Christopher D. Tirres
Christopher Tirres (A.B., Princeton University; Ph.D., Harvard University) is interested in the liberating potential of human spirituality. More specifically, he explores how liberating spiritualities in the Americas can emerge not only through prophetic articulations of organized religion, but also as organic expressions of human creativity and everyday forms of knowing. Tirres pursues these lines of inquiry through multiple disciplinary lenses, including philosophical pragmatism, Latin American liberation theology, US Latine theology, ritual studies, decolonial thought, women of color feminism, and critical pedagogy.
Tirres began teaching at SCU in 2023. Before that, he was Vincent de Paul Professor and the Inaugural Endowed Professor of Diplomacy and Interreligious Engagement at DePaul University. He is an award-winning teacher and the recipient of major fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and the Louisville Institute. He is an active member of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy (SAAP), the American Academy of Religion (AAR), and the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. (ACHTUS), where he currently serves as vice-president.
A native of El Paso, Texas, Tirres recently delivered the distinguished John Dewey Memorial Lecture, which pays tribute to the healing power of borderlands spirituality.
- US Latine Religious Experience (RSOC 92)
- Religion in Latin America (RSOC 136)
- Faith and Philosophy: Latine Perspectives (RSOC 161)
- US Latine Theology and Ministry (LATM 220 - GPPM)
- Liberation Theology (THEO 252 - GPPM)
Liberating Spiritualities: Reimagining Faith in the Américas (Fordham University Press, 2025)
Religion in the Américas: Tran-hemispheric and Transcultural Approaches (University of New Mexico Press, 2025), co-edited with Jessica L. Delgado
The Aesthetics and Ethics of Faith: A Dialogue between Liberationist and Pragmatic Thought (Oxford University Press, 2014)
“Spiritual Healing at the Border: Lessons in Art, Culture, and Education" (2022 John Dewey Memorial Lecture). Education & Culture, 38:2 (2022), 91-126
“A Liturgy that Heals: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Mexican-American Ritual,” in Deep Inculturation: Global Voices on Christian Faith and Indigenous Genius, ed. Antonio Sison (Orbis, 2024)
“Religion, Custom, and Habit: Re-imagining Dewey for the 21st Century,” in John Dewey's Human Nature and Conduct: A Centennial Handbook (2024)
“Popular Ritual as Liberating Pedagogy,” in Latino/a Theology and the Bible: Ethnic-Racial Reflections on Interpretation, ed. Fernando Segovia and Francisco Lozada (Lexington Books, 2021), 189-206
“Faith in Action and Community Engagement: Realizing Mission through Immersion Experiences,” co-authored with Melanie C. Schikore, in Community Engagement in Christian Higher Education: Enacting Institutional Mission for the Public Good (Routledge, 2021), 140-160
“Witnessing the Seeds of Liberation: Immigrant Detention and Pedagogical Encounter.” ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, vol xx: 2 (2021)
“Spiritual Activism and Praxis: Gloria Anzaldúa’s Mature Spirituality.” The Pluralist, vol 14:1 (2019), 119-140
“Suffering and Hope in the Enchanting Garb of Poetry.” CrossCurrents, vol. 66:2 (2016), 162-172
“Conscientization from within lo Cotidiano: Expanding the Work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz.” Feminist Theology, vol. 22:3 (2014), 312-323
“Do coração e da mente: uma carta aberta a Ivone Gebara” (From the Heart and Mind: An Open Letter to Ivone Gebara) in Querida Ivone, Amorosas cartas de teologia & amizade, ed. Cláudio Carvalhaes e Nancy Cardoso. (CEBI & EST, 2014), 83-89
“Theological Aesthetics and the Many Pragmatisms of Alejandro García-Rivera.” Diálogo: An Interdisciplinary Studies Journal, vol. 16:2 (2013), 59-64
“Decolonizing Religion: Pragmatism and Latina/o Religious Experience,” in Decolonizing Epistemologies: Latina/o Theology and Philosophy, ed. Ada María Isasi-Díaz and Eduardo Mendieta (Fordham University Press, 2012), 226-246
“John Dewey: A Common Faith?” in Beyond the Pale: Reading Christian Theology from the Margins, ed. Miguel de la Torre and Stacy Floyd-Thomas (Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 134-141