Advisory Council

Micah Watson, Ph.D.

Dr. Micah Watson is a native of the great golden state of California, where he completed his undergraduate degree at UC Davis. He earned his MA degree in church-state studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and holds MA and…

Asma T. Uddin

Asma T. Uddin is a professor, author, and lawyer specializing in religious liberty. Her recent major publications include When Islam Is Not a Religion (2019), The Politics of Vulnerability (2021), and numerous scholarly articles utilizing social science theories to map…

Amy Black, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy E. Black is professor of political science at Wheaton College (IL). She is a specialist in American government, and her teaching and research interests include religion and politics, women in politics, fostering civil dialogue, the Presidency and Congress….

Deborah A. O’Malley, Ph.D.

Deborah A. O’Malley is an assistant professor in the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership at the University of Toledo. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Baylor University and a B.A. in political science and…

Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill, Ph.D.

Dr. Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill is director of the Campus Free Expression Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center. She advises senior college leaders on approaches to fostering a campus culture that is diverse, inclusive, and open to robust intellectual exchange. Her…

John Witte Jr., J.D.

Professor John Witte Jr. is Robert W. Woodruff University Professor of Law, McDonald Distinguished Professor of Religion, and faculty director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. A leading specialist in legal history, human rights, religious…

Jonathan Den Hartog, Ph.D. 

Dr. Jonathan Den Hartog is professor of history at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he also serves as the department chair. He has published articles in Early American Studies, the Journal of Church and State, and the Faulkner Law…

Michael Wear

Michael Wear is the founder, president and CEO of The Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation’s capital with the goal to develop and advance Christian resources for the public good. Michael has…

Samuel Goldman, Ph.D.

Dr. Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program. He previously…

Stanley Carlson-Thies, Ph.D.

Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies is founder and senior director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, which promotes the religious freedoms that enable faith-based organizations to make their distinctive contributions to the common good.  IRFA is a division of the Center for…