Letter from President Diana Fritz Cates

October 1, 2026

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Warm fall greetings from the leadership of the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE).

It's time to renew your SCE annual membership and register for the Annual Meeting.

Membership: The membership year runs from October 1 – September 30. When you pay our annual dues, you receive a special registration rate for the 2027 Annual Meeting, among other benefits:

• Access to pre-conference events
• Free access to the 2027 online Summer Meeting
• Eligibility to propose a presentation for either the 2028 Annual Meeting or the 2027 Summer Meeting

Remember: concurrent session presenters at either the January Annual Meeting or the Summer Meeting are eligible to have their papers considered for publication in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics.

• Opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in Working Groups, Caucuses, and Interest Groups, where so much of the creative work of the Society takes place

Remember: it is always possible for an SCE member to propose a new Interest Group to ensure that the conversations you and your colleagues value most take place, with institutional support, every year.

There are over 30 Interest Groups that welcome your participation. The SCE also has 5 Working Groups and 4 Caucuses that meet a wide variety of interests and needs.

• Access to a broad network of fellow scholars in the fields of Christian and religious ethics (as well as Jewish ethics and the study of Muslim ethics)
• Opportunities to meet authors and discuss their latest book publications
• Opportunities to advance your leadership skills
• Subscription to the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics

 Registration: You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics which will be held January 7-10, 2027, at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch in St. Louis, MO.

 While proposals that address topics unrelated to the Annual Meeting theme are always welcome, the theme for 2027 is “Christian Ethics and Artificial Intelligence.” AI has fast become embedded in the ordinary infrastructure of societies around the globe, curating the information that we receive, monitoring and moderating our behavior, commanding and capitalizing on our attention, shaping our perceptions and desires through its ubiquitous recommendations and programmed redirections, and mediating our social relationships. To remain relevant and impactful in the algorithmic age, Christian ethics must demonstrate that it has unique resources and capacities to examine what the fast-paced evolution of AI entails for the future of our humanity and life on our planet. This Annual Meeting will challenge all of us to entertain the ethics of AI with intelligence and insight, drawing on our religious, philosophical, and ethical traditions, even as many of us must acknowledge that much of the technology is and will likely remain beyond our full comprehension.

 The SCE Program Committee has planned an exciting meeting, featuring:

• Third Annual Joint Plenary Panel of the SCE, SJE, and SSME, online preconference, Tuesday, January 5, on the topic of “AI and Mental Health.” Scheduled speakers include SCE member Dr. Andrea Vicini (Professor of Theology in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and Michael P. Walsh, S.J., Professor of Bioethics at Boston College); SSME member Iskander Abbasi (Lecturer, Fordham University Department of Theology), and SJE memberTBA.
• Pre-conference sponsored by the Social Ethics and Organizing Interest Group on the theme of capitalist political economy, titled “We Dream of Beloved Freedom” (Contact Dr. Aaron Stauffer.)
• Three Plenary Addresses, featuring SCE and other scholars who are deeply involved in efforts to educate the public about AI’s social, ethical, and religious implications.

• Dr. Matthew Gaudet (Associate Teaching Professor, Chair of the General Engineering Department, and Director of Ethics Programs and Initiatives for the School of Engineering at Santa Clara University). Title: “AI is Like . . .: An Analogical Exploration of the Artificial Intelligence we are Building.”
• A Conversation with Dr. Kate Ott (Jerre and Mary Joy Stead Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Director of the Stead Center for Ethics and Values at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) and Dr. Philip Butler (Associate Professor of Theology and Black Post-human Artificial Intelligence Systems and Director of the AI Institute, Iliff School of Theology). Title: “Querying AI Futures”
• Dr. Irene Oh (Associate Professor, past Chair of the Department of Religion at George Washington University). Title: “AI and Thou: Preserving Human Dignity through Relationality.”
• Presentation of the 2027 Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Hollenbach, S.J., Pedro Arrupe Distinguished Research Professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service; Senior Fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs; and Affiliated Professor in the Theology Department at Georgetown University.
• The Presidential Address: Title: “On Love: Artificial Intelligence and the Heart of Christian Ethics”
• Five concurrent sessions, each with up to 10 presentations to choose from
• Multiple Interest Groups, Working Groups, and Caucuses (see the SCE webpage).

To reserve your room click here or call 314-655-1234 and reference “SCE.” The Society offers a discounted hotel rate for Annual Meeting attendees. Attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. The special rate will be offered until December 11, 2026, or until the group block is sold out, whichever comes first. Rooms reserved after that will be subject to regular room rates. If you have an extra day to spend in St. Louis, I encourage you to take advantage of its impressive attractions, many of which are within walking distance.

I look forward to seeing you in St Louis!

Sincerely, 

Diana Fritz Cates
Professor of Religion and Ethics
Dept. of Classics and Religious Studies
University of Iowa
President, Society of Christian Ethics
Coeditor, Journal of Religious Ethics
[email protected]