Contact Information

Biography

Dan Scheid, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Boston College (2008), his M.A. in Theology from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and his A.B. in History from Princeton University. His theological work focuses on interreligious ecological ethics, drawing on Catholic social thought and comparative theology, with particular attention to Catholic-Hindu and Catholic-Buddhist dialogue. He is the author of The Cosmic Common Good: Religious Grounds for Ecological Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2016), which reorients ecologically key principles of Catholic social thought and places these in dialogue with Hindu, Buddhist, and American Indian religious traditions. He has made over 40 scholarly and professional presentations and published over 20 scholarly and professional journal articles and book chapters. His work has appeared in Worldviews, Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations, T&T Clark Companion to Christian Ethics, Annual Volume of the College Theology Society, Teaching Theology and Religion, Journal of Religion & Society, Teilhard Studies,  Journal of Vaishnava Studies, and America.

Dan and his wife, Anna, live in Pittsburgh with their three children.

Education

  • Ph.D., Theology, Boston College, 2008
  • M.A., Theology, Catholic Theological Union, 2004
  • A.B., History, Princeton University, 1998

 

School

Courses

  • BRDG 100      Can Faith Save the Earth?
  • BRDG 105      Introduction to Ethical Reasoning
  • THEO 143      Global and Cultural Perspectives
  • THEO 185      Climate Change, Resilience, and Sustainability
  • THEO 203W   Hinduism and Buddhism (Writing Intensive)
  • THEO 210      Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
  • IHP 212           Hallows and the Holy: Harry Potter and Theology (Honors College)
  • THEO 540      Comparative Theology (Masters Level)
  • THEO 694      Doctoral Seminar in Ecological Ethics 
Scholarship and Publications
  • Dr. Scheid's research interests are in ecological ethics and comparative theology.
  • “Covid 19 and Building a More Sustainable World,” in Strands of Sustainability. Ed. Gerard Magill and James Benedict, Fall 2022. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023: 10-19.
  • “Recent Hindu and Buddhist Approaches to Climate Change: In Dialogue with Pope Francis.” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, 34, 2022: 68-84.
  • “Integral Ecology, Just Peace, and Extractives.” Co-authored with Anna Floerke Scheid. Catholic Peacebuilding and Mining: Integral Peace, Development, and Ecology. Edited by Gerard F. Powers and Caesar A. Montevecchio. London: Routledge, 2022: 117-132.
  • “Creation, Cosmos, and Ecology in Hindu-Christian Relations.” In Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations. Ed. Michelle Voss Roberts and Chad Bauman. New York: Routledge, 2021: 401-408.
  • “Land and Ecosystems.” In T&T Clark Companion to Christian Ethics. Ed. Tobias Winright. New York: T&T Clark, 2021: 369-380.
  • “Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry, The Journey of the Universe, and Evolutionary Wonder.” Teilhard Perspectives, Volume 52, Number 2, Winter 2019: 7-12.
  • “Christian Ethics and the Ecological Emergency,” Co-author on public statement by Christian ethicists. https://dailytheology.org/2019/03/12/christian-ethics-and-the-ecological-emergency-a-statement-from-christian-ethicists-without-borders/
  • “Tamil Saivism, Srivaisnavism, and Eco-Theology,” in the Journal of Vaishnava Studies. Volume 28, No. 1, Fall 2019: 137-144.
  • “The Moral Vision of Laudato Si’: The Cosmic Common Good as a Common Ground for Interreligious Ecological Ethics,” in Integral Ecology: Protecting Our Common Home. Ed. Gerard Magill, Jordan Potter. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018: 155-181.
  • “Laudato Si’ and the Development of Catholic Social Teaching,” in All Creation Is Connected: Voices in Response to Pope Francis’s Encyclical on Ecology, Edited by Daniel R. DiLeo. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2018: 182-194.
  • “Laudato Si’: A North American Perspective,” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, 28, 2016: 88-103.
  • “The Integrity of Creation and the Cosmic Common Good,” in The Urgency of Climate Change: Pivotal Perspectives. Ed. Gerard Magill and Kiaresh Aramesh. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016: 20-30.
  • "Catholic Cosmic Common Good, Buddhist Interdependence, and the Practice of Interreligious Ecological Ethics," in The Journal of Inter-Religious Studies, 16, 2015: 72-80.
  • "Co-Creator or Creative Predator? James Nash's Contributions to Catholic Social Teaching on Ecological Ethics" in Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, ed. Christopher Key Chapple, 18 (2014): 99-121.
  • Bidlack, Brecht, Krokus, Scheid, Locklin. "Teaching Comparative Theology from an Institution's Mission," Teaching Theology and Religion, Volume 17, Issue 4, October 2014: 369-387.
    Scheid. "Teaching Comparative Theology from an Institution's Mission: A Spiritan Perspective," Teaching Theology and Religion, Volume 17, Issue 4, October 2014: 379-382.
  • "Common Good: Human, or Cosmic?" Journal of Religion & Society, Supplement Series 9: "The Greening of the Papacy," edited by Ronald A. Simkins and John J. O'Keefe (The Kripke Center: 2013, http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/toc/SS09.html): 5-15.
  • "Just Peacemaking Theory and the Promotion of Dignified Subsistence," in Violence, Transformation, and the Sacred: They Shall Be Called Children of God (College Theology Society Annual Volume 2011), eds. Margaret R. Pfeil and Tobias L. Winright (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2012): 175-189.
  • "Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Thomistic Tradition, and the Cosmic Common Good," in Green Discipleship: Catholic Theological Ethics & the Environment. Ed. Tobias Winwright (Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2011): 129-147.
  • "Thomas Aquinas, the Cosmic Common Good, and Climate Change," in Confronting the Climate Crisis: Catholic Theological Perspectives. Ed. Jame Schaefer (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2011): 125-144.
  • "Expanding Catholic Ecological Ethics: Ecological Solidarity and Earth Rights" in Religion, Economics, and Culture in Conflict and Conversation (College Theology Society Annual Volume 2010), eds. Laurie Cassidy and Maureen O'Connell (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2011): 196-216.
  • "Vedānta Deśika and Thomas Aquinas on the Intrinsic Value of Nature" in the Journal of Vaishnava Studies, 18 (2010): 27-42.
  • "Common Good," in Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability: Vol.1 The Spirit of Sustainability. Ed. Willis Jenkins (Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing Group, October 2009): 71-72.

