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Biography
Dr. Emily McGowin teaches theology at Wheaton College. She is also a priest and canon theologian in the Anglican diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO). Her research focuses on the embodied, lived theology of regular Christians. While traditional systematic theology tends to focus on texts and the ideas they contain, she’s interested in bringing history and texts into conversation with the lived experience of Christian communities. Her first book, Quivering Families (Fortress Press, 2018) uses ethnography to explore the theology of the family at work in a segment of American evangelicalism. She is currently working on a popular-level practical theology of the family. Also, her book on the liturgical season of Christmas, in The Fullness of Time Series from IVP (edited by Dr. Esau McCaulley), will be released in 2023.
Education
University of Dayton
Ph.D., Theology, 2015
George W. Truett Theological Seminary
M.Div., Theology, 2007
Criswell College
B.A., Biblical Studies, 2003
Areas of Expertise
- Systematic Theology
- Practical Theology
- Theology and Gender
- Ethnography
Personal Website
Select Publications
“Gender Roles” in Practical Questions Every Student Asks, ed. Gary Burge and David Lauber (Grand Rapids: IVP, 2020), 33-48.
Quivering Families: The Quiverfull Movement and Evangelical Theology of the Family (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018).
“Every Wife Has a Church in Her Home: The Family and the Church in the American Quiverfull Movement,” Ecclesial Practices, Vol. 4.1 (May 2017): 133-157.
“Praying for More: Mothers and Motherhood in the American Quiverfull Movement,” in Angels on Earth: Mothering, Religion, and Spirituality, edited by Vanessa Reimer (Bradford, ON: Demeter Press, 2016), 73-90.
“Eroticism and Pain in Mechthild of Magdeburg’s The Flowing Light,” New Blackfriars, Vol. 92, Issue 1041 (2011): 607-622.
Popular Writing
- “The Gospel According to Dungeons & Dragons", Christianity Today, August 12, 2022
- “Surviving the Pandemic with Dungeons & Dragons", The Week, April 26, 2022
- “Beware False Teachers with Good Doctrine and Bad Ethics", Christianity Today, September 16, 2021
- "Taking Scripture and Women’s Ordination Seriously", Anglican Pastor, November 18, 2019
- "If Women Can Be Saved, Then Women Can Be Priests", Anglican Pastor, September 26, 2019
- “A Gift of God”, Anglican Pastor, May 4, 2018
- "Christian Families and the Mission of God", The Telos Collective, March 14, 2018
Research
- Ethnography and Theology
- The Family and Ecclesiology
- Gender and Theology
- Lived Religion
Professional Affiliations
- American Academy of Religion
- Conference on Faith and History
Courses Taught
- Christian Thought
- Roman Catholic Theology
- God & Evil
- Historical Theology
- Gender and Theology
- Systematic Theology