Saturday, January 8

Registration     Coat Check

7:45 AM – 8:45 AM

CONVERSATION WITH AN AUTHOR   Congressional & Senate Room

Light Breakfast served

Ticketed event.  Pre-registration required.  Please check in at door.

Moral Debates in Contemporary Catholic Thought: Paradigms, Principles, and Prudence | Rowman & Littlefield

James Bretzke, John Carrol University

Facilitator: TBA

 

Pope Francis, Marriage, and Same-Sex Civil Unions: Foundations for the Organic Development of Catholic Sexual Doctrine | Rowman & Littlefield

Todd Salzman, Creighton University

Facilitator: TBA

 

Up Against A Crooked Gospel: Black Women's Bodies and the Politics of Redemption | Orbis Books

Melanie Jones Quarles, Union Presbyterian Seminary

Facilitator: Elise Edwards, Baylor University

 

The Moral Teachings of Jesus: Radical Instruction in the Will of God | Wipf & Stock

David Gushee, Mercer University

Facilitator: Frederick Glennon, Le Moyne College

 

Slaves of God: Augustine and Other Romans on Religion and Politics | Princeton University Press

Toni Alimi, Princeton University

Facilitator: Matthew Anderson, Baylor University

 

Womanist Bioethics: Social Justice, Spirituality and Black Women's Health | New York University Press

Wylin Wilson, Duke Divinity School

Facilitator: Stephanie Edwards. Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium

                 

Human Rights in a Divided World: Catholicism as a Living Tradition | Georgetown University Press

David Hollenbach, Georgetown University

Facilitator: Scott Paeth, DePaul University

 

LGBTQ Educators in Catholic Schools: Embracing Synodality, Inclusivity, and Justice | Rowman & Littlefield (now Bloomsbury)

Ish Ruiz, Pacific School of Religion

Facilitator: Lisa Asedillo, Pacific School of Religion

 

Eight Theories of Justice: Perspectives from Philosophical and Theological Ethics | Fortress Press

Matthew Gaudet, Santa Clara University

Karen Lebacqz, Graduate Theological Union

Facilitator: Brian Stiltner, Sacred Heart University

 

Searching for the Future in the Past: Reclaiming Feminist Theological Visions | T&T Clark Bloomsbury

K. Christine Pae, Denison University

Facilitator: Grace Kao, Claremont School of Theology

 

Art and Moral Change: A Reexamination | Georgetown University Press

K. C. Choi, Princeton Theological Seminary

Facilitator: Patrick Haley, Princeton Theological Seminary

 

Co-Editor Search Committee    Georgia Room

9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Exhibit & Poster Hall Open     Congressional & Senate Room

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

SCE Plenary      Presidential Ballroom

Exercising Power in the Face of Chaos

Panelists:     Shaun Casey, Th.D., former Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs, US Department of State

                      Julian Cook, Ph.D., Senior Pastor, Lincoln Heights Missionary Baptist Church, Woodlawn, OH

                      Marcia Mount Shoop, Ph.D., Pastor/Head of Staff, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC

                      Charlene Sinclair, Ph.D., community organizer and Founding Director of the Center for Race, Religion, and Economic Democracy

Over the past twelve months, the US has experienced unprecedented threats to higher education, democracy, academic freedom, and traditional Christian commitments to racial justice and caring for the least of these in our communities. The rising power of white Christian nationalism and the daily unfolding of new forms of incivility and disruption have left many people, including many of us, alarmed and perplexed about how to respond. This panel centers the voices of our SCE colleagues who are not in traditional academic jobs. As we consider the work of Christian ethics in the world, we do well to remember the multiple places and spaces where the voices and work of professional Christian ethicists are making significant contributions. Panelists were invited to reflect on how they have sought to “exercise power in the face of chaos” in their institutional / professional positions and to offer suggestions for how SCE members might leverage our power individually and collectively.       

Convener: Rebecca Todd Peters, SCE President, Elon University                                                                                                                                                  

Break in Exhibit & Poster Hall    Congressional & Senate Room
Greet New Members

SCE Business Meeting     Presidential Ballroom

JRE Editorial Board Lunch    Continental Room    

Professional Conduct Committee (Private)   Executive Lounge

Student Caucus Lunch      Federal B Room

Light lunch and meeting for all student attendees

INTEREST GROUP SESSION #2

Migration in Interdisciplinary Perspective     Federal A Room

Migration Interest Group

Panelists: Daniel Montañez, Boston University

                Janna Hunter-Bowman, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary 

 

Migration Ethics draws from a variety of interdisciplinary vantage points. This session will highlight various intersections between religion and other disciplines to help shed light on how migration ethics and advocacy can proceed in the future.

Conveners:  Noemi Vega Quinones, Southern Methodist University

                    Myles Werntz, Abilene Christian University

                    Carlos Castañeda, Movimiento Cosecha

Art, Prayer, and Power     South America A Room

Anglican Ethics Interest Group

Contemplative Interest Group

In this session, co-sponsored by the Anglican Ethics and the Contemplative Ethics Interest Groups, Kate Sonderegger of Virginia Theological Seminary will explore the connection between contemplation of art, contemplative prayer, and hopeful resistance to unjust uses of power. K.C. Choi will respond, drawing on his recent book, Art and Moral Change.

Conveners: Dallas Gingles, Southern Methodist University

                    Luke Zerra, Stevenson School for Ministry

                    David Clairmont, University of Notre Dame

                    Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Baylor University

 

What Must We Do About Pain? A Scientific, Theological, and Ethical Dialogue      South America B Room

Neuroethics and Theology Interest Group

Panelists:            Kimbell Kornu, Belmont University

                            Brett McCarty, Duke University Divinity School

                            Amy Wachholtz, University of Colorado Denver.

Pain is a (nearly) universal human experience, one of the chief sources of human suffering, yet also almost essential for survival and physical health. It plays the vital role of alerting us to bodily damage, yet the relationship between pain and injury or disease can be mysterious. It is much-studied scientifically, yet also irreducibly subjective. Pain and its treatment pose multiple ethical challenges. In response to this complex and mysterious aspect of human life, this session brings together scientific, theological, and ethical perspectives to explore how we should understand, evaluate, and respond well to pain – our own and others’.

Conveners: Neil Messer, Baylor University

                   Christopher Krall, Creighton University

 

Christian Ethical Engagement in the Rentier Economy: A Dialogue with Joseph Stiglitz     New York Room

Economic Policy Interest Group                                                          

Panelists:            Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty

                           Shinhyung Seong

This panel explores how Christian ethics can respond to Joseph Stiglitz’s critique of rentier capitalism—an economic system where wealth is gained through asset control rather than productive labor. Highlighting the moral consequences of rent-seeking, such as inequality and political instability, the panel examines how Christian principles of human dignity, distributive justice, and solidarity can challenge these injustices. It also considers how Christian communities can engage in economic activism, policy advocacy, and grassroots movements to resist rentier structures. Ultimately, the discussion aims to envision alternative economic systems rooted in justice and the flourishing of all people.

Convener: Ilsup Ahn, North Park University

 

Future Scholars Panel    Statler B Room

Desire can both secure violent regimes and press us towards collective futures without disposability. The Future Scholars Panel welcomes essays that touch on the role of desire in an exploration of politics. What role does eros play in the various socio-political crises of today? How does theology inform an understanding of desire, in its both ordered and disordered forms? How might the reordering of desire offer a potential avenue for creating a just and compassionate common-life? Does attending to the libidinal economy open up more creative ways for reimagining life together—perhaps through the arts, literature, or liturgical practices?

Panelist: Sebastian Budinich, Fordham University

               Madeleine LaForge, Loyola University of Chicago

                                Robert Monson, University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology

                                Sarah Neff, Duke Divinity School

Respondent: Thelathia “Nikki” Young, PhD, Haverford College

Conveners: Michelle Bostic, University of Virginia

                   Brooklynn Reardon, Duke Divinity School

 

Exhibit & Poster Hall Open    Congressional &Senate Room

Greet New Members   Light Refreshments Provided

CONCURRENT SESSION #4 

New Currents in Asian and Asian American Christian Ethics: Liberatory Praxis in Transpacific Contexts       Federal A Room

Asian and Asian-American Working Group

Presenters: Enoch Kuo, Princeton University

                   Lynnette X. Li, University of Denver-ILIFF School of Theology

Two emerging Asian and Asian American scholars will present their forthcoming work on Schleiermacher's philosophy of race and Christian Nationalism in Singapore. Enoch Kuo, Princeton Unversity, will present “Between Identity and Political Economy: Schleiermacher’s Philosophy of Race Beyond Hegel and Marx.” Lynnette X. Li, University of Denver - ILIFF School of Theology,  will present "Flipping the Tables: When Christian ‘Feminists' Awoke AWARE. The Invisibility of Heteropatriarchy Made Visible – A Case Study of Christian Nationalism in Singapore.” 