Recent Conference Presentations

  • "Rethinking Progress Through the Voice of Puerto Ricans." Catholic Theological Society of America, San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 2016.
  • "God at Play in Creation: Resources for Christian Ecological Ethics in Hindu Lila (Play) and Bhoga (Pleasure)," Society of Christian Ethics, Toronto, Canada. January 2016.
  • "Just Sustainability and Its Implications for Cross-Cultural Pedagogy," College Theology Society, Portland, OR. June 2015.
  • "Pope Francis and the First Encyclical on Ecology: Solidarity, The Common Good, and The Preferential Option for the Poor," College Theology Society, Portland, OR. June 2015.
  • "Catholic Common Good, Buddhist Interdependence, and the Practice of Interreligious Ecological Ethics," American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA. November 2014
  • "Catholic Theology and Catholic Engagement in Contemporary Environmental Issues: A Primer in Catholic Social Teaching," Society of Catholic Social Scientists, Steubenville, OH. October 2013
  • "All My Relations: A Critical Appreciation of Lakota Spirituality for Christian Ecological Ethics," Society of Christian Ethics, Chicago, IL. January 2013
  • "Teaching Comparative Theology from an Institution's Spirituality and Mission: A Spiritan Perspective," Panel participant, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL. November 2012.
  • "Alongside Waterfalls: Thomas Berry and the Sacramentality of the Universe," Catholic Theological Society of America, St. Louis, MO. June 2012