Media and Publications

Media Appearances

Paths to Understanding -- Wisdom from Our Neighborhood Podcast

The Gift Interfaith Offers a Pluralistic Democracy in Crisis

August, 2025

In this podcast episode, Allison Ralph joins Paths to Understanding’s Executive Director Terry Kyllo to discuss how her upbringing as an atheist in the Bible Belt led to her involvement in interfaith work. She dives into the violation of her first amendment rights within her K-12 classrooms, and punishment from the school for not being Christian and believing in God. She pivots into the work that faith-based non-profits do in create spaces of belonging and the difficulty in ensuring it doesn't turn into othering.

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Healing Our Politics Episodelette
Religion, Society, Conflict, & Progress with Allison Ralph
March, 2025

In this special minisode, Allison Ralph joins Skippy Mesirow to explore how religion shapes political and social life in a time of intense polarization. Drawing from her scholarship on the “social body,” she discusses the costs of freedom, the tension between belonging and exclusion, and what it means to make progress in a pluralistic society.

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Stories Change Power Webinar
Belonging in a Fragmented World: Rethinking Values,
Goals & Language for a Functioning Society
April, 2025

In this webinar, Allison Ralph reflects on the stories we tell about who belongs in society, and how those narratives can either entrench division or support pluralism. Drawing from her work on identity, social cohesion, and democratic norms, she offers a powerful framework for rethinking the values and language that hold communities together.

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Publications & Articles

Coauthor with Michelle Garred. “Bridgebuilding Effectiveness.” The Fulcrum, May 28, 2025.

Coauthor with Diana Aviv. “Foundations, Trump, and Religious Conservatives.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 29, 2025.

“Trump Re‑election Puts U.S. Anger Center Stage. Let’s Find a Better Way to Cope.” The Florida Times‑Union, February 13, 2025. Allison Ralph

“Advocacy and bridging strategies are failing on their own; multifaith nonprofits embody six solutions for a pluralistic democracy.” The Foundation Review, 15:2 (2024).

"Are bridging programs effective?" Democracy Takes, October 1, 2024.

“Sickness and Health in the Body Politic: Religious Traditions of Social Boundaries, Justification, and Policy.” Center for Faith, Identity, and Globalization, 2024.
"Women in FoRB: Fundraising Challenges and Skills." FORB Women's Alliance, March 6, 2024.
First author with Brad R. Fulton and Samuel Allen. “Faith-Based Public Foundations: Identifying the Field and Assessing its Impact.” The Foundation Review, 14:1 (2022).
Co-author with Billie Jo Kipp and Mohamed Magid, “For Natives, land is sacred. Why aren’t we protecting their religious freedom?” Religion News Service, (October 11, 2021).

But What if They Preach? A Guide for Funding Faith-Inspired Grantees with Boundaries and Integrity (Washington, DC: Aspen Institute, 2021)

Second author with Benjamin P. Marcus, “Origins and Developments of Religious Literacy Education,” Religion & Education, 48 (1), 17-36 (2021). DOI: 10.1080/15507394.2021.1876498

The Multiplier Effect: A Case Study of Faith-Based Community Organizations in Chicago, IL (Washington, DC: Aspen Institute, 2020)

“The Functions of Homonoia in the Rhetoric of Constantius II: Persuasion, Justification of Coercion, Propaganda.” Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric 37 (3): 215-241 (2019).

Co-editor with Meryl Chertoff, Michael Green, and Marni Morse. Pluralism in Peril: Challenges to an American Ideal (Washington, DC; Aspen Institute, 2018).

Co-author with Seán Rose. “Religious Literacy and Inclusion in Education Settings and Youth-Serving Organizations: Opportunities to Grow the Field.” In Pluralism in Peril: Challenges to an American Ideal, ed. Meryl Chertoff, Allison K. Ralph, Michael Green, and Marni Morse. (Washington, DC; Aspen Institute, 2018).

“Censured Mystics: Expression and Accusation in Sixteenth Century Spain.” Osprey Journal of Ideas and Inquiry 4 (2004).

Presentations

“The Ecosystem of Faith-Inspired Grantmaking.” With Brad Fulton, Indiana University. Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Conference, Washington, DC, November 2024.
“Navigating Values Differences.” Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement Faith In/And Democracy Summit, Phoenix, AZ, November 2023.
“Religion and Philanthropy.” United Philanthropy Forum, July 2023.
“Faith-Based Foundations: Identifying the Field.” With Brad Fulton, Indiana University. Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC, November 2022.
“Faith-Based Foundations: Identifying the Field and Assessing its Impact.” With Brad Fulton, Indiana University. Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 2021.
“Civil Society and Religious Pluralism in a Polarized Nation.” Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Annual Conference, San Diego, CA, November, 2019.
“A Recovering Angry Atheist Talks Religion.” Upswell Conference, Chicago, IL, November, 2019.
“Purity and Danger: Islam, the Body Politic, and Public Policy.” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Denver, CA, November, 2018.