Richard W. McCarty

Dr. Richard W. McCarty is the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. Previously, Dr. McCarty served as Professor of Religious Studies at Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA. McCarty writes at the intersections of religion and ethics. His first book, Sexual Virtue: A Contemporary Approach to Christian Ethics (SUNY Press, 2015) considers how people might pursue the unique goods of recreation, relational intimacy, and/or procreation, drawing on Christian scripture, virtue ethics, natural law, and church teachings. His second book, Under the Bed of Heaven: Christian Eschatology and Sexual Ethics (SUNY Press, 2021), investigates why Christianity failed to develop visions of sex in heaven. This book then turns to name sexual metaphors that express the qualities of heaven, which can inform (and reform) Christian codes of sexual ethics in the here and now. As an ethicist, McCarty navigates away from both authoritarian traditionalism and postmodern forms of moral relativism. McCarty's books on sexual ethics have been described as compassionate, engaging, LGBTQ+ inclusive, and meaningful to a wide audience. McCarty's third book project, Theology, the Paranormal, and Popular Culture: Wrestling with Strange Angels (Bloomsbury, 2027) turns to a new line of scholarship. This book project analyzes paranormal narratives in U.S. popular culture, uncovering how theological and moral convictions in the United States are increasingly shaped by paranormal beliefs. In addition to his solo-authored books, McCarty has published a number of journal articles and book chapters. He also served as a co-editor for the Sheffield Phoenix volume, In Praise of Biblical Illiteracy.