Tim Muldoon, Ph.D.

Tim Muldoon is a Catholic theologian, author, speaker, and retreat leader specializing in the ways that Church traditions speak to contemporary life. He has written three books and a number of academic and popular essays on the themes of young adult spirituality, Ignatian spirituality, theology in postmodernity, sexuality and marriage, and adoption issues. He currently teaches in the Honors Program of the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College, and also develops programs related to the Jesuit, Catholic mission of the University. Prior to that, he was named the inaugural Director of the Church in the 21^st Century Center at Boston College. He was an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Theology at Mount Aloysius College, Cresson, Pennsylvania, where he began teaching in 1997. He has also taught in the Theology Departments of Duquesne University and Seton Hill College (now University).

His new book is entitled Seeds of Hope: Young Adults and the Catholic Church in the United States. Sample pages

To watch or listen to an interview about the book, please visit the Boston College Libraries website.

Please click here for the listing of the book at Paulist Press

To order from Amazon, please click here.

To order from Barnes and Noble, please click here.

He has also authored two books inviting young adults to Christian prayer:

The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith (Loyola Press, 2004), one of Loyola Press’s best selling books.

Come to the Banquet: Nourishing Our Spiritual Hunger (Sheed and Ward, 2002)

He is the editor of two forthcoming volumes:

1. the 2008 annual volume of the College Theology Society, on the theme of “Catholic Identity and the Laity,”

2. (with Cynthia Dobrzynski) a volume on the challenges of pastoral ministry toward marriage. This volume is a collection of papers presented at the 2007 Symposium on Marriage hosted by The Church in the 21^st Century Center.

He is a member of

Ø the College Theology Society (Board of Directors 2006-2008)

Ø the Catholic Theological Society of America,

Ø the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality (Nominations Committee 2008-2010)

Ø the American Academy of Religion.

He has lectured around the United States, Canada, and Europe on the subjects of Ignatian spirituality, postmodernity and Catholicism, young adult spirituality, and adoption issues. He is married, and the father of two young girls, and lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

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Press/media inquiries

Dr. Muldoon is a frequent commentator on matters relating to the Catholic Church in the United States. Some areas on which he has spoken include

Ø young adults and the Catholic Church (click here for audio or video interview)

Ø the state of U.S. Catholicism (go to webcast “From Campus to Parish, Crossing the Divide: Welcoming Young Adults to the Parish,” Lecture in a series hosted by the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College, “Building Up the Body of Christ,” March, 2008” (scroll down to Wednesday March 26 webcast)

Ø the role of the bishop

Ø the Vatican

Ø Ignatian spirituality and contemporary life (go to the podcast with Loyola Press on The Ignatian Workout)

His writings and commentary have appeared in America, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Dallas Morning News, The Tablet (London), and a number of other local, regional, and national publications. He has also spoken on radio and television broadcasts, including CNN and the Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Contact: muldoont@bc.edu or 617-552-8258

Curriculum Vitae

Education

May 1998: Ph.D., Roman Catholic Systematic Theology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. Dissertation: “Roman Catholic Marriage and the Doctrine of Ratum et Consummatum”

May, 1994: Master of Theological Studies (honors), Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Thesis: “The Influence of Thomas Aquinas on the Modern Catholic Doctrine of Marriage”

May, 1992: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy; Bachelor of Arts in Theology; Honors Program; Scholar of the College, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

1990-1991: Reader in Theology at Manchester College, Oxford, England

Teaching Experience

Summer, 2009: Summer session at LaSalle University, Philadelphia

9/07- : Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program, Boston College

8/04-5/05: Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Theology at Mount Aloysius College

5/00-5/04: Chair and Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Theology at Mount Aloysius College

8/97-5/00: Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Theology at Mount Aloysius College, Cresson, PA

9/96-10/00: Adjunct Professor, Accelerated Degree Program at Seton Hill College, Greensburg, PA

8/96-5/97: Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Theology at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

8/94-5/96: Teaching Assistant, Department of Theology at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

Honors and Awards

11/05: “Angels in Adoption” award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute

2/00, 2/02, and 2/04: Who's Who Among American Teachers

5/01: National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute Grant: "Continuities and Crises: The Interplay of Religion and Politics in China," East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

9/94: Graduate Fellowship and Teaching Assistantship, Duquesne University

9/92: M.T.S. Scholarship, Emory University

9/92: Scholar of the College Award, Boston College

10/90: Boston College Honors Program- Oxford University Study Program award

9/88-5/92: Honors Program participant, Boston College

Courses Taught

Western Cultural Tradition; Ignatian Spirituality; Christian Spirituality, Introduction to Theology, Introduction to Philosophy, Capstone interdisciplinary senior seminar on citizenship, Justice and Human Rights; and a number of others.

