Geoffrey C. Layman

Geoffrey C. Layman serves as Professor and Department Chair of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, with faculty fellowships at the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement With Religion and affiliation at the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy.

His research centers on American political behavior, party system evolution, and religion-politics intersections, emphasizing long-term coalition changes and secularization's impact on polarization. Recent work analyzes how secular voters reshape electoral dynamics and how religious/secular orientations intensify partisan conflict, published in top journals including American Political Science Review and Journal of Politics.

Publications from 2021-2025 reveal a concentrated focus on secular political behavior, with studies examining atheist voting, pandemic-era secularization acceleration, and Catholic political consistency under cross-pressures—highlighting secularism as a critical new fault line in American politics.

His major honors include:

• Distinguished Book Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (2022) for Secular Surge
• Jack L. Walker, Jr. Outstanding Article Award, APSA Political Organizations and Parties Section (2012)

As Department Chair, Layman oversees academic operations and mentoring, with research supported by major publications and institutional affiliations. His book The Great Divide (2001) established foundational work on religious-cultural conflict in party politics, extended in recent collaborative projects.