2016-present
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Dissertation: "Seeking the Good Life: The Moral Development of Young People in America"
Committee: Christian Smith (chair), Kraig Beyerlein, Terrence McDonnell, Erika Summers-Effler
Exam Fields: Religion (with distinction), Culture
2016-2018
M.A., Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Committee: Christian Smith (chair), Omar Lizardo, Terrence McDonnell
2013-2016
M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary
2009-2013
B.A., Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Minor: Social and Economic Justice
2007-2009
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Morality, Culture, Cognition, Religion, Emotion, Emerging Adulthood, Family, Life Course, Theory
Smith, Christian, Bridget Ritz, and Michael Rotolo. 2020. Religious Parenting: Transmitting Faith and Values in Contemporary America. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (equal authorship)
Rotolo, Michael. 2020 (Forthcoming). "Moral Religiosities: How Morality Structures Religious Understandings during the Transition to Adulthood." Sociology of Religion.
Rotolo, Michael. 2020. "Religion Imagined: The Conceptual Substructures of American Religious Understandings." Sociological Forum 35(1):167-188.
Michael Rotolo. 2020, April 8. “Could the Coronavirus be Good for the Church?” on Red Letter Christians.
Michael Rotolo. 2019, December 21. “Image Schemas: The Physics of Cultural Knowledge?” on Culture, Cognition, and Action (CultureCog) Blog.
Rotolo, Michael. "Culture Beneath Discourse: An Ontology of Cognitive Cultural Entities." (Under Review)
Rotolo, Michael, and Raechel Kiesel*. "The Moral Dictionaries of American Young People: A Longitudinal Examination of Moral Foundations." (Draft in Progress) (*Undergraduate Student)
Rotolo, Michael. “America’s Moral Compass: The Search for a Good Life in the 21st Century.” (Book Manuscript in Progress)
Rotolo, Michael. “The Power of Belief or, More Specifically, ‘I Believe.’” (Analyzing Data)
2016-present
Research Analyst
The National Study of Youth and Religion
2017-2020
Project Director of the Engaging Young Adults Initiative, $62,679
Lilly Endowment Inc.; Sunnyside Presbyterian Church
2016-2019
Research Assistant with Christian Smith
The Intergenerational Religious Transmission Project
2016-2019
Research Assistant with Christian Smith
Global Religion Research Initiative
October 2016
"Religion and Society in Chile," Religion Research Exploration in Santiago, Chile
Spring 2020
Instructor
SOC 20002: Understanding Societies, University of Notre Dame
2019-2020
Research Mentorship/Collaboration with Undergraduate Student
Raechel Kiesel, “The Moral Dictionaries of American Young People: A Longitudinal Examination of Moral Foundations”
September 23, 2019
Guest Lecturer
SOC 20100: Introduction to Cultural Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Fall 2018
Teaching Assistant with Christian Smith
SOC 30900: Sociological Theory, University of Notre Dame
Summer 2018
"Effective and Engaging Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities" Workshop
Summer 2014
ESL Teacher, Student.Go, Kanazawa, Japan
Summer 2012
ESL Teacher, Refuge & Hope International, Kampala, Uganda
August 8, 2020 — "Culture Beneath Discourse: Theorizing the Properties and Relationships of Cognitive Cultural Entities," American Sociological Association Virtual Annual Meeting, originally scheduled for San Francisco, CA.
October 25, 2019 — "America’s Four Religiosities: How Moral Orientations Structure Religious Practice During the Transition to Adulthood," Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
August 12, 2019 — "Religion and Ultimate Concerns During the Transition to Adulthood: The Role of Values in Forming Religious Outlooks," 81st Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, New York, NY.
October 28, 2018 — "Imagining Religion: The Unconscious Substructures of American Religious Understandings," Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
August 13, 2018 — “Imagining Religion: An Image Schematic Approach to Cultural Cognition,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
October 27, 2017 — “Preparation for the Journey: The Role of Experience in Parent’s Religious Transmission Approaches,” Harvard Divinity School Ways of Knowing Graduate Conference on Religion, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
October 13, 2017 — “Measuring Religiousness: Conventional Measures vs. Self-Evaluation From Adolescence to Young Adulthood,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
March 5, 2020 — “Accompanying Young Adults,” Panelist, Lilly Engaging Young Adults Statewide Commencement Gathering, Indianapolis, IN.
February 5, 2020 — “Seeking the Good Life: The Moral Development of Young People in America,” Program Speaker, The South Bend Rotary Club, South Bend, IN.
February 2, 2020 — “The Subtext of Religious Parenting,” Book Talk, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN.
December 24, 2018 — “Holy Family,” A Reflection on My Research Pertaining to Present-Day Religion and Young People, First Baptist Church, Henderson, NC.
January 28, 2018 — “The Sacredness of Stories,” Lecture on Young Adults and Religion, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
April 23, 2017 — “How We Are Similar and Why We Are Different: A Sociological Approach to Understanding Each Other.” Lecture on Personhood, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN.
2020-2021
Student Representative, American Sociological Association Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity
2019-2021
Student Research Grants Committee, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Oct. 10, 2019
Grad Student Representative, “What’s Grad School Really Like: The Scoop from Grad Students,” Undergraduate Career Services, University of Notre Dame
Oct. 2, 2019
Panelist, “Preparing a Grad School Application,” Undergraduate Career Services, University of Notre Dame
2018-2019
Graduate Studies Committee, Department of Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Spring 2017
Organizer, “Philosophical Bases of Social Theory” Graduate 1-Credit Course, University of Notre Dame
2015-2016
Senior Class Representative, Student Government Association, Princeton Theological Seminary
2014-2015
Deacon (RA) of Brown Hall, Princeton Theological Seminary
2014-2015
Campus Host, Princeton Theological Seminary
2013-2014
Junior Class Representative, Student Government Association, Princeton Theological Seminary
2013-2014
Housing and Residential Life Committee Member, Princeton Theological Seminary
2013-2014
Navigating the Waters Diversity Initiative Team Member, Princeton Theological Seminary
Ad Hoc Reviewer: American Sociological Review, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
2020-2021
Nominating Committee Member, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
2019-2020
Worship Committee Chair, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
2017-2020
Ruling Elder, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
2017-2019
Worship Committee Member, Sunnyside Presbyterian Church, South Bend, IN
2012-2013
Minority Refugee Liaison, Refugee Community Partnership, Chapel Hill, NC
2011-2012
Men’s Shelter Creative Writing Teacher, Orange County Literary Council, Chapel Hill, NC
2015-2016
Student Intern and Young Adult Leader, First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia
2014-2015
Student Intern, The Brick Presbyterian Church in the City of New York
Summer 2014
English Teacher and Field Worker, Student.Go, Kanazawa, Japan
Summer 2013
Student Intern and Youth Leader, First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC
Summer 2012
English Teacher and Field Worker, Refuge & Hope International, Kampala, Uganda
Summer 2011
Community Leader and Field Worker, Together for Hope, Helena, AR
American Sociological Association
Association for the Sociology of Religion
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion