THE SCE SUMMER MEETING SCHEDULE
Connect. Collaborate. Continue the Conversation. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Eastern 

Concurrent Session: Contemporary Cases: Contributions of Nonviolence and Just Peace in Palestine and Venezuela

Conflict, Violence and Just Peace Interest Group

Description: Focus is Palestine and Venezuela to consider what we can learn about active nonviolence and just peace. What do these cases illuminate about these ethical approaches and what can these approaches illuminate about these cases?

Panelists: Nicolas Panotto, Arturo Prat University in Chile and Omar Haramy, Sabee- Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center

Convener: Eli McCarthy, Georgetown University

  1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern 

Concurrent Session: The Spiritual Implications of Moral Luck

Description: Can social influences shaping our character also impact our experience of salvation? If so, our relationships and those designing/controlling these influences (through social media, e.g.) wield significant power over us.

Presenter: Christina McRorie, Boston College

Convener: Jennifer Wotochek, Marquette University

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Eastern 

SCE Plenary: The Future of the Christian Ethical Traditions of Just War and Just Peacebuilding

Description: Sustained debate over the Christian ethics of violence, war, and peace has characterized the SCE since its inception. In the contemporary United States, public officials selectively invoke Christian just-war ideas and the rhetoric of “peace through strength” to justify military actions that, according to critics, clearly fail to satisfy just-war criteria or contribute to a more peaceful international order. This panel of experts will consider whether and how, under these conditions, Christian ethical traditions of just war and just peacebuilding can continue to exercise normative force in public and political life.

Panelists: Dr. Rosemary Kellison, Associate Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, Florida State University; Dr. Richard B. Miller, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, Emeritus Professor of Religion, Politics, and Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School and in the College; and Dr. Gerard F. Powers, Director, Catholic Peacebuilding Studies and Coordinator, Catholic Peacebuilding Network, Kroc Institute, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame.

Convener: Diana Fritz Cates, SCE President

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Eastern 

Concurrent Session: The Holy Family as Resistance Kinship: A Decolonial Rereading

Description: A decolonial rereading of the Holy Family through five characteristics of "resistant kinship" drawn from Chilean family history demonstrates that the Church's paradigmatic family is itself an instance of what its theology calls "irregular."

Presenter: Sebastian Budinich, Fordham University

Convener: Teresa Smallwood, United Lutheran Seminary

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Eastern 

Social Ethics and Organizing Interest Group

We Dream of Beloved Freedom: Social Ethics and Political Economy

Presenters: Aaron Stauffer, Saint Paul School of Theology; Jeremy Posadas, Stetson University; and Charlene Sinclair, Center for Race, Religion, and Economic Democracy.

Contact: Aaron Stauffer

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Eastern 

University Ethics Interest Group

Disrupting, Reimagining, and Expanding Theological Education

Description: What will it take to disrupt dominant institutional forms of seminary education, providing critical and constructive approaches to theological education for the twenty-first century? The presenters are in the early stages of a collaborative project responding to Justo González's call for "a total reorientation and redefinition of theological studies and ministerial training” (2015, 127). Exploring what, how, who, and where we teach, this project will highlight the margins and null curricula of dominant approaches, exploring issues such as bivocationality, andragogy, embodied and experiential learning, diaconal formation, contingent faculty, and more. Recognizing the importance of multiplicity in the task of reimagining theological education, the presenters will seek critical feedback on their vision for an edited volume intended for theological educators, administrators, and practitioners in ministerial formation. 

 Session will also include a 30 minute business meeting with an update on the UE panel held at Michigan State and planning for January 2027. All are welcome.

Presenter: Darryl Stephens, Moravian University School of Theology

Convener: Mary Roche, College of the Holy Cross

Contact: Mary Roche

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern 

SCE Listening Session: Open to All SCE Members

Contact: Rebekah Miles 

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Eastern 

Climate Justice Interest Group

Building Climate Justice Programs: Exploring Best Practices

Description: This session will include conversations with persons representing institutions with robust climate justice programs, who will be sharing the wisdom of their experiences with those interested in shaping such programs at their own institutions.

Contacts: Mark Douglas and Eric Schnitger

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Eastern 

Concurrent Session: Centering Care in an Economically Just Democracy: Implications for AI, Labor, and Justice. 

Description: This paper explores how anticipated changes within the labor market due to AI can provide an opportunity to take seriously to what it means for an economy and democracy to center and prioritize care.

Presenter: Wylin Wilson, Duke Divinity School

Convener: Russell Johnson, University of Chicago

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Eastern

Environmental Ethics Interest Group

Catholic Ecology: Two Paradigms in Vertical Relation

Presenter: Mary Ashley, Graduate Theological Union

Contact: Ryan Juskus

Thursday, August 13, 2026

 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Postcolonial and Decolonial Ethics Interest Group

Thinking Otherwise: Religious Scholars Engaging Postcolonial and Decolonial Thought

Description: This inaugural summer session invites four scholars to reflect on how their work engages with postcolonial and decolonial thought. Each speaker will share why and how these frameworks became significant to their scholarship, the ways these perspectives have shaped their research and the field, and any moments of breakthrough or frustration in engaging this work.

Presenters: Kwok Pui Lan, Episcopal Divinity School; Filipe Maia, Boston School of Theology; Iskander Abbasi, Fordham University, and Yenny Delgado, University of Lausanne. 

Contacts: Matthew Tsz Him Lai and Christine Pae

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Eastern Time

Health Care Ethics Interest Group

Medical Ethics and the Epidemic of Loneliness

Description: Loneliness and social isolation have reached to epidemic proportions within U.S. society. Research indicates that the adverse effects of prolonged loneliness and social disconnection on physical health are comparable to or even exceed those associated with chronic tobacco use. The ramifications of this crisis extend beyond physical well-being, profoundly undermining human flourishing. In response to this public health concern, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in 2023 addressing the epidemic of loneliness. However, the engagement of medical ethicists has been limited. Voices from the perspective of Christian theological medical ethics have been nearly silent. Our conversation will explore how we might constructively engage this prevalent social reality.

Contacts: Joe Kotva, Ben Parks, and Christian Cintron

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Eastern Time

Concurrent Session: How Do You Build an Institution: Social Ethical Reflections Institutions, Organizations, and Social Change

Description: This paper makes the case that social transformation is best done when movements seek to refashion institutions, not merely organizations, by developing people, engaging in political education, and changing the social practice of radical democracy.

Presenter: Aaron Stauffer, Saint Paul School of Theology

Convener: Candace Laughinghouse, Gammon Theological Seminary

 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Eastern Time

Contingent Faculty and Student Caucus Joint Session

Future(s) of the Field

Description: Doctoral students and contingent faculty are two of the largest pools of underpaid labor for the academy, and the continuing decline of theology and religious studies departments across the US is creating an increasingly unstable job market. The Society of Christian Ethics stands in a unique position to address ethical universities and faculty care. The arrival of AI has amplified the need for conversations around power dynamics, accountability and equity in higher education. The Student Caucus and the CCFC invite you to a panel representing a wide range of career paths to discuss both current struggles in the field and possible futures, especially regarding the impact of AI technologies on job security and pedagogical authenticity and agility.

Presenters: Nina Adkins, Virginia Commonwealth University; Matt Elia, Saint Louis University; Geran Lorraine, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary; and Charlie Collier, Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Conveners: Katarina Von Kühn, Princeton Theological Seminary; Brooklynn Reardon, Duke Divinity School; and Cari Myers, Pepperdine University.

Contacts: Cari Myers and Brooklyn Reardon