Philip Boo Riley graduated from Regis College in Denver, Colorado with a degree in Inter-disciplinary Studies (1973), and then moved to Canada for graduate work in religious studies at McMaster University (M.A., 1975; Ph.D., 1980). His work on Jesuit philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan informed his initial courses in Catholic Theology and philosophy of religion as well as his scholarship, including two edited volumes from a 1984 international conference hosted by SCU’s Lonergan Research Center with Timothy Fallon (Philosophy). For most of the 1990’s and early 2000’s he enjoyed a tour of duty in SCU’s administration. When he returned to the department in 2003 his teaching and research interests shifted to ways in which local faith communities and organizations engage dynamics—e.g. globalization, diversity, immigration, civic identity and life, social inequality—that define the Silicon Valley region.
Courses
RSOC 9 - Ways of Understanding Religion
RSOC 123 - Religions@Silicon Valley
RSOC 135 - Solidarity in Silicon Valley
Publications
Articles
"Religious Studies Methodology: Bernard Lonergan's Contribution." Method: Journal of Lonergan Studies 12 (2 1994) 239-49.
"History and Doctrine: the Foundational Character of Bernard Lonergan's Christian Philosophy." Religious Studies and Theology 5 (1985) 79-96.
"Theology and/or Religious Studies: A Case Study of SR, 1971-1981." Studies in Religion/Religieuses Sciences 13 (4 1984) 423-44.
"The Meaning of History: Leo Strauss and Bernard Lonergan on the 'Crisis of Modernity.'" Logos: Philosophical Issues in Christian Perspective 4 (1983) 71-100.
Joint Publications
Edited with Timothy P. Fallon, S.J. Religion in Context: Recent Studies in Lonergan, College Theology Society, Resources in Religion 5. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988.
Edited with Timothy P. Fallon, S.J. Religion and Culture: Essays in Honor of Bernard Lonergan S.J. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1986.
Chapters in Books
"Theology and/or Religious Studies: Bernard Lonergan's Option." In Lonergan Workshop, vol. 4 (ed. F. Lawrence; Chico, CA: Scholar's Press, 1983) 115-39.