Faculty & Staff

Faculty

David McDuffie

David C. McDuffie

Lecturer
UNC-Chapel Hill

Areas of Academic Interest

  • The Relationship between Religion and Science
  • Religion and Ecology
  • Religion in America
  • Christian Thought
  • Environmental Studies
  • Philosophy of Religion

Personal Statement and Background

My primary research and teaching interests revolve around the interdisciplinary conversations between religion and the natural sciences and the ways in which these conversations contribute to ecological conservation.  The following question orients my work:  In a time of widespread ecological degradation, what is the potential for religion or the religious to offer a significant contribution toward the attainment of sustainable human cultures?   I explore this question with reference to conceptions of the natural environment from established religious traditions (with a particular emphasis on Christian tradition) as well as through an examination of whether concern and care for natural environments can be understood as a form of religious expression.

I hold MA degrees in both Religion and Philosophy from the University of Georgia where I also earned a graduate certificate in Environmental Ethics.  I am currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill preparing for the dissertation phase of my doctoral work.  Additionally, I am a UNC-Greensboro Environmental Studies Program committee member and co-chair of the Religion and Ecology Section for the American Academy of Religion’s Southeastern Regional Meeting.

Courses Taught at UNCG

REL 101:  Introduction to Religious Studies
REL 109:  Religion and Contemporary Culture
REL 225:  An Introduction to Islam
REL 231:  Religion in America
REL 250:  Religious Traditions and Care of the Earth
Residential College 213:  Seminar in Philosophical, Religious and Ethical Principles