Faith in the Public Square
The Center for Theology and Contested Publics of Columbia Theological Seminary helps Church leaders speak about faith in the public square with clarity and confidence. We champion thoughtful research and bold theological engagement to ensure the church understands its role in today’s cultural landscape. We are dedicated to renewing the public voice of theology—with conviction, compassion, and clarity. Our mission is to
“Surely one of the most unsurprising trends in the U.S. over the past few decades has been the increased presence of religious voices in public spaces. Whether for good (the Moral Mondays movement) or ill (White Christian Nationalism), religious language simply shows up more often and in more different ways than it once did. But what has driven this trend? And how have a range of significant forces—demographic shifts, the advent of social media, the rise of the “nones,” etc.—shaped such language? The Center for Theology and Contested Publics dives headlong into those questions, hoping that addressing such questions not only can give insight into this trend but can shape better religious voices for public spaces. I’m extremely excited that CTS has started the center and am honored to be its first director.”
— Dr. Mark Douglas, Director, Center for Theology and Contested Publics, J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics
The Center for Theology and Contested Publics exists to support research into the dynamics of public theology during a time when what counts as a “public space” is becoming pluralized, privatized, distorted, diminished, and demeaned. Its mission is to educate the church on how to understand itself and engage others during times of contestation and to empower persons called to speak into public spaces to do so more effectively and with greater theological acuity.
Dr. Mark Douglas is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, where he directs the Master of Theology degree program and the Center for Theology and Contested Publics. He is the author of numerous books, including Confessing Christ in the 21st Century (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), Believing Aloud: Reflections on Being Religious in the Public Sphere (Cascade, 2010), Christian Pacifism for the Environmental Age (Cambridge University Press, 2019), and Modernity, the Environment, and the Just War Tradition, (Cambridge University Press, 2022). He is currently working on a new book, War in a Warming World: Religion, Resources, and Refugees.
Dr. Jackson Adamah is an Assistant Professor of World Christianities at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. His research, supervision, and teaching concerns World Christianity, African moral and political theologies, African constructive and systematic theologies in dialogue with Western thought, economic anthropology, and global Pentecostalism. His work specifically explores Christian theologies of salvation, debt, money, and economic liberation.
Rev. Jennifer Butler is a nationally recognized faith leader, author, and strategist working at the intersection of religion, democracy, and social justice. She is the founder of Faith in Democracy, having most recently served as the faith outreach coordinator for the Harris-Walz campaign and, previously, as the founding director of Faith in Public Life. An ordained Presbyterian minister, Rev. Butler brings theological depth and organizing skill to some of the most urgent challenges of our time.
Dr. Grace Kao is Professor of Ethics and the Bishop I. Sano and Kathleen A. Thomas Sano Professor in Pacific and Asian-American Theology at Claremont School of Theology. She is an author or co-editor of four books and has served on the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI) and Society of Christian Ethics (SCE). She is also a feminist, lay Presbyterian, second-generation Taiwanese American, and long-term California resident.
Dr. Vincent Lloyd is Professor and Director of the Center for Political Theology at Villanova University. His books include Black Dignity: The Struggle against Domination (Yale UP, 2022), What Is Political Theology? (with Luke Bretherton and Valentina Napolitano, Columbia UP, 2025), and Political Theology Reimagined (co-edited with Alex Dubilet, Duke UP, 2025).
Dr. Mary Nickel is Instructor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina and serves as Theologian in Residence at Downtown Church (PCUSA) in Columbia, SC. She received her Ph.D. in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Princeton University in 2023. Mary’s research and ministry focus on the intersection between religious ethics and politics.
Dr. Rafael Reyes III is the Senior Advisor for Flourishing and Belonging at Columbia Theological Seminary, where he fosters intellectual curiosity and promotes diversity and inclusion. He is a seasoned scholar with a PhD in Religion from Claremont School of Theology and has extensive experience in theological education. His work navigates the contested spaces of faith, gender, race, and ethnicity.
Dr. Wonchul Shin is a Catherine of Siena Teaching Scholar at Villanova University, where he teaches ethics, philosophy, and theology. He previously taught at Columbia Theological Seminary and Emory University. His scholarship appears in leading journals, and his first book, Moral and Theological Virtues of the Oppressed, is forthcoming with Bloomsbury.
Dr. Nicole Symmonds is the Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics. Her work sits at the intersection of Christian ethics and women, gender, and sexuality studies. She explores Black women’s embodiment, particularly the practices of liberative embodiment they craft as a method of resistance to domination and as a simulation of freedom. Dr. Symmonds’ research qualitatively engages issues around faith-based sex trafficking interventions and commercial sex work, Caribbean cultural practices such as Carnival masquerading and embodied celebration.
Dr. Charles Wiley serves as the Senior Director for Leadership Support and Adjunct Instructor in Theology and History at Columbia Theological Seminary. He served for 21 years in the Office of Theology and Worship for the PC(USA) with special responsibility for interpretation of the Book of Confessions and was a resource on a wide range of theological issues before the church.
Dr. Christine Roy Yoder is the Senior Vice President, Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs, and J. McDowell Richards Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Columbia Theological Seminary. Her interests include Israelite and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature; the social-historical and theological dynamics of the post-exilic period; the short stories of Ruth, Esther, and Jonah; and biblical conceptions of the moral self. She received her BA from Swarthmore College and both her MDiv and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary.
