Fr. Paul Sullins, Ph.D, pictured here speaking at the Ruth Institute Summit for Survivors 2021

The Rev. D. Paul Sullins, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Associate of the Ruth Institute. He recently retired as Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC. Dr. Sullins is a leader in the field of research on same-sex parenting and its implications for child development. He has written four books and over 100 journal articles, research reports, and essays on issues of family, faith, and culture. His reports on clerical sexual abuse from the Pennsylvania Grand Jury data, John Jay data, LA Times, and other sources have garnered international acclaim.

Dr. Sullins continues as Research Professor and Director of the Leo Initiative for Social Research at Catholic University, as well as Director of the Summer Institute of Catholic Social Thought. He also serves on the board of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists (SCSS), the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), and the Natural Family Journal. He is a Fellow of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), and was Ignatius Loyola Fellow for Catholic Identity at the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education.

Dr. Sullins serves as Research Associate for The Ruth Institute. His latest project has been revealing the methodological flaws in studies which purport to show that “conversion therapy” causes an increased risk of suicide for patients with unwanted same sex attraction. Thanks to a deeper look at the data, he discovered the opposite to be true: change-allowing therapy actually reduced suicidality and helped many people who underwent this therapy.

Formerly Episcopalian, Dr. Sullins is a married Catholic priest. He earned a Ph.D. at Catholic University in 1997 and taught there from 1998 until his retirement. He and his wife, Patricia, have an inter-racial family of three children, two adopted. He serves as Associate Pastor of the Church of Saint Mark the Evangelist, Hyattsville, MD.

For Fr. Sullins’ work on clerical sexual abuse, click below.

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