Stephen F. Schneck


Stephen Frederick Schneck is an American Catholic activist.

Education

Schneck attended Rockhurst University, where he received a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy in 1976. He earned his masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 and 1984, respectively.

Career

Formerly an associate professor at The Catholic University of America, where he was also the Director of CUA's Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies, he retired from the university in 2018. A public speaker and lecturer, Schneck is a frequent source of media analysis on issues involving Catholicism and public policy. He was chair of the Department of Politics from 1995 to 2007 and Acting Undergraduate Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences in 1988. From 2012 to 2013, he was appointed as the Acting Dean of the at Catholic University.
Schneck's academic work has focused on political philosophy, with special emphases on 18th- century American political thought and contemporary continental political theory. More recently he has focused on the role of religion in democracy. He is the author of several books and articles in the field of political philosophy; notable publications include two books on the political theory of Max Scheler, an edited volume on the work of Fred Dallmayr, and articles and book chapters examining such figures as Tocqueville, Michel Foucault, and Jürgen Habermas, among others.

Public service

He serves on the Board of Directors for Catholic Mobilizing Network and for Catholic Climate Covenant. He was previously a board member for Sojourners, for Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and for Democrats for Life of America. He served as national co-chair of Catholics for Biden in 2020. He served as a national co-chair of Catholics for Obama in 2012. In 2015, Schneck was appointed to President Barack Obama's third Advisory Council on for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
On June 15, 2022, the White House announced Schneck's appointment to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. On June 3, 2024, Schneck was unanimously elected to Chair the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Selected works

Books

  • Letting Be: Fred Dallmayr’s Cosmopolitical Vision. Editor.
  • Max Scheler's Acting Persons: New Perspectives. Editor.
  • Italy in Transition: The Long Road from the First to the Second Republic. Co-Edited with Introduction.
  • Person & Polis: Max Scheler's Personalism as Political Theory.

    Journal articles

  • "The End of History and the Human Sciences", International Journal of Philosophy
  • "New Readings of Tocqueville's America", Polity
  • "Habits of the Head: Tocqueville's America", Political Theory
  • "William Connolly's Post-Modern Liberalism", The Review of Politics
  • "Michel Foucault on power/discourse, theory and practice", ''Human Studies''