James W. McCarty is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research sits at the intersections of Peace Studies and Christian Ethics. He is interested in the ethics of social and political practices of social transformation such as restorative justice, grassroots peacebuilding, nonviolent social change, and racial justice and human rights activism. He has also written about the theological ethics of Martin Luther King Jr. and Desmond Tutu and has published multiple essays on Asian American Christian Ethics. His writings have appeared in journals of theology, ethics, and law.<\/p>\n
Dr. McCarty is a general editor of the book series\u00a0The Business of Modern Life<\/a> which critically examines the ways the moral logics of neoliberal capitalism have come to influence our shared life. Prior to coming to BU, he held administrative and teaching positions at Emory University, Seattle University, and the University of Washington.<\/p>\n At BU he teaches courses in conflict transformation, restorative justice, peacebuilding, and community organizing. And he administers the\u00a0Certificate in Religion and Conflict Transformation<\/a>\u00a0in collaboration with the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium.<\/p>\n In addition to his scholarship, Dr. McCarty has been a minister and has worked in congregational and campus ministries in Washington, Georgia, and California. He has also been a restorative justice, transformative justice, and conflict transformation practitioner in the United States and East Africa.<\/p>\n The Business of Incarceration: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Prison-Industrial Complex.\u00a0<\/em>Co-edited with Justin Bronson Barringer and Sarah F. Farmer. (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2025).<\/p>\n The Business of War: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Military-Industrial Complex.\u00a0<\/em>Co-edited with Mathew A. Tapie and Justin Bronson Barringer (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2020).<\/p>\n Violence and Peace,<\/em>\u00a0Special Issue of\u00a0Practical Matters: A Journal of Religious Practices and Practical Theology\u00a0<\/em>(March 1, 2012). Co-edited with Joseph Wiinikka-Lydon.\u00a0http:\/\/practicalmattersjournal.org\/category\/issue-5\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Service to Solidarity: On the (Im)Possibilities of Liberative Service-Learning,\u201d Religion & Education <\/em>51.1-2 (2024), 101\u2013119.<\/p>\n \u201cDesmond Tutu\u2019s Spirituality of Protest,\u201d Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality<\/em> 24.1 (2024), 120-137.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Hope is a Discipline\u2019: Practicing Moral Imagination in Transformative Justice,\u201d\u00a0Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics<\/em>\u00a043.1 (2023), 129-147.<\/p>\n \u201cReflections on the Field: Teaching Religion and Upholding Academic Freedom,\u201d with multiple authors,\u00a0Journal of Religious Ethics<\/em>\u00a051.2 (2023), 343-373.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Power of Hope in the Work of Justice: Christian Ethics after Despair,\u201d\u00a0Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics<\/em>\u00a040.1 (2020), 39-57.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Directions in International Justice,\u201d\u00a0Journal of Law and Religion<\/em>\u00a029.1 (2014), 197-205.<\/p>\n \u201cA Paradoxical Theology of Biology: Desmond Tutu\u2019s Social Ethics in Light of His Sermon at Southwark Cathedral,\u201d\u00a0Theology and Sexuality\u00a0<\/em>19.1 (2013), 89-97.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Embrace of Justice: The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Miroslav Volf, and the Ethics of Reconciliation,\u201d\u00a0Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics<\/em>\u00a033.2 (2013), 111-129.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hybridized Public Sphere: Asian American Christian Ethics, Social Justice, and Public Discourse,\u201d with Keun-joo Christine Pae,\u00a0Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics<\/em>\u00a032.1 (2012), 93-114.<\/p>\n \u201cNonviolent Law? Linking Nonviolent Social Change and Truth and Reconciliation Commissions,\u201d\u00a0West Virginia Law Review<\/em>\u00a0114.3 (2012), 969-1005.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the State is Evil: Biblical Civil (Dis)Obedience in South Africa,\u201d\u00a0with Joel A. Nichols,\u00a0St. John\u2019s Law Review<\/em>\u00a085.2 (2011), 593-625.<\/p>\n \u201cRestorative Justice in Washington State,\u201d\u00a0with Inga Laurent and Barb Toews,\u00a0The International Encyclopedia of Restorative Justice: North America Volume<\/em>\u00a0(forthcoming)<\/p>\n \u201cPrison-Industrial Complex Abolition and Transformative Justice: A Primer for Christians,\u201d with Johonna McCants-Turner, in\u00a0The Business of Incarceration: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Prison-Industrial Complex\u00a0<\/em>(Cascade Books).<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding Peace in a Violent Nation: A Kingian Response to the Interconnected Violence of Racism, Materialism, and Militarism.\u201d In\u00a0The Business of War: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Military-Industrial Complex<\/em>\u00a0(Eugene: Cascade Books, 2020): 179-192.<\/p>\n \u201cHoe Avenue Peace Meeting,\u201d St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture <\/em>(Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2018), 210-211.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018The Gods Will Not Save You\u2019: On Teaching Ethics with\u00a0The Wire<\/em>,\u201d in\u00a0The Wire<\/em>\u00a0in the College Classroom: Pedagogical Approaches in the Humanities<\/em>, eds. Karen Dillon and Naomi Crummey (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015): 127-42.<\/p>\n \u201cReading Differently,\u201d in\u00a0Reading Theologically<\/em>, ed. Eric D. Barreto (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014): 95-108.<\/p>\n \u201cCivil Law and Civil Disobedience: The Early Church and the Law,\u201d with Joel A. Nichols, in\u00a0Law and the Bible: Justice, Mercy, and Legal Institutions<\/em>, eds. Robert F. Cochran Jr. and David Van Drunen (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013): 183-207.<\/p>\n \u201cRestorative Justice: A Global Movement to Transform Harm,\u201d Five digital lectures, Canopy Forum<\/em>, Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion: https:\/\/canopyforum.org\/restorative-justice\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTransformative Justice is Resistance to the Military-Industrial Complex,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0as part of symposium dedicated to\u00a0The Business of War<\/em>: \u00a0https:\/\/politicaltheology.com\/symposium\/reflections-on-the-business-of-war-theological-and-ethical-reflections-on-the-military-industrial-complex\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Introduction to\u00a0Syndicate\u00a0symposium on\u00a0Disciplined by Race: Theological Ethics and the Problem of Asian American Identity.<\/em><\/p>\n Interview, \u201cBlack history is under attack across US from AP African American Studies to \u2018Ruby Bridges\u2019,\u201d\u00a0USA Today<\/em>, in special issue \u201cMLK\u2019s \u2018I have a dream\u2019 speech looms large 60 years later,\u201d August 23, 2023,\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/education\/2023\/08\/23\/black-history-censorship-getting-worse\/70348173007\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Feature story, \u201cBU Faculty Combine Academics and Activism\u2014with Social Justice at the Core,\u201d\u00a0Bostonia<\/em>, Summer 2023,\u00a0https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/articles\/2023\/beyond-the-classroom-marches-megaphones-missions\/<\/a>.<\/p>\nPublications<\/h2>\n
Edited Volumes<\/h3>\n
Journal Articles<\/h3>\n
Selected Book Chapters<\/h3>\n
Other Publications<\/h2>\n
Selected Media Coverage and Interviews<\/h2>\n