Nicole Symmonds

Nicole Symmonds is the visiting assistant professor of Christian ethics at the McAfee School of Theology and a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. Her research interests include Christian anti-trafficking work, womanist responses to commercial sex work, sexual ethics in popular culture and society, and Christian social ethics and ethnography. Her current research explores the role of Evangelical Christian whiteness in anti-trafficking work. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion, an M. Div from the Candler School of Theology, and a B.S. in journalism from Florida A&M University.

By this Author

Beyoncé accepts the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards April 1 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP/Chris Pizzello)

Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' is a requiem and resuscitation of a genre

In her newest album, "Cowboy Carter," Beyoncé puts a nail in the coffin of what country was to make room for what it ought to be.

(Unsplash/Clay Banks)

New devotional book centers the liberation of Black lives as a sacred matter

Psalms for Black Lives focuses on how its Black readers can speak a new world into being — and gives them a soft place to land as that world forms. This soft place is essential for Black people who often feel nothing but the world's harshness.

Rihanna, left, and ASAP Rocky arrive for the Off-White Ready To Wear Fall/Winter 2022-2023 fashion collection, unveiled during Fashion Week in Paris Feb. 28. Rihanna's pregnancy became public Jan. 31 with a photo of her baring her baby bump. (AP/Invision/

Rihanna embodies the sacrament of pregnant joy

Rihanna's pregnancy is a celebration of life that encourages us to consider how to celebrate Black pregnant joy as Catholics and fight for the representation of Black pregnant women in our society, especially within our churches.

(Unsplash/Joshua Hoehne)

The comfort of tweeting through Lent

Tweeting through Lent has meant holding space for people and taking their words seriously. It has helped me make sense of how flesh uses words to make sense of its place in the world.

(Renée K. Gadoua)

Wordle reminds us that pleasure has its place, waiting has its benefits

In a world that makes quick and frequent bouts of pleasure and play the norm, Wordle invites us to recognize the virtues of patience and temperance.

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