Patrick Tugwell

Area:

American Religion

Office:

HSSB 3001D

Email:

patricktugwell@ucsb.edu

About:

Education

• S.T.M. Christianity, Yale University
• M.Div. Theology, Boston University
• B.S. Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Research

Patrick Tugwell is a Ph.D. student in Religious Studies at UCSB, focusing on the 19th- and 20th-century United States. His research examines the social, economic, and political logics constructed and circulated through a deeply rooted, widely present, and wildly influential metaphysical tradition. This tradition, drawing from a particular kind of Neoplatonism, can be traced within movements such as Rosicrucianism, Swedenborgianism, Transcendentalism, New Thought, Theosophy, Transhumanism, and the American Prosperity Gospel, as well as in lesser-studied contexts like American sales and business culture. Frequently dismissed as idiosyncratic or insignificant forms of spirituality, or critiqued outright as merely another expression of consumer capitalism, many of its practitioners nonetheless engage in thoughtful cultural and intellectual work with significant implications for the study of religion and public life. Far from simply eccentric, this coherent tradition possesses a rich and complex history that continues to shape contemporary life in ways both seen and unseen.

Prior to and alongside this work, Patrick has extensively researched the history of the Christian tradition and its many theological strains. Through this, he has become fascinated by how deeply Christian history and theology have affected American popular culture—and vice versa, leading him to an interest in the pervasiveness of Christian fundamentalism, faith-healing, and apocalyptic theologies in places often overlooked. He first explored several of these themes in his master’s thesis, “The Almighty Dollar,” which traces the rise and growing mainstream appeal of Christian self-help religiosity after the late 18th century for its evolving use of the Bible to legitimize personal and financial growth.

Outside the academy, Patrick is a licensed minister in the United Methodist Church and serves currently as both the Coordinator of Congregational Care at the First UMC of Santa Barbara and a hospice chaplain in Santa Barbara County. He was a 2024 FASPE Clergy Fellow and previously completed a chaplain residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, where he conducted field research in spiritual care ethics in the context of palliative care. He is currently working on an article that explores the renewed focus on therapeutic discourse in chaplaincy education and its implications for the future of spiritual care in healthcare.

University Service

• Research and Event Assistant, Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life (2025-26)
• Vice President, Campus Affairs, Graduate Student Association (2025-26)
• Graduate Student Representative, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Cabinet (2024-25)

Teaching

• RGST21/EACS21: Zen Buddhism (assistant, spring 2025)
• RGST24: Jesus in Comparative Perspective (assistant, winter 2025)
• RGST35: Introduction to Religion & Politics (assistant, fall 2024)