Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Ashley McKinlessJuly 13, 2018

You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in theology to write about religion (thank goodness)—but Tara Isabella Burton’s work shows it certainly doesn’t hurt. After getting her doctorate in theology at Oxford University, Tara became the first full-time religion correspondent for Vox (with a V she is quick to clarify). There she translates religious stories to a largely secular audience and brings a theologian’s lens to questions of public policy and values.

Tara also published her first novel this year, Social Creature, a thrilling story about striving and sin in the decadent world of upper-class New York. We ask her about the book, how her own own faith has shaped her writing and why everyone should study theology.

Jesuitical is on vacation until August, so no Signs of the Times this week, but we still want to hear from you! Come share your consolations and desolations or some interesting Catholics news in our Facebook group. You can also find us on Twitter @jesuiticalshow, support us on Patreon and send us an email at jesuitical@americamedia.org.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Do the social networks that Catholic influencers are forming online reflect the values of the Gospel or those of the platform?
Whenever I teach a seminar on T. S. Eliot’s work, I spend the first day of class on ‘Marina.’
Jayme Stayer, S.J.July 14, 2025
The figures represent a huge increase in abortion within a decade, since in 2012 abortion ended 20.84% of conceptions—a fifth of all pregnancies.
Serving life by caring for others is “the supreme law” that comes before all of society’s rules, Pope Leo XIV said in his first Angelus address at the papal summer residence.