Brandon Vaidyanathan

Brandon Vaidyanathan is professor of sociology and director of the Institutional Flourishing Lab at the Catholic University of America. His research examines the cultural dimensions of religious, commercial, medical, and scientific institutions and has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals. He is the author of Mercenaries and Missionaries: Capitalism and Catholicism in the Global South (Cornell University Press, 2019), co-author of Secularity and Science: What Scientists Around the World Really Think About Religion (Oxford University Press, 2019), and editor of Rebuilding Trust: Clergy Morale in the Wake of the Abuse Crisis (Catholic University of America Press, 2025). He is also founder of Beauty at Work, a media platform that includes a podcast and YouTube channel exploring the role of beauty. His ongoing research examines the relationship between aesthetics and spirituality among scientists and in public in international contexts.