: The Value of Engaging Lived Religion for Interreligious Studies” at Theology Night Live hosted by the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (Apr. 16, 2019).
2019 “The Nones and the Unaffiliated,” presentation on the panel “The Next Gen: Engaging High School and College Students in Multi-faith Work,” and panel discussion facilitator at the Second Annual Minnesota Multi-faith Network Breakfast and World Interfaith Harmony Week Observance, Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Feb. 6, 2019 (Minnetonka, MN) – presenter and panelist.
2019 “A Convening on the Case Method,” hosted by Pluralism Project at Harvard University, invited participant and presenter, Jan. 12-13, 2019 (Boston, MA).
2018 “Interreligious/Interfaith Studies: Defining a New Field,” roundtable discussion in the “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” group at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Denver, CO (Nov. 17-20, 2018). – invited panelist
2018 “Leaving Room for Holy Envy: Applications of Stendahl’s Rule for Interreligious Understanding,” roundtable discussion in the “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” group at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Denver, CO (Nov. 17-20, 2018). – roundtable creator and presider
2018 “Interfaith Studies Pedagogical Consultation,” hosted by Wabash Center and Interfaith Youth Core, invited participant and respondent, Oct. 4-7, 2018 (Chicago, IL).
2018 “‘That’s Against My Religion’: Faith in the Workplace,” Continuing Legal Education (CLE) course accredited by the Minnesota State Board of Continuing Legal Education,” co-taught with John Del Vecchio, J.D., and the Islamic Resource Group, Sept. 26 (St. Paul, MN).
2018 “Cultivating Interreligious Engagement,” student peer minister training for the Office for Spirituality, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN – August, 2018; August 2019, August 2020, August 2021, August 2022, August 2023
2018 “Integrating Interreligious Community Engagement and Service Learning into the Mission of a Catholic University,” presenter and panelist at faculty workshop, University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN), June 5, 2018.
2018 “Religious Diversity and Interfaith Courses and Programs: A Consultation” at Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN), April 20, 2018 – invited consultant to discuss experience in interfaith curricular and co-curricular programming in higher education
2018 “Interreligious Community Engagement and Service Learning in Higher Education: Pedagogical Considerations,” presentation at Intersections: Faith, Church, and the Academy, Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), March 23-25, 2018.
2018 “Cultivating (Inter)Religious Literacy,” presentation given and table facilitator at Faith Communities Connecting to Change the World: A Minnesota Observance of World Interfaith Harmony Week, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center, Minneapolis, MN.
2017 “Experiencing Religious Diversity through Interreligious Encounter” at Theology Night Live hosted by the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (Dec. 6, 2017).
2017 “Instilling Faith and Interfaith Understanding,” presenter and panelist speaking to 12 international journalists participating in the East-West Center’s 2017 Senior Journalists Seminar (Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 15, 2017).
2017 “Introduction to Interfaith Encounter,” student peer minister training for the Office for Spirituality, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN – August, 2017
2017 “Fostering Interfaith Encounter at Catholic Colleges and Universities,” a workshop co-facilitated with Dr. Diane Millis for faculty at Collegium’s annual colloquy, University of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN (June 23, 2017)
2017 Interreligious Pedagogy Workshop at the Upper Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, co-facilitator with Dominic Longo, Matt Maruggi, and Martha Stortz, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN (March 31)
2017 “The Religious Landscape of Minnesota and Navigating Religious Diversity in the Workplace,” professional development workshop/training for managers and supervisors of the 4800+ public employee Metropolitan Council of the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Co-presenter with the Minnesota Council of Churches and the Islamic Resource Group (Feb. 23 and Mar. 23)
2017 “Experiential Learning in Interfaith Courses,” co-hosted webinar with Kristi Del Vecchio and the Interfaith Youth Core. Chicago, IL (Feb. 15)
2017 “Case Studies and Problem Based Learning in Interreligious Studies for Undergraduates” at Interfaith and Pre-Professional Course Sequence Mid-Grant Workshop hosted by the Interfaith Youth Core. Chicago, IL (Jan. 23-24)
2016 “A View from the Trenches: Interreligious Service Learning and Community Engagement for Undergraduates” at Interfaith Studies: Curricular Programs and Core Competencies hosted by California Lutheran University in Los Angeles, CA and sponsored by the Teagle Foundation and the Interfaith Youth Core (March 13-15, 2016).
2015 “Interreligious Panentheistic Approaches to a Changing Planet in Comparative Theology and Interfaith Studies” in the “Comparative Theology” session at the annual convention of the College Theology Society hosted by the University of Portland in Portland, OR (May 28-31).
2013 “Revisiting the Multiple Religious Belonging of Nicholas Black Elk in the Context of the Catholic Sacramental Imagination” in the “World Christianity” group at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Baltimore, MD (Nov. 23-26).
2013 “The Awe-Filledness of Awfulness: Experiencing God in Suffering” in the plenary session at Wondrous Fear and Holy Awe: A Meeting of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality hosted by The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN (July 2).