Respondent: Hak Joon Lee, Fuller Theological Seminary

Convener: Gregory Lee, Wheaton College

     

Addressing the Ethical and Existential Risks of Artificial Intelligence: A Christian Realist Response     Federal B Room

Fred Glennon, Le Moyne College

Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian realist approach, developed in response to the emergence of nuclear weapons and the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, offers a valuable ethical framework for understanding and addressing the ethical concerns raised by the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). While distinct in nature, both threats demand nuanced approaches that acknowledge our limitations, promote responsible action, and strive for a future guided by love and justice. This requires ongoing dialogue, national and international cooperation, and the development of ethical frameworks to ensure these powerful technologies serve humanity's flourishing, not its destruction.

Convener: Danielle Tumminio Hansen, Emory University 

 

The Power of Love: Catholic Contributions to a Defense of Democracy     South America B Room

Julie Rubio, Santa Clara University

In her seminal 1985 essay, “The Power of Anger in the Work of Love,” Beverly Harrison names the crucial role of anger in drawing people into political action. She insists that good ethical questions “are answered by something we must do.” Today, in the U.S. under President Donald Trump and in President Nayib Bukele's El Salvador, where I spent the fall of 2025, democracy seems to be under siege. In both places, many are angry, but unsure about what to do. In this paper, situated between U.S. and El Salvador, inspired by Oscar Romero and Pope Francis and drawing on disparate elements of the Catholic social tradition that have yet to be drawn together, I offer a Catholic defense of democracy, with support for human rights, limited government, the rule of law, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and the formation of virtuous citizens. I argue that in the face of the rise of authoritarian governments, a politics of love, as offered by Pope Francis and Oscar Romero, and concretized by drawing together key elements of of Catholic social thought, can anchor a Catholic defense of democratic government and inspire political action.

Convener: Derek Bunyan, Niagara University

 

“Move, Get Out the Way: Making Meaning of Luke 5 Through the Healing, Communal Care of Black, Queer Disabled Men”      South America A Room 

Robert Monson, University of Denver

This paper, “Move, Get Out the Way: Making Meaning of Luke 5 Through the Healing, Communal Care of Black, Queer Disabled Men” seeks to explore healing miracles contained in Luke 5 with special focus on the paralyzed man who is let down through a roof in order to obtain healing. In the critical examination of this healing scene, this writing will point to the ways in which gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability coalesce to form sites of communal care and obstacles to flourishing. By centering the experiences of Black, queer, disabled men, this paper reinterprets Luke 5 by putting into conversation biblical interpretation, Black disability studies, and the stories of Black queer men. The research that I provide in this paper is part of an ever growing canon of work that will continue to help bolster communal support and understanding for those made marginal in a heteronormative, and able-bodied society.

Convener: Sunder John Boopalan, Canadian Mennonite University

 

A Loving Apocalypse: The Militant, Revolutionary Nature of MLK’s Beloved Community     Statler B Room  

David Justice, Baylor University

I focus on the militant nature of King’s work and the “loving apocalypse” of the Beloved Community. By “loving apocalypse” I mean to name the destruction that accompanies the Beloved Community coming into being, while it constructively reveals a loving community. King described his work as militant because systems of power require force to bring them to an end. Yet, he rejected any methods that brought harm to people because doing so would undermine the values of the Beloved Community. Ultimately, I argue that the Beloved Community represents the possibility of transforming our world into a decolonized, fully human community.