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Research

The thesis behind Seeds of Hope: Young Adults and the Catholic Church in the United States (Paulist Press, Spring 2008) is that the Catholic Church in the United States is experiencing the effects of a cultural “seam”—

Ø the ending of a significant period in its history, populated by the many Catholics raised within Catholic subcultures and affected significantly by the Second Vatican Council;

Ø and the beginning of a new period, populated by young people born after Vatican II, poorly catechized, and developing a critical self-conscious engagement with both the Church and postmodern U.S. culture.

Hence the hope for U.S. Catholicism is precisely in the coming-of-age of younger Catholics, whose counter-cultural choice to embrace Catholic tradition as a means of navigating the difficult waters of postmodernity will renew the theology, liturgy, spirituality, and moral authority of the Church in the 21^st century. Read an excerpt here.

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Presentations

A. Academic Presentations

November, 2008: “The School of the Lord's Servants: Christian faith in a Globalized World,” in the “Listening to Other Voices” series, Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, MA

November, 2008: “Ordered Affection: Sexuality and Ignatian Spirituality,” paper for the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality at the American Academy of Religion annual convention, Chicago, IL

June, 2008: “Communicating the Faith,” Moderator and panelist for invited session at the Catholic Theological Society of America annual convention, Miami, FL

March, 2008: “From Campus to Parish, Crossing the Divide: Welcoming Young Adults to the Parish,” Lecture in a series hosted by the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry at Boston College, “Building Up the Body of Christ” (scroll down to March 26, 2008 webcast)

October, 2007: “The School of Communion: Lessons from Benedict and Scholastica,” inaugural lecture for the Center for Ethics in Community at Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA

September, 2007: “A Theology for Married People,” at the Symposium on Marriage hosted by The Church in the 21^st Century Center, Boston College

May, 2007: Moderator of plenary session at the Curran Center for the Study of American Catholicism, Fordham University conference on Catholic leadership, New York, NY

January, 2007: Presentation on The Church in the 21^st Century Center at the First Conference of the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, Hawarden, Wales

October, 2006: “An Ignatian Spirituality of University Life,” Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, West Virginia

October, 2006: Talks on Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit higher education at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska

August 2006: “Meditations on the Spiritual Exercises in a Consumer Culture,” Jesuit Historical Institute conference “The History and Practice of the Spiritual Exercises,” in Loyola, Spain. Translation in Polish

November, 2005: Participant in the Curran Center at Fordham University project, “Handing on the Faith,” through May 2007.

July 2005: “Rethinking Procreation in Catholic Marriage: Adoption and the Postmodern Domestic Church,” paper given at the New Wine, New Wineskins Conference, University of Notre Dame

May 2005: “Come to the Banquet,” address at the Church in the Modern World conference, LaSalle University

April 2005: “Discerning the Soft Voice of God in a Loud World: Pluralism, Doubt, and the Emergence of Faith,” Callings Conference, Mount Saint Mary’s College

February 2005: “A Postmodern Ratio Studiorum,” Address to the faculty of the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania, USA)

November 2004: “Learning the Keys, Forgetting the Keys: A Postmodern Ratio Studiorum,” Keynote address to the Mission and Ministry Directors of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) conference, Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, West Virginia

June 2004: “Postmodern Church, Postmodern Mission,” Annual Convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America

June 2004: “The Literature of Spiritual Autobiography: Psychology and Spirituality in Conversation,” College Theology Society

May 2004: “Ignatian Spirituality in a Postmodern Age,” at the Catholic Campus Ministry of the University of Chicago

March 2004: several presentations on young adults in the Church for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Colorado

February 2004: “Surfing Religion and the Zen of Christian Spirituality,” LaSalle University, Philadelphia

June 2003: “Spirit Meets World: A Postmodern Commentary on Christian Tradition,” Annual College Theology Society convention

July, 2002: Plenary Panelist at the Second Ignatian Spirituality Conference, Saint Louis University.

