Contact Information
Biography
Since 2020, Dr. Kenneth Parker has been leading the Catholic Studies Initiative as per the request of President Gormley and Provost Dausey, who authorized the establishment of the Catholic Studies Department (CSD) in September 2020.
In 2017, he assumed the Ryan Endowed Chair for Newman Studies at Â鶹ֱ²¥. Over the first three years, he focused on advancing the mission of Â鶹ֱ²¥ and promoting the National Institute for Newman Studies and Â鶹ֱ²¥'s Joint Initiative for Newman Studies, in conjunction with his joint appointment with the Department of Theology.
Dr. Parker's journey into historical theology is uniquely shaped by his background. Raised in the home of a Pilgrim Holiness pastor in North Carolina, his theological curiosity began in childhood. His academic pursuits, including studies at Fuller Theological Seminary and the University of Cambridge, led him through diverse experiences, culminating in his return to academic life and eventual roles at Saint Louis University and the National Institute for Newman Studies.
Education
Post-doctoral studies, nineteenth-century Roman Catholic theology and church history, with focus on John Henry Newman, Faculty of Theology (French and German sections), University of Fribourg, Switzerland, 1987-1990Ph.D., Historical Theology, University of Cambridge, 1984
M.A., Historical Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, 1978
B.A., History, Writing, Houghton College, 1976
Profile Information
2022-2023
Fall - EQ 118C Whose Humanity Matters?
Spring - CATH 281 - Rule-Breakers: A New Look at the Ten Commandments through Film
2021-2022
Fall - EQ 118: Whose Humanity Matters?
Spring - HONR 155/CATH 281 - Rule-Breakers: A New Look at the Ten Commandments through
Film (Honors College - Intro to Ethical Reasoning)
Spring - CATH 395 - Development in the Life of the Church
2020-2021
Fall - THEO 211C - Finding Religion in Prison
Spring - CATH 281 - Rule-Breakers: A New Look at the Ten Commandments through Film
2019-2020
Fall - THEO 211C - Finding Religion in Prison
Fall - UCOR 142: Theological Views of the Person
Spring - THEO 545/645: John Henry Newman in the 19th Century Context
2018-2019
Fall - THEO 211C - Finding Religion in Prison
Fall - UCOR 142: Theological Views of the Person
Spring - UCOR 142: Theological Views of the Person (2 sections)
2017-2018
Fall - UCOR 142: Theological Views of the Person (2 sections)
Spring - UCOR 142: Theological Views of the Person
Spring - THEO 524/HIST524: Roman Catholicism in the Long Nineteenth Century (1789-1914)
Innovative Teaching Fellowship, Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, Saint Louis University, 2014-2016
Donald G. Brennan Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring, Saint Louis University, April 2013
Student Government Association George C. Wendell Civic Engagement Award, Saint Louis University, April 2012
Honorary Member of Alpha Sigma Nu, selected by officers and members of the Saint Louis University Chapter (April 2011)
"Last Lecture": selected by Saint Louis University student nomination (April, 2010)
Helen Mandeville Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, Saint Louis University (April 2008)
Monographs, Critical Editions, and Edited Volumes
The Rise of Historical Consciousness among the Christian Churches, eds. Kenneth L. Parker and Erick Moser. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2012.
Authority, Dogma, and History: The Role of Oxford Movement Converts in the Papal Infallibility Debates, eds. Kenneth L. Parker and Michael Pahls. Bethesda, MD: Academica, 2009.
Tradition and Pluralism: Essays in Honor of William Shea, eds. Kenneth L. Parker, Petter Huff, and Michael Pahls. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2008.
‘Practical Divinity': The Works and Life of Richard Greenham, St Andrews Studies in
Reformation History. Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate Press, 1998.
The English Sabbath: A Study of Doctrine and Discipline from the Reformation to the
Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Recent Articles and Essays:
"Tractarian Visions of History." In The Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement, edited by Stewart Brown, Peter Nockles, and James Pereiro. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
"Tract Ninety." In The Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement, edited by Stewart Brown, Peter Nockles, and James Pereiro. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
with C. Michael Shea, "Roman Catholic Receptions of Newman's Essay on Development." In Receptions of John Henry Newman, edited by Fredrick Aquino and Benjamin King. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
"The Saint Louis University Prison Program: An Ancient Mission, a New Beginning." Saint Louis University Public Law Review, Spring 2014.
"Coming to Terms with the Past: The Role of History in the Spirituality of John Henry Newman." In Contemporary Perspectives on Newman's Spirituality, edited by Brian Hughes and John Connolly. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.
with C. Michael Shea."Johann Adam Möhler's Influence on John Henry Newman's Theory of Doctrinal Development: The Case for a Reappraisal." Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 89, no. 1 (2013): 73-95.
"Re-visioning the Past and Re-sourcing the Future: The Unresolved Historiographical Struggle in Roman Catholic Scholarship and Authoritative Teaching." In The Church On Its Past (Studies in Church History, vol. 49), edited by Peter D. Clarke and Charlotte Methuen, 389-416. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Ecclesiastical History Society and Boydell, 2013.
"The Rise of Historical Consciousness among the Christian Churches: An Introduction." In The Rise of Historical Consciousness among the Christian Churches, edited by Kenneth L. Parker and Erick Moser, 1-16. New York: University Press of America, 2012.
"Historical Consciousness and the First Vatican Council: Manning, Döllinger, Newman, and Acton's Uses of History in the Papal Infallibility Debates." In The Rise of Historical Consciousness among the Christian Churches, edited by Kenneth L. Parker and Erick Moser, 89-122. New York: University Press of America, 2012.
with Daniel Handschy. "Eucharistic Sacrifice, American Polemics, the Oxford Movement and Apostolicae Curae." The Journal of Ecclesiastical History 62, no. 3 (July 2011): 515-42.
"‘Cor ad cor loquitur': Heart Speaking unto Heart-The Beatification of John Henry Newman is an Important Gift to Today's Church." Homiletic and Pastoral Review 111, no. 4 (January 2011): 6-13.
"Sabbatarianism in Early Modern England." The English Parish Church through the Centuries: Daily Life and Spirituality, Art and Architecture, Literature and Music, CD/DVD-ROM. York: Christianity and Culture, 2010.
"Converts and the Council." In Authority, Dogma, and History: The Role of Oxford Movement Converts in the Papal Infallibility Debates, edited by Kenneth Parker and Michael Pahls, 1-8. Bethesda, MD: Academica Press, 2009.
"Henry Manning and Neo-Ultramontanism: The Life Context for an Oxford Movement Convert's Faith in Papal Infallibility." In Authority, Dogma, and History: The Role of Oxford Movement Converts in the Papal Infallibility Debates, edited by Kenneth Parker and Michael Pahls, 95-114. Bethesda, MD: Academica Press, 2009.
"Francis Kenrick and Papal Infallibility: How Pastoral Experience in the American Missions Transformed a Roman Ultramontanist." In Tradition and Pluralism: Essays in Honor of William Shea, edited by Kenneth Parker, Peter Huff, and Michael Pahls, 181-200. New York: University Press of America, 2008.