Convener: Eileen Fagan, University of Mount Saint Vincent

 

Is Neutrality Immoral in the Midst of Protracted Armed Violence? A View from a Christian Ethicist in Ireland       New York Room                  

Tobias Winright, Saint Patrick's Pontifical University

Prior to and during the Second World War, Christian ethicists, such as Reinhold Niebuhr, debated whether nations should be neutral in the face of aggression by authoritarian regimes, but little attention to this question has been given in recent years "in the midst of protracted armed violence in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen and beyond." The focus of this paper is neutrality, which is not a univocal concept, with different nations, including Ireland, practicing neutrality differently, and it explores whether neutrality is impossible and immoral. It examines neutrality as it has been understood and practiced, especially in the wake of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and as other neutral nations, such as Sweden and Finland, have joined NATO, and as Ireland is currently reconsidering its neutrality.

Convener: Scott Paeth, DePaul University

 

To Serve and Keep the Garden: Moral Agency and the Ecology of Justice       Ohio Room

William Barbieri, Catholic University of America

We humans urgently need to reconstruct the underlying valuations, attitudes and imaginaries that shape how we treat the earth. Accordingly, commentators on ecology and the Anthropocene are presently developing revised conceptions of moral agency spelling out how we might, as Andrew Pickering puts it, “act with” rather than “acting on” the world. Christian ethics can both learn from and contribute to this task of recalibrating moral agency so as to lay the groundwork for transforming ecological behavior. I illustrate this connection by discussing how biblical, agroecological, and green architectural perspectives illuminate the agency involved in gardens and gardening.

Convener: Kevin O’Brien, Pacific Lutheran University 

 

The State of Fundamental Moral Theology        Pan American Room

Fundamental Moral Theology Interest Group

 Panelists: D. Stephen Long, Southern Methodist University

                      Jennifer Herdt, Yale University

Often, disagreements about first principles lie at the heart of the divisions within our field of Christian ethics divisions, yet these principles are seldom analyzed or even mentioned in our moral discourse. Reexamining the fundamental principles of moral theology can give new insight and perhaps uncover new paths to negotiate these often intractable debates. In this panel, two presenters will provide a state-of-the-field assessment while identifying emerging directions and methodological innovations that promise to revitalize Christian moral theology amidst contemporary social and intellectual challenges.

Conveners: Gilbrian Stoy, Catholic University of America

                   Stewart Clem, Aquinas Institute of Theology

Asian and Asian-American Working Group Business Meeting     Federal Room A

Caucus for Contingent Faculty Dinner    Offsite

Meet in Lobby at 5:00p

New SCE Presidential Cabinet Meeting      Pan American Room      

Catholic Eucharist        South American B

INTEREST GROUP SESSION #3 

Methodological and Ethical Opportunities and Challenges in Fieldwork       Federal A Room

Fieldwork in Ethics Interest Group

Panelists: Brian Stiltner, Sacred Heart University

                Seulbin Lee, Vanderbilt University

                Janelle Lindsey Adams, Emory University 

This panel, composed of three members from the Fieldwork in Ethics Interest Group, explores various methodological and interpretive challenges in fieldwork. The first panelist discusses the challenges of moving from descriptive to normative in fieldwork with congregations. The second panelist examines the use of hauntology in researching a South Korean transnational social movement, addressing ethical concerns related to colonialism. The third panelist reflects on fieldwork exploring "bright spots" in faith-based communities, focusing on the epistemological implications and theological significance of identifying these innovative responses to societal challenges. The session highlights both challenges and opportunities in ethnographic fieldwork in ethics.

Conveners: Emma Corey, Hendrix College

                   Stephanie Mota Thurston, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

 

Relational Power and Organizing Movements      Federal B Room 

Social Ethics and Organizing Interest Group

Panelists: Aaron Stauffer, Vanderbilt University

                 Cassandra Grould, Faith in Action

                 Joshua Batholomew, Saint Paul School of Theology

Christian social ethicists have long studied organizing movements by throwing themselves into the thick of the social movements of the time. Central to this pursuit of studying organizing movements is a conception of power. Many scholars over the years have attempted to define power, its relationship to faith, and offer prescriptions for how to build it. Many scholars over the years have explored power and its relationship to faith, but too few have made the connection to community organizing as a site and practice where power is built. The recent rise in White Christian Nationalism demonstrates how neoliberal racial capitalism deftly posits a role for faith in building power, yet does so outside of deep relational organizing strategies. 