August, 2001: Workshop "Toward an Authentic Postmodern Christian Spirituality," at the "Spirituality at the University" Conference, St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada.

June, 2001: "Teaching Catholic Theology in a Postmodern Era, or, The Analysis of Idols and the Genesis of Synthesis," Annual College Theology Society convention

June, 2001: "A Generation of Postmoderns: The Spirituality of Young Adult Catholics." Annual Catholic Theological Society of America Convention.

June, 2000: "Fides et Ratio and the Meaning of Religious Truth Claims," Annual College Theology Society Convention.

Spring, 1998: “Sacramental Sexuality: The Symbolism of the Body in Catholic Marriage” Annual College Theology Society Convention

Spring, 1998: “To Have and To Hold: Roman Catholic Marriage and the Doctrine of Ratum et Consummatum,” Doctoral Dissertation, Duquesne University

March, 1996: “The Contribution of Lonergan’s Insight on Theology”, paper presented at semiannual Duquesne University Theology Colloquium

B. Churches, schools, and popular presentations

November, 2008: “God in HD: Get a Clearer Picture,” Keynote speaker for Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee and Diocese of Mobile young adult conference

October, 2008: Presentation on the state of the Church at Saint Anastasia’s Church, Teaneck, New Jersey

March, 2008: Presentation on the Church in the 21^st century to the Guild of the Holy Spirit, Newton, MA

January, 2008: Adult leadership retreat for faculty and staff of St. Ignatius Prep, San Francisco

November, 2007: Presentation to the Mission and Identity directors at the secondary schools of the Maryland, New England, and New York Provinces of the Society of Jesus.

November, 2007: Adult leadership retreat for faculty and staff of Loyola Academy, Wilmette, IL

October, 2007: Presentation on adult faith formation at St. Dominic Church, Southington, CT

October, 2007: “A Proposal of Marriage: Inviting Young People to a Christian Spirituality of Married Life,” teleconference for the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers

August, 2007: Social ministries preached retreat for the Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus

March, 2007: Parish leadership retreat for Saint Zepherin’s Church, Wayland, MA

November, 2006: Religious education talk at Our Lady of Sorrows, Sharon, MA

May, 2006: “Why Be Catholic” at St. Bernadette’s Parish, Randolph, MA

May, 2006: “Seeds of Hope for American Catholicism,” at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, New London, NH

Spring, 2006: Presentations to the parents of students at St. John’s Preparatory School, Danvers, MA

January 25, 2006: “Building a 21^st Century Church,” Presentation to the students and faculty of Pope John XXIII High School, Everett, MA

January 10, 2006: Seminar for the Theology faculty of Pope John XXIII High School, Everett, MA

September 2004: “Nourishing the Spiritual Hungers of Young Adults,” 2004 Catholic Life Conference, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown

March 2004: “Encountering Young Adults in Marriage Preparation Ministry,” Family Life Office of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown

July 2003: “I’m Spiritual. Who Needs Religion?” Theology on Tap Program, Archdiocese of Atlanta

October, 2002: "Young Adults: Come to the Banquet!" at the Catholic Conference of Acadiana, Lafayette, Louisiana

October, 2002: “Young Adults and Marriage” Family Life Office of Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown

May, 2002: "What Does Ever To Excel Really Mean? What Ignatian Spirituality Says to Students about Discernment," Intersections Program, Boston College

April, 2002: "Why Young Adults Need Ignatian Spirituality," Ignatian Society, Boston College

October 2001: “The Spirituality of College Students,” Campus Ministers of Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown

C. Podcast: with Loyola Press on The Ignatian Workout

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Publications

Books and Book Chapters

2008: Seeds of Hope: Young Adults and the Catholic Church in the United States (Paulist Press). Read an excerpt here. Watch or listen to an interview about it here.

