Kathleen O'Gorman

Kathleen O’Gorman, Ed.D., is Associate Professor of Religion and Education, teaching graduate courses in Religious Education, Religion and Ecology, and the integrative capstone course in Loyola’s Institute for Ministry. This academic context enables her to educate professionals in the field, specifically Religion Teachers and Directors of Religious Education. She designed the MRE curriculum which includes courses in the Foundations of Religious Education and Curriculum Development. And she appreciates the opportunity to ground her practice as a Religious Educator in teaching undergraduate courses in Religious Studies which include the Introduction to World Religions, Christianity and the Environment, and Spirituality of the Nature Writers.

These latter courses are part of the Environmental Studies Program and reflect most clearly her research interest which focuses on integrating the wisdom of theology, ecology, and cosmology in a holistic practice of Religious Education. Her educational approach begins with the primary reality (the Universe) as the template for understanding anything and everything in the Universe. And proceeds from this to show that ecology derives from cosmology, anthropology derives from ecology, and theology derives from anthropology. In short, following Maria Montessori’s schema in which the learning process moves from whole to part and back to the whole.

Her publications include articles and papers presented at the annual meetings of the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education. These include “Creation-Affirming Catechesis,” “The Greening of Religious Education,” and “Religious Education in the 21st Century.” She has been invited to contribute to a forum in Religious Education that will be published in June, 2009, recently submitting a professional retrospective entitled, “By God’s Grace – All is Grace: The Story and Vision Informing My Practice of Religious Education.”

A former Sister, Kathleen has taught in parochial and public schools and also served as Director of Religious Education for a Catholic parish in Central Florida before coming to Loyola in 1979. She initially was hired as Associate Director of the Catechetical and Pastoral Institute (now LIM) and soon thereafter moved into a faculty position which she has held ever since.

Kathleen holds a Doctorate in Religion and Education from Teachers College Columbia University (1986) and her Masters in Religious Education (1978) from Loyola.