David Dault, PhD
Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality
David Dault (PhD, Vanderbilt, 2009) engages in scholarship that resists easy classification. He began his college career at the age of 15, studying with philosopher Rick Roderick at Duke University. Dault went on to study and collaborate with thinkers such as Walter Brueggemann, Eberhard Busch, Peter Ochs, M. Douglas Meeks, J. Patout Burns, Paul DeHart, and James W. Watts. The result has been a scholarly career that draws together philosophy, theology, hermeneutics, ethics, interfaith scriptural studies, legal studies, material culture studies, literary criticism, and media studies.
He is the author of two books, The Accessorized Bible (Yale University Press, 2026) and The Covert Magisterium(Bloomsbury / Fortress Academic, 2026), as well as a number of other scholarly and popular works for academic journals, popular magazines, and edited volumes.
Dault is the current president of the Society for Comparative Research on Iconic and Performative Texts (SCRIPT), an international AAR/SBL-affiliated scholarly organization. He is the past president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities Network for Pastoral, Ministerial, and Theological Education (AJCU-PMTE). He has also served as a peer reviewer for the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference.
In addition to his scholarship, Dault has had a long career in the world of television, radio, and podcasting. He is the co-founder of Sandburg Media, a consulting and production company that works with clients across the nation to develop and produce content for radio, streaming, and television. His work has won awards from the Religion News Association, the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, and the Religion Communicators Council. In 2015 he was honored to receive an Emmy nomination for the television documentary Selma at 50: Still Marching.
Dault is also the host and executive producer of the radio show and podcast, Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith. Since 2018, he has also served as the executive producer of The Francis Effect, which he co-hosts with Dan Horan and Heidi Schlumpf, and since 2024, he has co-hosted the podcast Steven and David Read the Federalist Papers.
Behind the scenes, Dault serves as the podcast editor for Commonweal magazine, and as the technical producer and editor for podcasts for organizations such as The Paulist Fathers and Brothers, GIA Music Publications, the American Dental Association, and many others.
He serves the university as chair of the IPS Curriculum Committee, as well as serving on the Executive Committee and Faculty Affairs Subcommittee of the Loyola Faculty Council. His charitable work in the Chicago community includes his many years of service on the Boards of the First Friday Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Bible Society, where he serves on the Executive Committee.
He lives with his family in Hyde Park, on the south side of Chicago, and like Pope Leo XIV, he is a Sox fan.
Recent Student Comments (2025)
"Absolutely loved this course! Dr Dault's presentation of a range of perspectives on Christian spirituality was informative and thought provoking. The atmosphere of collaborative learning between students and each other and students and instructor was so affirming and dynamic. Dr Dault has genuine care for the growth of every student. The atmosphere in his classroom is like none I've experienced before. Can't recommend Dr Dault and his Christian Spirituality class highly enough."
"The way that Dault cares for his students really shows in each and every class we all meet together. He helps us feel seen, heard, understood. He calls us to contemplation on complicated discussions, and because of the space he has created in the classroom for students to freely learn and express themselves, their interactions with the material and the ideas proposed, we are better students, ministers and people."
"I didn't expect nuclear science to be such an interesting way to explore aspects of ministry. It brought a different lens to so many concepts that I've learned at IPS, contributing to my efficacy as a minister. I'm really glad that I took it!"
"There are not enough categories in this survey for me to articulate adequately how amazing David Dault is as an instructor, an academic, and a Catholic critical thinker. If I could, I would take every course he instructs. He is just outstanding!"
Education
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN: PhD, Religion
- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN: MA, Religion
- Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA: MA, Theological Studies
- The University of the South, Sewanee, TN: BA, Philosophy
Research Interests
- Cultural material approaches to religion
- Theological hermeneutics
- Religion and the law
- History of Christian thought
- Trauma-informed pedagogy
- Nuclear security and non-proliferation
Professional/Community Affiliations
- American Academy of Religion
- American Nuclear Society
- AJCU Conference on Pastoral, Ministerial, and Theological Education (2024 President)
- Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry
- Catholic Theological Society of America
- Christian Legal Society
- International Association for Media and History
- Raymond Williams Society
- Religion Communicators Council
- Religion News Association
- Society of Biblical Literature
- Society for Comparative Research of Iconic and Performative Texts (current President)
- Society for Pastoral Theology
- Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
- Board of Directors, Chicago Bible Society, Chicago, IL
- Advisory Board, Zeitgeist Center for Spiritual Direction, Atlanta, GA
- Loyola University Faculty Council representative. Committees: Executive, Faculty Affairs, Ad hoc Committee on Academic Freedom and Harassment
- IPS Committees: Curriculum (Chair), Admissions, Marketing
Courses Taught
- Introduction to the New Testament
- Introduction to the Old Testament
- Foundations of Christian Spirituality
- Introduction to Theology and Ministry
- Ignatian Spirituality
- Foundations of Social Justice
- Leadership in Social Justice Organizations
- Introduction to Canon Law
- Media for Ministry and Mission
- Nuclear Security and Catholic Social Teaching
- Special Topics: Isaiah
- Special Topics: Queer Theologies
- Special Topics: Spiritualities of the Old Testament
- Special Topics: Spiritual Writings of Julian of Norwich
- Special Topics: Spiritual Writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Thérese of Lisieux
Publications/Research Listings
Books
The Accessorized Bible, Yale University Press, 2026.
The Covert Magisterium: Theology, Textuality, and the Question of Scripture, Bloomsbury Press, 2026.
Book Chapters
“What Is ‘Epochal Change’?,” Laity, Ministry and the Church: Co-Workers in a Time of “Epochal Change” (eds. Michael Canaris and Maureen O’Brien; forthcoming Paulist Press, 2026).
“To Be Seen as a Whole Person: Masking and Unmasking in Higher Education,” Of Many Minds: Neurodiversity and Mental Health Among University Faculty and Staff (eds. Rebecca Pope-Ruark and Lee Skallerup Bessette; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, August 2025), 26-33.
“Theology and Media,” Theologians and Philosophers Using Social Media: Advice, Tips, and Testimonials(ed. Thomas Jay Oord; Nampa, Idaho: SacraSage Press, 2017), 103-109.
“The Domestication of Theological Imagination: The Role of Bible Production in the Ideological Control of Reading,” Imagination, Ideology, and Inspiration: Echoes of Brueggemann in a New Generation (eds. Robert Williamson and Jonathan Kaplan; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2015), 255-271.
"Catholic Reasoning and Reading Across Traditions," Interreligious Reading After Vatican II: Scriptural Reasoning, Comparative Theology, and Receptive Ecumenism (eds. David Ford and Frances Clemson; Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2013), 46-61.
"To the Void: Karl Barth, Yves Klein, and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music," Secular Music and Sacred Theology (ed. Tom Bedouin; Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2013), 3-15.
“Rosenzweig and Derrida at Yom Kippur,” in Other Testaments: Derrida and Religion (ed. Yvonne Sherwood and Kevin Hart; New York: Routledge, 2005), 97–110.
Journal Articles
“The Parasocial Dimension of Scripture,” PostScripts vol. 15, no. 2 (March 2025).
“Forum of Tactics for Teaching the Materiality of Scripture: Forensic Material Scripture,” co-authors Dorina Miller Parmenter, et al., Teaching Theology and Religion v.19:2 (April 2016).
"Catholic Reasoning and Reading Across Traditions," Modern Theology, 29:4, October 2013.