Diana Walsh Pasulka is an American writer and professor of

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

at the

University of North Carolina Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a Public university, public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Caroli ...

Education

Pasulka has a B.A. from

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

, an M.A. from

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American Seminary, theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded ...

, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Career

Her research focuses on religion and technology. Her books include ''Heaven Can Wait'', which discusses

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

's location and materiality, and ''American Cosmic'', which explores belief in

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

s and

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

and how it has changed traditional religions.

Sean Illing Sean Illing is an American journalist, author, philosopher, and public speaker, currently serving as a senior writer at Vox and the host of the podcast ''The Gray Area''. His work focuses on contemporary political philosophy, culture, and the inte ...

at '' Vox'' described ''American Cosmic'' as not "so much about the truth of UFOs or aliens as it is about what the appeal of belief in those things says about our culture and the shifting roles of religion and technology in it. On the surface, it's a book about the popularity of belief in aliens, but it's really a deep look at how myths and religions are created in the first place and how human beings deal with unexplainable experiences." ''Foreword Reviews'' states, "''American Cosmic'' is a superb investigation into the birth and rise of a new religion." Pasulka was principal investigator for the Teaching American History Grant which ran for three years from 2009. She also acts as a consultant for movies about the Catholic and religious supernatural (such as ''

The Conjuring ''The Conjuring'' is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in ''The Conjuring'' Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as E ...

''). She is a professor of

at the

, where she previously served as chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion from 2015 until 2019.

Personal life

Pasulka is a practicing

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, yet grew up in a secular family in California with a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

mother and

Irish Roman Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particula ...

father. As of 2023, she is the mother of five teenagers.

Publications

Books

*''Heaven Can Wait: Purgatory in Catholic Devotional and Popular Culture''. Oxford University Press, 2014. . *''American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology''. Oxford University Press, 2019. *''Encounters: Experiences with Non-Human Intelligences,'' St. Martins Essentials, 2023.

Co-edited anthologies

*''Posthumanism: the Future of Homo Sapiens''. Schirmer, 2018. Edited by Pasulka and Michael Bess. . *''Believing in Bits: Digital Media and the Supernatural''. Oxford University Press, 2019. Edited by Pasulka and Simone Natale. .

References

External links

Pasulka's website:

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqBh7G4uDR8 Pasulka in conversation with Lex Fridmanat YouTube
Pasulka interview
on Spotlight On Podcast Living people University of North Carolina at Wilmington faculty American women non-fiction writers Religious studies scholars Syracuse University alumni Graduate Theological Union alumni University of California, Davis alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American women academics 21st-century American women American Catholics American people of Jewish descent American people of Irish descent American Roman Catholic writers {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub