Deal Hudson

Deal W. Hudson is president of the Morley Institute for Church and Culture.  Dr. Hudson was formerly publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine and InsideCatholic.com and founder and president of Catholic Advocate, all in Washington, DC.

A native of Texas, Dr. Hudson received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Texas-Austin in 1971, a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1974, and a Ph.D. from the Institute of the Liberal Arts at Emory University in 1979.  He taught philosophy for 15 years at Mercer University Atlanta, Fordham University, and New York University.  He served as president of the American Maritain Association from 1984 to 1994 and chairman of the only national accrediting organization, the American Academy for Liberal Education, from 1996 to 2005.

His articles and comments have been published widely in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, The Bos-ton Globe, The Baltimore Sun, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, The New Yorker, The Village Voice, Roll Call, The Spectator, The American Spectator, The Economist, and by the Associated Press.

Dr. Hudson has appeared on a number of television shows including The O’Reilly Factor, NBC Nightly News, CBS’s The Early Show, The Beltway Boys, Buchanan and Press, Fox Wire, BBC News, One-on One with John McLaughlin, BBC World News TV, C-Span’s Washington Journal, News Talk,The Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS, and radio programs such as CNN News, BBC News, Irish National Radio, and “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio.

During 1999 and 2000 Dr. Hudson worked with Karl Rove in coordinating then Gov. Bush’s outreach to Catholic voters, and four years later he coordinated the Catholic Outreach effort of the 2004 campaign.  In December 2000, Rove asked Hudson to put together a Catholic working group to advise the White House on issues important to Catholics.  During Bush’s first term he led a weekly call with the White House of prominent Catholics who advised the administration on issues of mutual importance.

President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Hudson to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in recognition of his leadership among lay Catholics in the United States.  In October 2003, he attended the 25th anniversary celebration of John Paul II’s papacy as a member of the official delegation from the United States.

Dr. Hudson’s books include: Understanding Maritain: Philosopher and Friend(Mercer, 1988); The Future of Thomism (Notre Dame, 1992); Sigrid Undset On Saints and Sinners (Ignatius, 1994); Happiness and the Limits of Satisfaction (Rowman & Littlefield, 1996); An American Convert: One Man’s Discovery of Beauty and Truth in a Time of Crisis (Crossroad, 2003); How to Vote Catholic (Morley, 2004); Onward Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon & Schuster, 2008).

Dr. Hudson is married to Theresa Carver Hudson. They have a daughter, Hannah Clare, aged 26, and a 17 year old adopted son from Romania named Cyprian. The Hudson family has resided in Fairfax, VA since 1995.