In brief:
SCHOLAR
of religion, gender, and trauma
ADVOCATE
for academic and public audiences
SPEAKER
also for academic and public audiences
EDUCATOR
in formal classrooms, online, and beyond
for victims and survivors of sexual violence
WRITER
Also: parent, widow, creative, and gardening fiend.
Fellow plant nerds, check out my blooms:
Hilary Jerome Scarsella
I write for both academic and public audiences. I write articles, reports, resources, curricula, rituals, and my first book is on its way. You can find a full list of my available publications on the publications page of this site. Some are available for download there or on the resources page. If you’d like a copy of something you can’t find, feel free to be in touch and ask me for one. I’m happy to share whenever I can. Also, I write regularly on Substack. Subscribe to my newsletter, Bowl of Oranges, if you’d like to read my informal musings and hear about new publications when they are released.
I left a chaired faculty position to focus on research full-time, and to create high quality educational resources widely available to the public. I have a PhD in Religion from Vanderbilt University. I study Christianity, gender, trauma, and sexual violence. I’ve published 14+ academic articles and my first book is on its way to shelves. For a full record of my scholarship, see my CV.
I am a professional advocate at Into Account, a national nonprofit that specializes in addressing sexual violence in religious contexts. I work in direct partnership with survivors toward their goals of bringing communities that caused harm into transformative accountability. I am the the primary point person for ensuring that religious dimensions of survivors’ experiences can be named, validated, and addressed in the communities that produced them.
Speaker
I treat speaking engagements as opportunities for high impact education in a short amount of time. Whether I am speaking to an academic, religious, or public group, my style is tailored, authentic, and connected. I do my homework on the community that has invited me, because I believe education is personal. The context matters. For an idea of the kinds of speaking I have done in the past, see my CV. And if you would like to talk with me about speaking with your community, send me a message.
Educator
I taught in university and seminary classrooms for years. Now, I want to bring those same educational opportunities to the public — for free. You can find a few preliminary resources on my resources page. But I am working behind the scenes to build high-quality, online options for anyone looking to better understand the intersections of religion, trauma, gender, sexual violence, and what we can do build healthier communities. To hear right away when these opportunities drop, subscribe to my newsletter. Periodically, I may available to run workshops or guest teach in specific communities. Reach out with inquiries if you have them.
Formal bio
Dr. Hilary Jerome Scarsella (she/her) is an expert in religion, trauma, sexual violence, and analysis of the role Christian theology and ethics play in Western public life. She focuses on developing scholarship, pedagogies, and practical tools for advancing sexual violence prevention and response.
Dr. Scarsella left a chaired faculty position to focus on research full-time, and to create high quality educational resources widely available to the public. While a faculty member, Dr. Scarsella developed and directed a one-of-a-kind academic program that used sexual violence as a positional point of departure for equipping students to analyze and disrupt broader systems of violence targeting women, LGBTQ+ communities, and survivors of abuse, with emphasis on those of color. Students of her program were empowered to create actionable strategies informed by historical and contemporary scholarship and activism to foster dignity, justice, and flourishing for marginalized groups facing injustice in their communities.
In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Scarsella has long-served as the Director of Theological Integrity for Into Account, a national nonprofit advocating for survivors of sexual violence associated with Christian contexts. In this capacity, she works closely with survivors and communities, offering direct advocacy to survivors, addressing the theological dimensions of violence, developing trauma-informed resources, co-authoring reports on instances of violence that are ongoing, and consulting on best practices for creating safer, more just religious environments.
Dr. Scarsella has published fourteen+ academic articles and several public-facing resources on trauma, abuse, and religion. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals, in university press volumes, as well as internationally through major media platforms such the Australian Broadcasting Company. Her expertise has been sought in interviews for national publications like USA Today and the National Catholic Reporter. Several of her published works are regularly assigned as essential reading on religion and sexual violence, including “Sexual Violence: Christian Theological Legacies and Responsibilities,” and “When Survivors Come Forward: Analyzing Patterns of Progressive Institutional Response and Working Toward Transformative Interventions.”
Recognized as a leader in her field, Dr. Scarsella is a two-time Louisville Institute Fellow and was named an Emerging Scholar by the University of Virginia’s Center for the Study of Religion. She serves on the steering committee for the Women and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion and co-chairs the Transformative Scholarship and Pedagogy Unit. A frequent speaker, she was invited as a keynote to address the 2022 Notre Dame conference on sexual violence and the Church, “Accountability, Healing, and Trust,” and has presented over 20 papers at leading academic conferences, including the American Academy of Religion, the National Women’s Studies Association, and the Society of Christian Ethics.
Through her work, Dr. Scarsella remains committed to intersectional justice, centering racial, gendered, and sexual wellbeing and empowerment in all aspects of her scholarship, advocacy, and teaching. She lives in the Lake Michigan watershed with her two small children, and spends as much time outdoors as possible.