Karen V. Guth

Karen V. Guth is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, affiliated with the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Catholic Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies programs. She holds a Ph.D. in Religious Ethics from the University of Virginia, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, an M.Th. from the University of Glasgow, and a B.A. from Furman University. Before joining Holy Cross, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University and an Assistant Professor at St. Catherine University.

Her research focuses on Christian social ethics, public and political theologies, and feminist ethics and theologies. She explores moral dilemmas in engaging religious and cultural traditions tarnished by historical trauma, such as slavery, racism, and sexual violence. Her book The Ethics of Tainted Legacies (2022) won the 2023 American Academy of Religion Award for its innovative ethical framework addressing legacies of trauma.

Her work appears in journals like Journal of Religious Ethics, Theology Today, and Christian Century. She co-chairs the Bonhoeffer: Theology and Social Analysis Unit of the American Academy of Religion and served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics. Her scholarship bridges feminist critiques, political theology, and ethical responses to historical injustices.

Her courses include Social Ethics, Sexual Justice, and Everyday Ethics, reflecting her commitment to integrating theoretical ethics with contemporary social issues.