Lakeland, Paul 1946–

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Lakeland, Paul 1946–

PERSONAL: Born April 22, 1946, in Preston, England; son of Thomas Francis (an engineer) and Mary Marjorie (Walton) Lakeland; married Frances Beth Palmer (a therapist), August 18, 1984; children: Jonathan. Education: Heythrop Pontifical Atheneum, license, 1969; Oxford University, B.A., 1972; University of London, B.D., 1977; Vanderbilt University, Ph. D., 1980. Politics: Socialist. Religion: Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: The New York Mets, "radical politics, political and literary metatheory, and the struggle for justice."

ADDRESSES: Home—Trumbull, CT. Office—Department of Religious Studies, Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and professor. Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT, assistant professor, 1981–84, associate professor, 1984–88, professor of religious studies, 1988–, the Aloysius P. Kelley S.J. professor of Catholic studies, chair of department of religious studies, and director of university honors program. New York University, New York, NY, Faculty Resources Network, scholar in residence, 1985.

MEMBER: American Academy of Religion, Hegel Society of America, Association for Religion and the Intellectual Life, Catholic Theological Society of America, American Association of University Professors.

AWARDS, HONORS: Teacher of the Year, Fairfield University, 2005.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Can Women Be Priests?, Mercier Press (Cork, Ireland), 1975.

Free in Christ: The Challenge of Political Theology, Mayhew (Grand Rapids, MI), 1984, Fordham University Press (Bronx, NY), 1986.

The Politics of Salvation: The Hegelian Idea of the State, State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 1984.

Theology and Critical Theory: The Discourse of the Church, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1990.

Postmodernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1997.

The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church, Continuum (New York, NY), 2003.

(Editor, with Serene Jones) Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Themes with CD-ROM, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2004.

Contributor to professional journals. Cross Currents, member of editorial board; Religious Studies Review, sub-network editor.

SIDELIGHTS: Paul Lakeland, a professor of religious studies, writes on religious and theological topics, primarily related to the Roman Catholic church. For example, in his book The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church, Lakeland looks at the history and changing theology of the laity in the Roman Catholic Church through the twentieth century. The author points out that the position of the laity has become more important in the church, especially after the Second Vatican Council. As Kathleen A. Cahalan wrote in the Christian Century: "Lakeland believes that laypersons must assume a secular, lay spirituality marked by freedom, limitation, and responsibility." Lakeland also offers his own ideas for revitalizing reform in the church and its structure and organization. Reviewing the book for America, R. Scott Appleby wrote: "The Liberation of the Laity is … a most important book. Aided by a burst of courage implanted in the right hearts by the indwelling Spirit, it could become a landmark."

In a previous edition of CA, Lakeland described himself as "a former Jesuit, with major interests in straddling disciplinary boundaries in humanities and social sciences."