Katie Gaddini

Katie Gaddini is an associate professor of sociology at the Social Research Institute, University College London (UCL), and a research associate at the University of Johannesburg, Department of Sociology. From 2022 to 2026, she is a UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Research Fellow at Stanford University and UCL.

Her debut book, The Struggle to Stay: Why Single Evangelical Women Are Leaving the Church (Columbia University Press, 2023), is based on over four years of in-depth ethnographic research with evangelical women in the United States and the United Kingdom. Her current research investigates Christian women and conservative politics in the United States from 1970 to present and uses a mix of historical, ethnographic and social media methods. Her public writing has been published in Religion & Politics, Los Angeles Review of Books, the Marginalia Review, and The Conversation, and she frequently shares her academic insights on US religion and politics with journalists for international news coverage. In addition, Dr. Gaddini co-runs an interdisciplinary network called Christianity and Politics across the Americas, featuring scholars from North, Central and South America.

Dr. Gaddini received her PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge in 2018. Prior to academia, she worked as an international social worker in Spain, South Africa and Boston, Massachusetts specializing in the prevention of gender-based violence.

Upcoming Projects: Dr. Gaddini is currently writing a book on Christian women and conservative politics from 1970 to the present, focusing on interviews with women across the United States. She is also collaborating with scholars investigating Christianity, gender and politics across geographic locations.