Allison Norton named director of Hartford Institute for Religion Research

By Tara Roberts

Allison Norton grew up in Ohio as a person of faith. But when she and her husband moved to Ghana as young adults to work at a Christian university, she realized how much she had taken for granted about how religion works. 

She learned to challenge her assumptions about the sacred and the secular and to interrogate the intersections of religion, privilege, power and race.

“Living in an entirely different country and context raised for me so many questions I felt like I didn’t have answers to, which led me to a more research-oriented path,” Norton said.

When she returned to the United States, she shaped her career around seeking answers, earning a master’s in cross-cultural studies and a Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She studied how first-generation church leaders could better connect with second-generation congregants in Ghanaian diaspora churches in Los Angeles.

“That was really the start of my journey toward a research perspective that takes seriously the questions that religious communities themselves are asking,” she said.

She’s been applying that perspective at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research since she arrived as a postdoctoral fellow in 2017. In July she stepped into the role of director after serving for two years as co-director with Scott Thumma.

Expanding research and services

Norton said the Hartford Institute’s work has always been richly multi-faith, and she’s excited to grow partnerships with Latino, Asian-American, predominantly Black and other often-marginalized faith communities.

“Instead of imposing an external research agenda, what would it mean to partner with them on the questions they’re already asking?” she said.

She also plans to build on the institute team’s deep knowledge of congregations and religion to expand research and evaluation services.

Thumma said he’s excited to see how Norton will guide the institute. 

“Retiring from an organization that you have spent years building and strengthening is never easy. Yet it becomes much easier when you have complete confidence in the person and team who will carry the mission forward,” he said. “I leave knowing the Hartford Institute is in outstanding hands, and I have every confidence that Allison will not only continue its legacy of excellence but expand its impact in important new ways.”

Digging deeper into EPIC

Norton was a co-investigator on the first phase of Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) and is the principal investigator for the project’s continuation grant. She said she’s excited to delve into EPIC’s incredible amount of data and produce deeper analyses.

For example, Norton plans to write a book based on EPIC’s case studies of 81 congregations in 2022 and 2024. 

“There’s a lot to learn about how immigrant-majority congregations navigated through the early days of the pandemic and how they have continued to adjust and change,” she said.

She also aims to spread the word about EPIC’s findings, especially to congregational and denominational leaders who need applicable insights.

Leading with a creative perspective

Norton also will continue to serve as an associate professor of migration studies and congregational life at Hartford International University and lead the Pastoral Innovation Network of New England.

Her first book — “Migrant God, Migrant Faith,” co-authored with Matthew Krabill — is forthcoming from InterVarsity Press Academic in 2027. It frames the story of American Christianity as a migrant religion and examines what that means for Christian religious audiences.

Norton views her work in all her roles through the lens of being a teacher and an artist: she studied music education as an undergraduate, plays the piano, and creates ceramic and fiber art. 

“There’s a creative, experimental, problem-solving, questioning, curious attitude when I’m trying to design a piece of pottery or grow my skills as an artist that overlaps with my work at the institute,” she said.