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Louisville, KY, - [January 14, 2025] - Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (LPTS) announces the retirement of Rev. Dr. Shannon Craigo-Snell, a distinguished scholar, dedicated teacher, and esteemed colleague who has served as Professor of Theology at LPTS since 2011, at the end of this academic year. Over her 14-year tenure, Dr. Craigo-Snell has significantly shaped the seminary’s academic, spiritual, and communal life.
Dr. Craigo-Snell’s contributions to the seminary extend beyond her role as Professor of Theology. She served as Associate Academic Dean from 2020 to 2023 and as Faculty Director of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion from 2012 to 2016. Before joining LPTS, she was an associate professor of Religious Studies at Yale University, where she taught undergraduates, master’s students, and Ph.D. candidates.
A graduate of Yale University with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Dr. Craigo-Snell brought to her work an extraordinary combination of academic rigor and pastoral wisdom. Her scholarship includes a prolific array of publications, such as Disciplined Hope: Prayer, Politics, and Resistance (Cascade Books, 2019), No Innocent Bystanders: Becoming an Ally in the Struggle for Justice (Westminster John Knox Press, 2017, co-authored with Christopher Doucot), Living Christianity: A Pastoral Theology for Today (Fortress Press, 2009, co-authored with Shawnthea Monroe), The Empty Church: Theater, Theology, and Bodily Hope (Oxford University Press, 2014), and Silence, Love, & Death: Saying "Yes" to God in the Theology of Karl Rahner (Marquette University Press, 2008). Currently, she is completing a theological commentary on the Gospel of John for the Belief commentary series.
"Shannon is a polymath theologian who has expanded our curriculum in exciting ways, teaching courses that connect theology with popular culture, racial justice, theater, and religious formation, among other topics," remarked Dr. Amy Plantinga Pauw, Henry P. Mobley Jr. Professor of Doctrinal Theology at LPTS. "With her wide range of interdisciplinary conversation partners and her ability to write theology in different registers, Shannon has assumed the role of public theologian, modeling theology’s capacity to engage every aspect of life. It has been a joy and a privilege both to teach with her and to learn from her over the last thirteen years."
As an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Dr. Craigo-Snell embodies the integration of faith, scholarship, and justice. Her work on racial justice, gender equity, and political theology has inspired many to live out their faith with meaningful, actionable purpose.
Sherry Arconti, Writing Tutor at the Academic Support Center, reflected, "From the minute she arrived in Louisville, Dr. Shannon Craigo-Snell has been an extraordinary presence in the life of Louisville Seminary. She cares for our students deeply, advocates for them with unflagging energy, celebrates them with joy, and holds steady with them in times of grief and trouble. She is a warm and generous teacher who draws connections between theological education and spiritual praxis in ways that invite folks from different social locations into beloved community. Shannon’s teaching, writing, and activism work encourage us toward more excellence, more justice, kindness, love, and especially, hope."
"We at Louisville Seminary have been blessed to have as our colleague, teacher, and friend one of this generation’s freshest, clearest, and most creative constructive theological voices in Dr. Shannon Craigo-Snell. The warmth and generosity of her pedagogical heart and the agility and deep intelligence of her practice of embodied teaching set the standard many of us judge ourselves by. I am profoundly grateful for the formative, transformative, and humane presence she has been for us all," added Christopher Elwood, Professor of Historical Theology.
As Dr. Craigo-Snell steps into this new chapter, she plans to continue her writing and advocacy work, furthering her contributions to theology and social justice.
While we will miss her dearly, we celebrate her profound and lasting impact on our community and wish her great joy and fulfillment in retirement. Please join us in extending our deepest thanks and warmest wishes to Dr. Shannon Craigo-Snell for her years of service and dedication to Louisville Seminary. A special community lunch celebration of Dr. Craigo-Snell’s career will be held the afternoon of April 15, in the Lou Sem Hope Cafe - invitation forthcoming.
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