Margarita Mooney-Clayton
Margarita Mooney Clayton, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and a Visiting Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University. She earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Yale University and a Masters and Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University. Her is currently working on a book to be published by Baker Publishing Group (Brazos) on devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, including how sacred images contribute to experiencing the mysteries of faith. She has authored the books Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora, The Love of Learning: Seven Dialogues on the Liberal Arts, and The Wounds of Beauty: Seven Dialogues on Art and Education.
She has lectured on beauty, education, culture, and faith at venues such as Oxford University, the University of Notre Dame, Hillsdale College, The Consortium for Christian Studies Centers, The Acton Institute, and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Her writing has appeared in Comment Magazine, Real Clear Policy, Scientific American, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Hedgehog Review, Public Discourse, and Church Life Journal. In 2016, she founded Scala Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring American culture through beauty, liberal arts education, and worship. Her husband, David Clayton, is an Artist-in-Residence for Scala and the Provost of Pontifex University, where he founded the Master of Sacred Arts Program. He is an internationally renowned iconographer and writer for various online publications about topics such as the mathematics of beauty, liturgical art, and cultural renewal. Scala’s programs bring together students, artists, teachers, and religious leaders to renew traditions in sacred art and music. Through conferences, books, blogs, and webinars featuring scholars and artists, Scala shapes public awareness of about art, education and liturgy. The Scala Foundation’s vision is to restore meaning and purpose to American culture by focusing on the intersection of art, liturgy, and education. Scala engages in deep work with students at Princeton and Oxford to bring together artists, students, teachers, and scholars. Scala also produces publications (books, blogs, articles, interviews), and hosts public events like conferences, webinars, and campus lectures open to the public.
She has spoken on liberal arts education at venues such as Hillsdale College, the Catholic University of America, the Society for Classical Learning, and the Acton Institute. She has led worships on the vocation to teach, and beauty in education at a variety of K-12 classical schools. She has been interviewed numerous times about her work on education, including the Eric Metaxas Radio Show, Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio, and the Classical Learning Test Podcast.