2008: “Postmodern Spirituality and the Ignatian Fundamentum,” in A Jesuit Education Reader, edited by George W. Traub, S.J. (Chicago: Loyola Press)

2009: Catholic Identity and the Laity (editor of College Theology Society annual volume, Orbis Press)

2009: Love One Another: Catholic Perspectives on Sustaining Marriages (co-editor with Cynthia Dobrzynski)

Fall 2004: “Postmodern Moral Theology and Holiness” in Moral Theology: Fundamental Issues and New Directions, edited by James Keating (Paulist Press).

June 2004: The Ignatian Workout: Daily Spiritual Exercises for a Healthy Faith (Loyola Press)

Spring, 2002: Come to the Banquet: Nourishing Our Spiritual Hunger (Sheed and Ward)

Articles

Spring, 2008: “Seeking The Seekers: Parish Ministry to Young Adults Today,” Church Magazine.

October 2007: “A Theology for Married People,” in Origins (Catholic News Service), October 11, pp. 279-285.

Fall 2005: “The Inner Compass,” in Partners Magazine

January 2005: “Postmodern Spirituality and the Ignatian Fundamentum,” in The Way. Reprinted in A Jesuit Education Reader, edited by George W. Traub, S.J. (Chicago: Loyola Press, 2008).

November 29, 2004: “A Life Giving Choice” in America

May 2004: “Theological Themes,” in Lectionary Homiletics

Spring 2003: “Shepherding the Postmodern Flock,” in Chicago Studies 42/1, pp. 81-92.

Spring 2002: “A Theology of Popular Culture,” in The Center of Concern’s (www.coc.org) “Education for Justice” website (www.educationforjustice.org).

Fall, 2001: “Constructing a Post-postmodern Theology,” in The Josephinum Journal of Theology

February 26, 2001: "Why Young Adults Need Ignatian Spirituality," in America, pp. 8-14.

Fall, 2000: “Starving Outside the Banquet Hall: Faith Formation for Young Adults,” in The Living Light, pp. 35-43.

Fall, 2000: “The College Theology Society Speaks Out on Original Sin,” on “Catholic Issues” Website

Fall, 1998: “Germain Grisez on Karl Rahner’s Theory of Fundamental Option” in Philosophy and Theology, Volume 10 number 1, pp. 227-254.

Book Reviews

Robert Barron, Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative Evangelical Catholic (Lanham, MD: Sheed and Ward, 2004) in H-Net book reviews.

Florence Caffrey Bourg, Where Two or Three are Gathered: Christian Families as Domestic Churches (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004) at the 2004 Catholic Theological Society of America convention

Tom Beaudoin, Consuming Faith (Sheed and Ward, 2003) and Vincent J. Miller, Consuming Religion (Continuum, 2003) in Horizons, Fall 2004.

David Matzko McCarthy, Sex and Love in the Home: A Theology of the Household. (London: SCM Press, 2001) in Horizons, Spring, 2003.

Peter C. Phan, The Asian Synod: Texts and Commentaries (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002) in Catholic Issues website, hosted by Adelphi University (http://www.catholicbooksreview.org/2003/phan.htm).

Thomas Alan Harvey, Acquainted With Grief: Wang Mingdao`s Stand for the Persecuted Church in China. (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2002), in Catholic Issues website, hosted by Adelphi University (http://www.catholicbooksreview.org/2003/harvey.htm).

Therese Johnson Borchard, Winging It: Meditations of a Young Adult (Orbis, 2001) and Jeremy Langford, God Moments: Why Faith Really Matters to a New Generation (Orbis, 2001) in Horizons, Spring 2002

Henri Blocher, Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle (Grand Rapids/Cambridge, Eerdmans, 1997), in Theology Today (58/2), July 2001.

Kenan B. Osborne, O.F.M., Christian Sacraments in a Postmodern World: A Theology for the Third Millenium. (New York: Paulist, 1999), in Horizons (28/1) Spring, 2001.

Mark A. McIntosh, Mystical Theology: The Integrity of Spirituality and Theology, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion (68/4), December 2000.

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Updated: August 19, 2008
Maintained: Timothy P. Muldoon