Research Interests
Our research focuses on how religion and Whiteness shape individual and group engagement with social justice. In one area of research, we examine the ways in which religious settings such as congregations promote social justice engagement. We further explore how White students understand and emotionally respond to racism and White privilege with implications for how to engage White students in racial justice action.
Research Description
2018 Early Career Award: Society for Community Research and Action
2012 Louisville Institute Project Grants for Researchers. Understanding Social Networks and Social Capital in Religious Congregations. N. Todd, Principal Investigator. $25,000 funded.
Education
Theology, M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary
Psychology, M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary
Ph.D, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
B.A., University of Oklahoma
Recent Publications
Cowand, A., Bresin, K., Todd, N. R., & Mekawi, Y. (2025). Presenting a strengths-based ecological model for promoting well-being among LGBTQ+ adults. New Ideas in Psychology, 79, Article 101178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2025.101178
Todd, N. R., Watanabe, S., & Blackburn, A. M. (2025). Examining the Religious Residue Among Racial-Ethnically Diverse Sexual Minorities. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2025.2521571
Watanabe, S., & Todd, N. R. (2025). One Trajectory Does Not Fit All: Understanding Religious Deidentification with Longitudinal Patterns of Religious Doubt and Engagement. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2025.2521564
Todd, N. R., Nguyêñ, D. M., Blackburn, A. M., & La, R. (2024). Associations Between State Policies and Sexual Minority Mental Health Disparities. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 11(1), 90-106. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000431
Yi, J., & Todd, N. R. (2024). A Grounded Theory of Intersectional Asian American College Student Activism. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 15(4), 365-377. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000358