Samuel Perry (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is the Sam K. Viersen Presidential Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Perry’s work focuses primarily on the ways recent demographic transitions and political realignments are transforming the ways Americans think about religion, race, politics, and families.
Dr. Perry is currently recognized as among the top sociologists in the world in terms of research productivity and impact. Along with well over 100 peer-reviewed articles published in leading academic journals, Dr. Perry is also the author or co-author of five books, including Growing God’s Family (NYU, 2017), Addicted to Lust (Oxford, 2019), Taking America Back for God (Oxford, 2020, with Andrew Whitehead), The Flag and the Cross (Oxford, 2022, with Philip Gorski), and Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion (Oxford, 2024).
Dr. Perry is also committed to public scholarship. In addition to regular speaking engagements around the country, he has frequently written for outlets like TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, NBC News, and The Dallas Morning News. Dr. Perry’s interviews and research findings have also been featured on CNN and The Mehdi Hasan Show, recent documentaries by Frontline and Al Jazeera, and the movie Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy.
Find him on Bluesky at @profsamperry.bsky.social.
