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Katie Christine Gaddini

Associate Professor of Sociology, University College London

About Katie

Gaddini's research focuses on religion, gender and politics in America. Her book on right-wing Christian women and American politics from 1970-present comes out in summer 2026. It's based on eight years of in-depth, on-the-ground research. Her expertise includes American politics broadly, gender, religion and politics, Christian Nationalism, and right-wing women globally. She has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, the LA Review of Books, the Hill and TIME magazine. She's given expert opinion to outlets in 11 countries, including publications like the New York Times, the BBC, NPR, and ABC News.

No Jargon Podcast

In the News

Quoted by Alanna Vagianos in "For A Lot Of Women, ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Has Changed What It Means To Be A Mom," HuffPost, February 24, 2026.
Quoted by Nina Martin in "What People Get Wrong About Christian Women Who Voted for Trump," Mother Jones, January 7, 2026.
Quoted by Geoff Brumfiel, Huo Jingnan, Jude Joffe-Block & Audrey Nguyen in "Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Sparks Grief and Rage Online," NPR, September 11, 2025.
Opinion: "Politics Used to Be the Evangelical Man’s Domain. Not Anymore," Katie Christine Gaddini, The San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 2022.

Publications

"Socialism Sucks: Campus Conservatives, Digital Media, and the Rebranding of Christian Nationalism" (with Catherine Tebaldi). Information, Communication & Society (2024): 1-22.

Explores how capitalism, Christianity, and conservatism are brought together and branded for youth in the US.

"Defensive Racism and Christian Righteousness in the Time of Trump" Women's Studies International Forum 101 (2023).

Interrogates the relationship between Christianity, race and politics in the US through 'defensive racism' — a multi-modal form of anti-Black racism that displaces racism, denies its existence toward Black Americans, and deflects racism away from white people.