John Carlson is a scholar of religious ethics, whose research explores how religious and moral inquiry informs and invigorates our understanding of political life.

He has written on issues of war and peace, religion and violence, justice and human rights, democracy and civic life, and a variety of social and political issues, both domestic and international. Professor Carlson is coeditor of, and contributor to, three books: "From Jeremiad to Jihad: Religion, Violence, and America" (California, 2012); "Religion and the Death Penalty: A Call for Reckoning" (Eerdmans, 2004); and "The Sacred and the Sovereign: Religion and International Politics" (Georgetown, 2003). He is the author of 25 book chapters and articles from leading journals in his field as well as numerous shorter essays.