Joel Pierce completed his PhD in Divinity in 2021. His dissertation focused on scepticism of rights and liberalism more generally among contemporary Christian political theologians and philosophers such as Alasdair MacIntyre, Stanley Hauerwas, and Oliver O’Donovan. It argued that by their own lights, these thinkers should be more open to the positive role rights have historically played in constraining power and that their failure to do so has contributed to the rise of antiliberal and authoritarian rhetoric within Christian politics. A substantially revised version of his dissertation, Rights, Virtue, and Others in MacIntyre: Community After the Fall was published by Lexington Books in 2024.
Since completing his PhD, Joel has continued to work at the University of Aberdeen, supporting distance students in theology and studying for ministry in the Church of Scotland at Aberdeen through a dual role as Administrator of both Theology Online and Christ’s College. As part of these roles he oversees the historic Divinity Library at the University of Aberdeen. Joel acts as an Associate Tutor for the Scottish Episcopal Institute, having taught courses there in Christian Ethics and Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations. He also is a member of the executive committee for the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics and writes pieces aimed at popular audience for Seen & Unseen.
Over the last few years, Joel has partnered with others to produce research on interfaith relations and the effects of migration on the way Christianity is practiced in Aberdeen. He continues to maintain an interest in the work of MacIntyre while developing a more recent focus on the thought of Hannah Arendt.
Prior to commencing his PhD studies, Joel completed an MTh in Theological Ethics at Aberdeen which focused on differing interpretations of natural law in the work of MacIntyre and Jean Porter. Joel also holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science, a BSc in Mathematics, and a BA in Philosophy, all from the University of Washington in Seattle.