Gerard J. Ryan, SJ

Faculty

About

Professor Ryan joined Regis College and the Regis St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology in 2020 after completing his doctoral studies in the Department of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford. His studies were supervised by Professors Werner G. Jeanrond and Graham Ward. Before arriving at Regis, Ryan was a Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. His current research explores recognition theories and vulnerability studies as resources for a theological understanding of mutual accompaniment. His numerous publications and conference presentations include a recent monograph, Mutual Accompaniment as Faith-Filled Living: Recognition of the Vulnerable Other (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2021), and a new volume in progress expected in 2025 Ecological Accompaniment in an Age of Loneliness: New Landscapes in Practical Theology. In 2021, Ryan and Regis St. Michael’s Professor John Berkman were awarded a grant from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to foster dialogue between scientists and theologians and integrate science into the curriculum. Building on this work, Ryan secured an additional AAAS grant in 2024, focusing on the intersection of climate change and theological education and investigating the pastoral impact of forest fires on faith-based and secular communities across Canada.

Selected Publications

  • Ecological Accompaniment in an Age of Loneliness: New Landscapes in Practical Theology (London: Routledge), in progress and expected in 2025.
  • Mutual Accompaniment as Faith-Filled Living: Recognition of the Vulnerable Other (New York: Palgrave MacMillian, 2022)
  • “Ecological Accompaniment: From Connectivity to Closeness in an Age of Loneliness,” in Issues in Science and Theology, ed. Michael Fuller (Cham, Switzerland, Springer Nature, 2023). Forthcoming.
  • Ryan, Gerard, ‘Charles Taylor and the Political Recognition of Difference as a Resource for Theological Reflection on Religious Recognition’, Open Theology 2, no.1 (2016): 907-23
  • Toronto Journal of Theology (TJT)
  • The Twelfth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
  • ESSSAT: European Society for the Study of Science and Theology,
    Ålesund, Norway

Education

B.A. (University of Toronto)
M.Div.
(Regis)
S.T.L.
(Regis)
D.Phil.
(Oxford)

Research & Teaching Focus

  • Political Theology