I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Purdue University. I am also a Faculty Research Fellow in the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University and a Center Affiliate in the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at University of Notre Dame.
I am a sociologist of culture and religion whose research investigates the causes and consequences of religious disaffiliation in the United States. I am currently working on projects that examine the construction of ritual and community in secular congregations, the mechanisms that shape health and wellbeing among the nonreligious, and conceptions of science as sacred in the transhumanist movement. In my work, I use both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate how the intersections of religion, gender, and race shape people’s conceptions of science, morality, and community.
I have a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in Sociology from Portland State University, and a B.A. in Sociology and Journalism from the University of Wyoming.