The Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary is pleased to welcome Dr. Patricia Tevington as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, where she will be leveraging her qualitative and quantitative skills as part of the new project, Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC): Innovation Amidst and Beyond COVID-19.

Dr. Tevington holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and previously worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Montclair State University’s Institute for Research on Youth Thriving and Evaluation.

She has experience researching religious socialization, social class inequality, and family formation among young adults.

For the EPIC project, which will study the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will have, on U.S. congregations, Dr. Tevington will be working on data collection, training, and analysis on the regional ethnographic component of the study. She will also be involved in the design and analysis of a panel of 500 churches, including member surveys, key informant surveys, and focused thematic surveys.

“Often postdoctoral fellows come fresh out of school with plenty of ideas and skills but little research experience. Such is not the case with Patricia Tevington,” said Principal Investigator of the project and Director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Scott Thumma. “She has been engaged in multiple research projects during and post grad school. We are extremely fortunate and pleased to have her working with our project.”

Dr. Tevington said she’s delighted to be involved in this timely research project.

“It can be too unusual for researchers to be involved in a project that has both academic significance as well as the potential for applied benefits,” she said. “The EPIC project offers both — a timely investigation into how the pandemic has shaped religious life at the scholarly level, as well as a commitment to making our findings accessible and applicable to religious leaders across the country.”

Welcome, Patricia!