Dr. Derek Buyan, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics at Niagara University, where he joined the faculty in 2024. He is a scholar of religion, ethics, and politics and his research focuses on the role that norms, values, and beliefs play in constituting political communities, particularly in religiously plural, democratic contexts. His current project explores key normative and psychological dimensions of American democracy. It argues that the tradition of American democracy requires a certain set of humanistic beliefs, and that this belief-requirement helps it mediate between a normatively (and religiously) diverse membership. At NU, Professor Buyan teaches introductory courses religious studies and Christianity as well as courses in religious ethics, and religion and politics.
