HTI Alumni

Credentials: BA, University of Southern California / JD, University of Southern California / MTS, Harvard Divinity School / PhD, Emory University (Present)

Denomination: Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international Protestant Christian denomination

Specific Field: Religion and Society, Church History

Bio: 

Danny Ballon-Garst is a scholar of American religious history with a specialty in the histories of race, religion, and sexuality in the United States; religion and politics; and the histories of LGBTQ religious activism. He recently graduated with his PhD in Religious Studies from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University and is currently working on a book project, “Queer Religious Capital: Race, Religion, and the Movement for LGBTQ Rights in Washington, DC,” which examines the religious history of the gay rights movement in late-twentieth century Washington. Danny’s work has been supported by HTI, the Forum for Theological Exploration, the Louisville Institute, and the DC History Center. Prior to matriculating at Emory, Danny earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Southern California (USC), a JD from the USC Gould School of Law, and an MTS from Harvard Divinity School. Before entering academia, Danny practiced law in southern California, first at the ACLU in Los Angeles, where he worked on prisoners’ rights litigation, and then in private practice. In addition to his research interests in American religious history, Danny also pursues questions at the intersection of religion, law, and politics, as well as questions on religion and the US Supreme Court, religion and neoliberalism, and religion and urban life.