Richard L. Wood

Wood writes about the role of religion in democratic life, especially the role of faith communities in advancing the common good and the interests of middle class, working class, and poor communities. His current book manuscript, Faith and the Fire of Public Life, studies congregations in 13 cities to analyze how democratic engagement can strengthen faith communities. Wood has collaborated to advance strategic thinking within several of the national faith-based community organizing networks (the PICO National Network, Gamaliel Foundation, Industrial Areas Foundation, DART, and the InterValley Project). As research director for Interfaith Funders, Wood oversees “State of the Field 2011,” a new census of all congregation-based community organizing efforts in the United States. He serves as co-editor of the Cambridge Series on Social Theory, Religion, and Politics. During 2010-2011, Wood served as the President of the UNM Faculty Senate, working with other faculty, staff, student, administrative, and regent leaders in re-imagining and re-funding the university’s academic mission. Wood serves as a pro-bono advisor to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the major anti-poverty initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.