2013 “Vexation and Promise in the New Testament: Interpreting Panentheistic Passages and their Implications for Interfaith Discourse” at Sacred Texts and Human Contexts hosted by Nazareth College in Rochester, NY (June 23-25)
2012 “Multiple Religious Belonging and Interfaith Panentheistic Spirituality in the Liberal Theology of Nicholas Black Elk” in the “Liberal Theologies” unit at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Chicago, IL (Nov. 17-20).
2012 “What a Christians might learn about Sacramentality from the Spirituality of Nicholas Black Elk?” at the “Comparative Theology” session of annual convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America in St. Louis, MO (June 7-10). Francis X. Clooney served as the respondent for the session.
2011 “Place and Selfhood in the Later Years” at the Twelfth General Meeting and Conference of the International Thomas Merton Society hosted by Loyola University, Chicago, IL (June 9-12).
2011 “Sacramental Mediation between Theology & the Contemporary Study of Spirituality” at the First Global Conference: Spirituality in the 21st Century in Prague, Czech Republic (March 20-22).
2009 “The Theological and the Political in an Era of Globalization: Reflections on Ethics, Theology, and Kant” at the Upper Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) hosted by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN (March 27-28).
2007 “Luther and Loyola in Context: Spirituality, Saintliness and Divine Communication” at the Upper Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) hosted by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN (April 13-14).
2026-2027 $50,000 “Disagreement and Dignity: Faculty Seminar on Dialogue, Pluralism, and Moral Imagination” (Norway), College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office, Bridging Difference and Developing Moral Imagination Initiative (awarded 2026; Co-PI with Rabbi Dr. Ryan Dulkin)
2026 $15,120 Faculty and Staff Innovation Fellows Grant, University of St. Thomas, 2025–2026. “Portraits and Pixels: AI, Memory, and the Holocaust.” Co-PI with Amy Nygaard.
2026-27 $10,500 Life Worth Living Faculty Course Development Fellowship, Yale Center for Faith & Culture (awarded 2026; declined)
2025-26 $10,000 Bridging the Gap grant, Interfaith America, co-PI
2025-26 $8,000 Campus Pluralism Grants for ACCU Institutions, Interfaith America
2025-26 $10,000 Grant to support Interfaith Fellows: Engaging Religious Diversity Certification Program from the Fitterman Fund, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas
2024-25 $10,000 Inspiring Campus Change Grant from Interfaith America to develop institutional wide (co)curricular multifaith strategic plan to address religious diversity – PI
2022 $10,000 Professional Development Grant from Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) – grant proposal and implementation team
2021 - 2025 $100,000 Interfaith Leadership and Religious Literacy grant from Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to launch undergraduate Interfaith Fellows program centering on the scholar-practitioner-leader model. – principle investigator
2021-2022 $36,000 2-year grant to supplement interfaith programming, especially the new Interfaith Fellows program (from the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota and the Minneapolis Foundation)
2019-2021 $36,000 2-year grant to pilot the undergraduate Interreligious Research Fellows program (from the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota)
2019-2020 $7,500 Cohort Grant for Inter-Religious Pedagogies from Wabash Center – Cohort Director/Principle Investigator
2017 $6,000 “Interfaith Leadership Lab Grant” from the Interfaith Youth Core to co-create a student interfaith leadership conference with the University of St. Thomas, Augsburg University, and Bethel University
2016 $10,000 “Interfaith and Pre-Professional Curricular Grant” from the Interfaith Youth Core and the Teagle Foundation to establish interreligious studies minor – co-principal investigator
2026 – 2031 Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit, American Academy of Religion (AAR) – Co-Chair
2025 - present Applied Religious Studies Committee at the American Academy of Religion
2024 – present Minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas – Inaugural Director
2024 – present Committee for the Arts at St. Thomas (CAST), University of St. Thomas – member
2024 – present The Scene Setters: Theater & Storytelling Initiative, College of Arts and Sciences, University of St. Thomas – Inaugural Advisory Board
2022 – 2026 Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit, American Academy of Religion (AAR) – Steering Committee
2022 – present Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) leadership team at University of St. Thomas
2022 – present Indonesian Journal of Religion, Spirituality, and Humanity (IJORESH) – Inaugural Advisory International Editorial Board
2021 – present Association of Interfaith and Interreligious Studies (AIIS) – President, 2023-present; Leadership team, 2021-23
2021 – present Journal of Ecumenical Studies (University of Pennsylvania Press) – Associate Editors Board
2021 – present Interfaith Fellows program at University of St. Thomas – Founder & Director
2020 – present MnMN – Minnesota Multifaith Network Advisory Council
2020 - present Advisory Committee for the Hoedeman Gallery of Sacred Art, University of St. Thomas
2017 - present member of inaugural Interfaith Council for the University of St. Thomas
2015 – present “Interreligious and Interfaith Studies” group at the meeting of the Upper Midwest Region of the American Academy of Religion, founder and convener
2012 – 2017 Commission on Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
2012 – 2015 Catholicbooksreview.org, Editorial Board, “Comparative Theology”