The overarching question that drives my research program is: How do religion and sexuality interact and intersect as a politicized set of practices, ideologies, and identities? My research shifts sociological inquiry from a focus on what is socially marginal to what is socially normative and privileged, particularly addressing the relationship between conservative Christianity, heterosexuality, and gender. My current research includes projects on evangelical women’s ministries; debates over religious freedom laws; and contemporary debates over pornography.
I was awarded the 2017 Distinguished Book Award for the American Sociological Association Section on Religion for my first book, Christians Under Covers: Evangelicals and Sexual Pleasure on the Internet (2016 University of California Press). It analyzes online Christian sex advice to understand the sometimes contradictory and often surprising ways that some Christians talk about sexual pleasure. My research has also been published in academic journals, including Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Sexualities, Sociology Compass, and Socius, and featured in popular outlets including Nebraska Public Radio, Newsweek, and Salon.
WGS Courses
Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
Seminar in Gender and Sexuality