Michael Cowan

Michael A. Cowan is a psychologist and theologian. He holds master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in systematic theology from St. John’s University (Collegeville). He is the founder of the Common Good, a network of civil society organizations begun after Hurricane Katrina to seek consensus as a basis for collective action to rebuild the city. He is co-author of People in Systems, Conversation, Risk, and Conversion: The Inner and Public Life of Small Christian Communities, and Roots for Radicals, and of articles in psychological and theological journals in the United States and Ireland.

Dr. Cowan is a Research Affiliate  in the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion (CSSC) in the School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography at Oxford University.  He is also a Senior Fellow in the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict in Harris Manchester College in Oxford University, and a Visiting Research Associate in the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, where he teaches in the area of Jewish/Christian relations.

At LIM, Dr. Cowan teaches courses in practical theology and oversees the Small Christian Communities and Pastoral Care Focus Areas.

Classes Taught

• Introduction to Practical Theology
• Inner Life of Small Christian Communities
• Religion, Crime, and Justice

Areas of Expertise

• Community Organizing
• Counseling
• Small Christian Community