Convener: Aaron Stauffer, Vanderbilt University

 

Liturgy, Nationalism, and the Ritualization of Power       South America B Room

Liturgy and Ethics Interest Group

Panelists: Federico Cinocca, Emmanuel College

                 L. Callid Keefe-Perry, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry

                 Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University

In “When Liturgy Becomes a Border: Nationalist Co-Optation and the Ethical Criteria for Authentic Christian Worship,” Federico Cinocca examines the liturgical sanctification of exclusion in connection to the sacralization of national borders, the insurrectionary character of Christian prayer, and vulnerability. Callid Keefe-Perry, in “Theatrical Theocracy: Ritual, Worship, and the Performance of Power at the ReAwaken America Tour,” examines this event as a site of Christian nationalist ritual, where worship, political ideology, and performance merge to construct an affective experience of sacred power. Aristotle Papanikolaou, in “Ritualizing Violence in Orthodox Christianity,” analyzes the historical tension between religious and national identity in Orthodox Christian territories through the lens of religious symbols and practices.

Conveners: Xavier M. Montecel, St. Mary's University

                   M. Therese Lysaught, Loyola University Chicago

 

Has the Catholic Position on Technological Neutrality Changed with Artificial Intelligence?      South America A Room

Business Ethics Interest Group                                                                                         

Presenters: Alejo José G. Sison, University of Navarre

                    Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, Baylor University            

We consider whether Pope Francis’s discussion of AI is a rupture in the tradition of viewing technology as morally neutral or a development. At times, the Pope views AI as offering potential great benefits; at others, he describes the outcomes of AI development in very negative terms, further entrenching a “technocratic paradigm”. To view AI as either intrinsically good or evil represents a development away from tradition. In tradition, the actions and intentions of humans are the object of moral judgment. This provides a sufficiently robust framework to evaluate the challenges raised by AI.                                                                                          

Conveners: Jason Stansbury, Calvin University

                   David Clairmont, University of Notre Dame

                   Scott Paeth, DePaul Univerisity

 

Theological Paranoia: Disrupting the Entanglement of Religion and Conspiracism       Statler A Room

SCE Evangelical Ethics Interest Group

Presenter: Jared Stacy, University of Aberdeen

The prominence of conspiratorial beliefs and narratives within evangelical Christianity is not a novel condition, but rather has historical precedence and theological potency. By highlighting the failure of fact-checking activisms and various forms of contesting misinformation which ignore theological grammar and logic, the work of Dr. Jared Stacy helps both name and resist the theological crisis driving the adoption of conspiracism within evangelical Christianity. This session explores the concept of “theological paranoia” and its offer for contending with and disrupting the prominence of conspiratorial narrations within evangelicalism in the United States.                                                                                                      

Conveners: Theo A. Boer, Protestant Theological University

                   Jonathan Cahill, The Addis Clinic

 

Motherhood and Resistance       Statler B Room

Families and the Social Responsibility Interest Group

Panelists: Valetina Nilo, Boston College

                Emma McDonald Kennedy, Villanova University

                Sebastián Budinich, Fordham University

This panel examines U.S. and Latin American maternal activism as a locus of resistance and social change. The central argument analyzes how political motherhood, often rooted in struggles for familial survival, reframes care as a public and political force that both reinforces and subverts gender norms. The first response considers “resistant kinship,” showing how mothers convert the moral injuries of impossible choices into collective resistance within oppressive structures. The second revisits mid-to-late 20th-century state-sponsored sterilization projects, underscoring maternal activism’s capacity to contest reproductive injustice. Together, these perspectives shed light on the enduring political potential of motherhood and its complex implications for justice, care, and resistance.

Convener: Marcus Mescher, Xavier University

 

Climate Advocacy in the Face of Political Headwinds      New York Room

Climate Justice Interest Group

Panelists: Kevin O’Brien, Pacific Lutheran

                Robert McDonald, Claremont University

Respondent: Emily Wirzba, Environmental Defense Fund  

Convener: Eric Schnitger

 

LGBTQI+ Working Group Reception     Offsite

Blackfinn DC, 1620 I St NW, Washington, DC

All are welcome, 7-minute walk from the Capital Hilton, open bar and appetizers.