{"id":1390,"date":"2019-09-12T09:42:07","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T13:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/?post_type=profile&p=1390"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:54:19","slug":"claire-e-wolfteich","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/profile\/claire-e-wolfteich\/","title":{"rendered":"Claire E. Wolfteich"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claire E. Wolfteich is Professor of Practical Theology & Spirituality Studies at Boston University School of Theology. Her teaching and research interests include Christian spirituality; religion and public life; theology and practice; theologies of vocation, work, and family; lay spirituality; spiritual autobiographies; and American Catholicism. She co-directs the Center for Practical Theology and is Project Director of the Creative Callings research grant project and innovation hub<\/a>, funded by the Lilly Endowment. Dr. Wolfteich is a past President of the International Academy of Practical Theology and of the Association of Practical Theology. She also is a past President of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality.<\/p>\n

Her most recent book is Motherwork, Public Leadership, and Women\u2019s Life Writing: Explorations in Spirituality Studies and Practical Theology (<\/em>Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2017), a monograph that explores mothering as spiritual practice through the life writing of women from the medieval mystic Margery Kempe to twentieth-century lay leaders Dorothy Day and Dolores Huerta. She also has designed and edited two volumes on Catholic scholarship and practical theology: Catholic Approaches in Practical Theology: International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives<\/span><\/em> (Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, 2016), co-edited with Annemie Dillen, and Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions<\/span><\/em> (Paulist Press, 2014). With colleague Bryan Stone, she wrote Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence<\/span><\/em> (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), the fruit of a five-year grant project funded by the Lilly Endowment. In addition, she has authored several other books on spirituality: Lord, Have Mercy: Praying for Justice with Conviction and Humility<\/span><\/em> (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2006); Navigating New Terrain: Work and Women\u2019s Spiritual Lives<\/span><\/em> (Paulist Press, 2002), and American Catholics Through the Twentieth Century: Spirituality, Lay Experience, and Public Life<\/span><\/em> (Crossroad Publishing Co., 2001).<\/p>\n

Dr. Wolfteich serves on editorial boards for several scholarly journals, including International Journal of Practical Theology<\/em>; Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/span><\/em>; and The Way: A Review of Christian Spirituality Published by the British Jesuits.<\/span><\/em> In addition, she is on the<\/span><\/em> Editorial Board of the Theology in Practice Series (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers). She enjoys integrating teaching and scholarship and connecting the academy with the lives of faith communities.<\/p>\n

Publications<\/h2>\n

Books<\/h3>\n

Motherwork, Public Leadership, and Women\u2019s Life Writing: Explorations in Spirituality Studies and Practical Theology.<\/em> Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2017.<\/p>\n

Catholic Approaches in Practical Theology: International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives<\/em>. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, BETL (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium) series, 2016. Co-edited with Annemie Dillen.<\/p>\n

Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions<\/em>. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2014. Editor.<\/p>\n

Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence<\/em>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. Co-authored with Bryan Stone.<\/p>\n

Lord, Have Mercy: Praying for Justice with Conviction and Humility<\/em>. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2006.<\/p>\n

Navigating New Terrain: Work and Women\u2019s Spiritual Lives<\/em>. New York: Paulist Press, 2002.<\/p>\n

American Catholics Through the Twentieth Century: Spirituality, Lay Experience, and Public Life<\/em>. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2001.<\/p>\n

Journal Articles<\/h3>\n

\u201cBuilding International Scholarship in Spirituality: Introduction to the Special Issue on Global and Intercultural Studies in Spirituality.\u201d Spiritus: A Journal in Christian Spirituality<\/em> 16, no. 2A (January 2017): viiii-xi.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumility: Empirical Psychological Research in Dialogue with Practical Theology-Part 1.\u201d First author, co-authored with Callid Keefe-Perry, Steven Sandage, and David Paine. International Journal of Practical Theology<\/em> 20, no. 1 (June 2016): 143-155.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumility: Empirical Psychological Research in Dialogue with Practical Theology-Part 2.\u201d First author, co-authored with Callid Keefe-Perry, Steven Sandage, and David Paine. International Journal of Practical Theology<\/em> 20, no. 2 (November 2016): 1-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching Spirituality: Context, Practice, Scholarship and Formation,\u201d in The Way: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/em> published by the British Jesuits [Oxford] 53\/4 (October 2014): 17-28.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Comparative Research Conversation: American Catholic and German Protestant Spirituality Studies.\u201d Co-authored with J\u00f6rg Schneider.<\/p>\n

International Journal of Practical Theology<\/em> 17, no. 1 (August 2013): 100-130.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime Poverty, Women\u2019s Labor, and Catholic Social Teaching: A Practical Theological Exploration.\u201d Journal of Moral Theology<\/em>, 2, no. 2 (June 2013): 40-59.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Practices of Unsaying\u2019: Michel de Certeau, Spirituality Studies, and Practical Theology.\u201d Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/em> 12 (2012): 161-171.<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding at the Gap: Reading Classics and the Practices of Everyday Life.\u201d Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/em> 10, no. 2 (2010): 250-255.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnimating Questions: Spirituality and Practical Theology.\u201d International Journal of Practical Theology<\/em> 13 (2009): 121-143.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreation and Newness of Life: Reflections on Formation.\u201d Reflective Practice: Formation and Supervision for Ministry<\/em> 27 (Spring, 2007): 6-18.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevotion and the Struggle for Justice in the Farm Worker Movement: Practical Theological Approaches to Research and Teaching.\u201d Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/em> 5, no. 2 (2005): 158-175.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American Experiment: Religious Liberty, Roman Catholicism and the Vision of John Courtney Murray.\u201d Journal of Human Rights<\/em> 2, no. 1 (March 2003): 31-47.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttention or Destruction: Simone Weil and the Paradox of the Eucharist.\u201d The Journal of<\/em> Religion<\/span><\/em> 81, no. 3 (July 2001): 359-376.<\/p>\n

