Kristen Tobey

Kristen Tobey, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University. As a sociologist of religion, she researches the dynamics and mechanisms of religious identity, community, and boundaries in the pluralistic context of the contemporary United States.

Dr. Tobey's research focuses on:

• Religious identity construction and communication
• Nonconforming religious identities
• Religious ambivalence in communities that typically understand religious identity in binary terms
• Religious boundary work
• Sociology of religious movements

Her research employs qualitative methods to examine how religious identities are constructed, communicated, and perceived in contemporary America. She has conducted significant research on Plowshares nuclear disarmament activists and religious ambivalence within communities like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Church of Scientology.

Dr. Tobey serves on the editorial board of the journal American Religion and has published in prestigious venues including the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, The Journal of Religion, and Religious Studies Review.

Teaching

Dr. Tobey teaches courses on American religious history and culture, including Religious Enthusiasm in Modern America and Minority Religions in America, as well as religion and the social sciences, particularly Constructing Religious Identity. Her selected courses include:

• TRS 2262: Religion, Freedom, and Law
• TRS 3200/5200: Constructing Religious Identity
• TRS 3220: Religious Enthusiasm in Modern America
• TRS 3227: Minority Religions in the United States
• TRS 5230: The Faithful: Being Catholic in America

Education

• Ph.D., University of Chicago Divinity School
• M.A., University of Chicago Divinity School