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Dr. Scott MacDougall

Scott MacDougall

Associate Professor of Theology
smacdougall@cdsp.edu
BA, Hofstra University
MA, The General Theological Seminary
PhD, Fordham University

Curriculum Vitae

Bio:

Scott MacDougall was born and raised in Central New York. He attended college in the greater New York City area, receiving his B.A. from Hofstra University. Following a career in the not-for-profit sector, he undertook the formal study of theology. MacDougall received his M.A. in theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in 2007 and his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Fordham University in 2014. His research centers on two main trajectories: (1) constructive theological work in ecclesiology, eschatology, and embodiment; and (2) the nature and character of Anglican theology and the role of theology in the Anglican Communion. He is interested in the difference a well-formed and engaged theological imagination makes in how Christians live out their vocations, individually and corporately, and in how doing so contributes to the flourishing of self, church, and world. His first book, More Than Communion: Imagining an Eschatological Ecclesiology, was published in 2015. His most recent, The Shape of Anglican Theology: Faith Seeking Wisdom, was published by Brill in May 2022. He has also authored a number of articles and book reviews. At the American Academy of Religion, he co-chairs the Anglican Studies Seminar and serves on the steering committee of the Ecclesiological Investigations Unit. MacDougall has served as Co-Editor in Chief of the Anglican Theological Review and was the inaugural Theologian to the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church.

Why I Teach:

I began my theological training out of a desire to contribute in a rigorous way to the formation and nurturing of Christian perspectives and practices, among both clergy and laity seeking deeper engagement with their faith traditions. My approach to providing instruction in systematic theology is to introduce students to the beauties and riches of the Christian theological heritage, its foundational doctrines, its seminal figures, and its perennial questions, so that they are able to enter into and engage the ongoing stream of theological conversation in their own time and place with both integrity and creativity. For this to happen, it is crucial for theological instruction to make continual reference to the reality that theology is not only thought but is lived. That is, theology is as much practical as it is intellectual. I teach because I seek to help students perceive more clearly that the endeavor of systematic theology is itself an embodied Christian practice with the power to fortify or warp individuals and communities of faith, and because I want to provide them with the tools they need in order to practice Christian theology critically and constructively, to the benefit of both church and world.

Courses Taught:

  • ST 2188/8128 Theology 1: Introduction to Christian Theology, Part 1
  • ST 2488/8228 Theology 2: Introduction to Christian Theology, Part 2
  • ST 2029/8229 Contemporary Anglican Theologians
  • ST 2885 Contemporary Theologies of Church
  • ST 4165/8465 Body, Desire, and Transformation
  • ST 4685 Eschatology and Christian Practice
  • FT 1239 Organizing for Public Ministry

Selected Recent Publications:

  • The Shape of Anglican Theology: Faith Seeking Wisdom, Brill Research Perspectives in Theological Traditions (Boston and Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2022). 
  • “The Holy Spirit Makes the Church: Changing the Church as a Responsive Act,” in Changing the Church: Transformations of Christian Belief, Practice, and Life, ed. Mark D. Chapman and Vladimir Latinovic (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 85–92. 
  • “Pursuing the Decolonial Agenda: A Future for Anglican Studies,” in Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski and Joy Ann McDougall, “The Future of Anglican Studies,” Journal of Anglican Studies 20 (2022): 236–39.
  • On the Whence and Whither of Christian Flesh,” contribution to Syndicate symposium on Paul Griffiths’ Christian Flesh, 2020.    
  • “Bodily Communions: An Eschatological Proposal for Addressing the Christian Body Problem,” Dialog  57 (2018): 178-85. 
  • Common Discernment about Common Prayer during Lockdown,” Church Divinity School of the Pacific website, 2020.

Selected Recent Presentations:

  • Exploring Queer Theology,” GTUx Live, June 21, 2023
  • “Faith Seeking Wisdom: Scott MacDougall on the Shape of Anglican Theology,” webinar hosted by the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network and the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, Emilio Alvarez, Mark D. Chapman, and Katherine Sonderegger, respondents, May 8, 2023
  • “Intercultural Theological Dialogue as a Contribution to Decolonizing the Anglican Communion,” Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network conference, “Decolonizing Churches,” San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 2022 
  • “Triennium Approaches: Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention and its Work on Racial Reconciliation,” virtual presentation to Anglican Communion Office program, Michael Ramsey Center for Anglican Studies, University of Durham, December 2021