\u201cGraceful Work: Practical Theological Study of Spirituality.\u201d Horizons<\/em> 27, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 7-21.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Difficult Love: Mother as Spiritual Guide in the Writing of Susanna Wesley.\u201d Methodist<\/em> History<\/span><\/em> 38, no. 1 (October 1999): 53-62.<\/p>\n

Book Chapters<\/h3>\n

\u201cReframing Practical Theology: Assessing Catholic Contributions to the Discourse.\u201d In Conundrums in Practical Theology<\/em>, edited by Bonnie Miller McLemore and Joyce Mercer, 276-304. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpiritual Traditions, Mystical Theology, and Practical Theology.\u201d In Catholic Approaches in Practical Theology: International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives<\/em>, edited by Claire E. Wolfteich and Annemie Dillen, 101-116. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, BETL [Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium] series, 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatholic Theologies and Practical Theologies: Sketching the Landscape,\u201d co-authored with Annemie Dillen. In Catholic Approaches in Practical Theology: International and Interdisciplinary Perspectives<\/em>, edited by Claire E. Wolfteich and Annemie Dillen, 1-13. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, BETL [Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium] series, 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbodied Knowing and the Unspeakable Sacred: Practice in Christian Spirituality.\u201d In Sacrality and Materiality: Locating Intersections<\/em>, edited by Ralph Kunz and Rebecca Giselbrecht, 61-73. G\u00f6ttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cHermeneutics in Roman Catholic Practical Theology.\u201d In\u00a0Opening the Field of Practical Theology<\/em>, edited by Kathleen Cahalan and Gordon Mikoski, 133-151. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntroduction: An Invitation to Practical Theology.\u201d In Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions<\/em>, edited by Claire E. Wolfteich, 1-24. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cCatholic Voices and Visions in Practical Theology: Contributions and Future Directions.\u201d In Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions<\/em>, edited by Claire E. Wolfteich, 329-344. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s About Time: Rethinking Spirituality and the Domestic Church.\u201d In The Household of God and Local Households<\/em>, edited by Thomas Knieps-Port le Roi, Gerard Mannion, and Peter De Mey, 127-144. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 254. Leuven: Peeters, 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpirituality.\u201d In The Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology<\/em>, edited by Bonnie J. Miller McLemore, 328-336. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cRe-Claiming Sabbath as Transforming Practice: Critical Reflections in Light of Jewish-Christian Dialogue.\u201d In Religion, Diversity, and Conflict: Proceedings of the International Academy of Practical Theology<\/em>, edited by Edward Foley, 247-258. Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cPastoral Excellence: Research Findings and Visions for Future Work.\u201d In Engaging Pastors: Papers and Reflections from the Summative Conference.<\/em> Elkhart, Indiana: Institute of Mennonite Studies and the Church Leadership Center, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Currents in Spirituality and Their Impact on Marital Spirituality.\u201d In Companion to Marital Spirituality<\/em>, edited by Thomas Knieps-Port Le Roi and Monica Sanders, 47- 58. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic Life.\u201d In New Westminster<\/em> Dictionary of Christian Spirituality<\/span><\/em>, edited by Philip Sheldrake, 515-516. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpirituality and the Social Sciences.\u201d In New Westminster<\/em> Dictionary of Christian Spirituality<\/span><\/em>, edited by Philip Sheldrake, 68-73. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork.\u201d In New Westminster<\/em> Dictionary of Christian Spirituality<\/span><\/em>, edited by Philip Sheldrake, 651-652. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cModernization and Religion: Women\u2019s Changing Economic Roles as a Practical Theological Challenge.\u201d In Poverty, Suffering, and HIV-AIDS: International Practical Theological Perspectives<\/em>, edited by Pamela Couture and Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, 105-115. Cardiff, Wales: Cardiff Academic Press, 2003.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpirituality.\u201d In Encyclopedia of Science and Religion<\/em>, edited by J. Wentzel Vrede van Huyssteen et al. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe American Experiment: Religious Liberty, Roman Catholics, and the Vision of John Courtney Murray.\u201d In Tolerancija I<\/em> Tradicija<\/span><\/em>, edited by Adam Seligman and Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, 105-130. Sarajevo: Forum Bosnae, 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Can Churches Help Families Live Safely in a Violent Society?\u201d In Religion and Family: A Practical Theology Handbook<\/em>, edited by Herbert Anderson et al., 181-186. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"template":"","sth_faculty_type":[20],"sth_phd_student_type":[],"sth_staff_type":[],"sth_alumni_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/1390"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/profile"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/1390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58783,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile\/1390\/revisions\/58783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"sth_faculty_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sth_faculty_type?post=1390"},{"taxonomy":"sth_phd_student_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sth_phd_student_type?post=1390"},{"taxonomy":"sth_staff_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sth_staff_type?post=1390"},{"taxonomy":"sth_alumni_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sth_alumni_type?post=1390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}