Save the Date for Our 2025 Visiting Scholar, Liz Bucar

Dr. Liz Bucar will be our Visiting Scholar on Feb. 28 & March 1 at the Mission Campus. Dr. Bucar is a leading expert on “public religion,” which is the way religion is discussed in the media. Because religion is “always in the room,” as she puts it, how can better understanding smooth religious differences and enhance a vibrant democracy and social justice? Also, who is doing the talking and what conversations do we need?

Through her research, Dr. Bucar learned the people who know most about religion are not the ones typically appearing on TV and in newspapers. She discovered scholars are not trained to write for the general public, and journalists often fail to understand the nuance of scholarly articles. Both groups need each other yet lack the training to communicate effectively. To improve this situation, she founded and now serves as the director of Sacred Writes, an organization designed to enhance public conversation. 

Dr. Bucar is a professor of religion at Northeastern University. She teaches courses on sexual ethics, Islam, cultural appropriation and comparative religion. She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard and a Ph.D. in religious ethics from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is the author of four books, including her best known, “Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation.”