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Megan C. Loumagne

  • Assistant Professor
    Theology Department

I am a Feminist Theologian who works at the intersection of feminism/gender studies, Catholic theology, and science (especially evolutionary biology). I love pursuing theological questions using the tools of interdisciplinary research. At Gannon, I teach Foundations of Theology and Christian Morality, where we explore some of the most central and fundamental concepts in Theology, as well as their practical application in moral living. I also teach Comparative Theology (focused on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and Christology.  

I grew up in Southern California (LA County) and did my undergraduate degree and teaching credential there. After undergrad, I taught high school English and Theology for five years in Pasadena, CA. In 2012, I moved to Boston to do a Masters of Divinity at Boston College. While in Boston, I fell in love with Theology and decided to pursue doctoral studies. In 2015, I moved to Oxford (UK) to do my doctorate in Theology at the University of Oxford. My doctoral research focused on the doctrine of original sin and its intersections with notions of sexual difference and evolution. This research was published as my first book in December 2022 with Oxford University Press (Original Sin and the Evolution of Sexual Difference). I also met my husband in Oxford and we have a little daughter named Aubrey.

After completing my doctorate in 2019, I did a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Nottingham (also in the UK) investigating the theological relevance of scientific approaches to beauty. Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (Grant #62619), this research is ongoing for me, and it will provide the material for my second book.   

I'm thrilled to be at Gannon, and my family and I have been enjoying exploring Erie!   
  • John Templeton Foundation grant in the amount of $225,000 entitled “Biocultural Evolution and Theological Anthropology” (Co-PI with Dr. Michael Burdett (University of Nottingham), Dr. Nathan Lyons (University of Notre Dame Australia), and Dr. Victoria Lorrimar (University of Notre Dame Australia)). August 2022-December 2023 [Grant 62619]
  • John Templeton Foundation ‘God and the Book of Nature’ Project, Full-time postdoctoral research grant to participate in a £2.44 million international project organized by the University of Edinburgh (2019-2022)
  • Course Development Grant (University of St. Andrews and the John Templeton Foundation), £2000 to develop a course entitled "Sexual ethics in science and religion" (December 2021)
  • New Visions in Theological Anthropology Fellowship (University of St. Andrews and the John Templeton Foundation) (June 2021)
  • SET Foundations Seminar Participant (Loyola University Maryland and the John Templeton Foundation) (June 2021)

 

  • Foundations of Theology and Christian Morality (THEO 101)
  • Christology 
  • Comparative Theology (THEO 281)
  • Biola University, B.A. in Liberal Studies (Elementary Education, Torrey Honors College), 2007
  • Boston College, Masters of Divinity (M.Div), 2015
  • University of Oxford, D.Phil (Ph.D), Dissertation Title: "Sons of Adam, Daughters of Eve: Original Sin and the Evolution of Sexual Difference," 2019

Systematic theology, Modern Catholic theology, feminist theology, gender and sexuality studies, science and religion 

  • 2019-2022 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham
  • 2018-2022  Director of Studies in Science and Religion (part-time), Wycliffe Hall (SCIO), University of Oxford   
  • 2016-2022 Undergraduate Religion and Philosophy Instructor (part-time), St. Clare’s Oxford International College
  • 2018-2019  Academic Coordinator, Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities II Project (funded by the John Templeton Foundation), Wycliffe Hall (SCIO), University of Oxford
  • Summer 2012 English Instructor, Pine Manor College, Chestnut Hill, MA
  • American Academy of Religion (AAR)
  • Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA)
  • European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT)

Monographs

Peer-reviewed articles

  • “Gender as Context in Science and Religion: ‘Natural’ Sexual Difference as a Case Study," Philosophy, Theology, and the Sciences (Vol. 9, Issue 2), 2022. 
  • “The Evolution of Homo Ludens: Sexual Selection and a Theology of Play,” Zygon (published online, open access)
  • “Visiting Iniquity Upon the Generations: Epigenetics, Systems Biology, and Theologies of Inherited Sin,” Philosophy, Theology, and the Sciences (Vol. 7, Issue 2), 2020                                        
  • “Teresa of Avila on Theology and Shame,” New Blackfriars (Vol. 99, Issue 1081), 2018
  • “The Rise of Fundamentalisms and the Concept of Sin,” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review (Volume 105, Number 422, 2017)           
  • “Created Sick, Commanded to Be Sound: Augustine on Original Sin After Darwin,” Tijdschrift voor Theologie (Volume 55, 2015) (online edition)
  • “Taking Her Stand Beyond All Earthly Hierarchies: Teresa of Avila, Gender Performance, and Contemplative Prayer,” The Sword: A Journal of Historical, Spiritual, and Contemporary Carmelite Issues (Volume 75, 2015)                                                   
  •  “God Remembered: Barrenness and Hope in Genesis,” Lumen et Vita Graduate Academic Journal of Boston College STM (Volume 5, 2015)
  • “Dis-membering and Re-membering: The Eucharist and the Suffering of Women,” Lumen et Vita: Graduate Academic Journal of Boston College STM (Volume 4, 2014)

Contributions to edited volumes

  • Oxford Handbook of Theological Anthropology, Chapter entitled “Theological Anthropology After Darwin,” Oxford University Press (forthcoming in 2023)
  • Edited Volume for the “God and the Book of Nature Project,” Chapter entitled “Creaturely Agency in Evolution and Theology” (forthcoming in 2023)
  • Emerging Voices in Science and Theology: Contributions from Young Women, eds. Alister McGrath and Bethany Sollereder, introduction by Nancey Murphy, Chapter entitled: “Unity in the Massa Peccati: Original Sin and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis” (Routledge, 2022)
  • Augustine and Time, eds. Sean Hannan, Kim Paffenroth, John Doody, Chapter entitled: “Augustine and the Gendered Self in Time” (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021)
  • Salvation in the World: The Crossroads of Public Theology, eds. Stephan van Erp, Christiane Alpers, Christopher Cimorelli, Chapter entitled: “A Theologian Standing with God in the World: Developments in Schillebeeckx’s Epistemology and Implications for Feminist Theology” (Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017)

Contributions to online resources

Works in progress

  • “Sexual Selection and Natural Law Ethics” (in draft form, to be submitted to Studies in Christian Ethics)
  • “Sexual Selection and Sexual Diversity” (in draft form, to be submitted for a special issue on ‘Paul Feyerabend: Science, Theology, and Pluralism’ in Theology and Science in Spring 2023).

Invited Book Reviews

  • Review of Rachel Sophia Baard’s Sexism and Sin-Talk (Westminster John Knox Press, 2019), Modern Believing (Vol. 64, Issue 1, 2022)
  • Review of Karen Kilby’s God, Evil, and the Limits of Theology (Bloomsbury 2020), Studies in Christian Ethics (forthcoming in 2023)
  • Review of Original Sin and the Fall: Five Views (Eds. J.B. Stump and Chad Meister), Perspectives on Science and the Christian Faith (Vol. 73, 2021)                                                         
  • Review of Celia Deane-Drummond’s Theological Ethics Through a Multi-Species Lens (Oxford University Press, 2018), Philosophy, Theology, and the Sciences (Vol. 7, Issue 2, 2020)
Megan C. Loumagne

Phone: 814-871-+1 8148715335
Office: PC 3206G

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