Professor Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D., Earns Prestigious Religious Studies Fellowship

Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St. John’s University, has earned a prestigious research fellowship at Durham University in England.

Dr. Clark, a faculty member since 2011, is the winner of the Alan Richardson Fellowship at Durham and will be in residence there from late April to June 2027. The fellowship reflects Dr. Clark’s standing as a leading moral theologian and expert in Catholic Social Teaching.   

“I am deeply honored,” Dr. Clark said. “My department has been very supportive and helpful in making all of this work.”

The Alan Richardson Fellowship promotes research into contemporary Christian theology and is awarded annually to established scholars from across the globe. Dr. Clark is the second member of St. John’s theology and religious studies faculty to earn the fellowship—former Professor Nicholas Healy was selected for the fellowship before he retired from St. John’s in 2023.

While at Durham, Dr. Clark—author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: The Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights  (Fortress Press, 2014)—will study the concepts of intergenerational justice, human development, and the moral responsibility of humans toward future generations.

Inspired by the late Pope Francis’s commitment to ecological stewardship, Dr. Clark will also examine the relationship humans have with the planet, now and for future generations.

“Within the Catholic culture, we talk about the communion of saints­—this sense that we are connected to people we have never met,” Dr. Clark said. “So how do we incorporate that Catholic imagination into something that looks forward? Something that builds on what Pope Francis was talking about when he said we are tenants of the planet.”

“That requires us to rethink how we understand our relationship to future generations, including generations we will never meet,” Dr. Clark added.

The Department of Theology and Religion at Durham was established in 1832 and is among the leading centers of religious studies worldwide. The fellowship has been awarded for more than 20 years to leading theologians whose research explores relevant issues in contemporary Christian thought.

Rev. Patrick Flanagan, C.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, called Dr. Clark a leading thinker in Christian ethics, human rights, and social justice.

“Durham University confirms what St. John’s and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies already know about Dr. Clark's expertise in Catholic social thought, global development, and solidarity,” Fr. Flanagan said. “Dr. Clark’s distinguished honor amplifies our institutional dedication to academic excellence, social responsibility, and service to the common good.”