Welcome

I am Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University, Non-Resident Scholar at the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor of The University Bookman. My research and speaking focuses upon civil society and freedom of association.
These two articles cover my recent work on these matters:
I am author of Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism (Amazon; Barnes and Noble) where I argue that the Supreme Court has failed to adequately protect freedom of association.

“Blending brilliant sociological and philosophical insights with a profound rendering of how the First Amendment is supposed to protect freedom of association, this book by Luke C. Sheahan is truly magnificent. It should be on the shelf and in the mind of every scholar, journalist, judge, religious leader, policymaker, and citizen who wishes to understand, save, support, and strengthen America’s most vital civil society institutions.”

—John J. DiIulio, Jr., professor, University of Pennsylvania, and founding director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

“Why Associations Matter is a welcome and valuable contribution to the lively and important conversation about the role that associations, groups, and societies play in the infrastructure of human freedom. Luke Sheahan reminds us that diverse and distinctive associations help to constrain government overreach and create space for human persons, who are fundamentally communal beings, to flourish. As he explains, a political community that is committed to meaningful diversity will protect and appreciate the rights of associations to be distinctive and different.”

—Richard W. Garnett, Paul J. Schierl/Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School

“On one level Luke Sheahan’s excellent book is a practical, lawyerly brief aiming to correct a mistake in legal doctrine and public policy. At a deeper level, however, it is part of a crucial attempt to recover the way of thinking essential to ordered liberty.”

—University Bookman”

Sheahan’s book advances an important conversation about how to appreciate the social dimension of life–including associations–in the face of an individualistic intellectual culture.”

—Christianity Today

“Sheahan has successfully applied political theory and sociology to provide a solid theoretical foundation on which the Court might build robust protections for the First Amendment’s rights of associations.”

—Public Discourse