Prof. Bushman’s theological service has been shaped by the Church Fathers’ spiritual reading of Scripture, the methodology of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the pastoral orientation of the Second Vatican Council, as interpreted by the post-Conciliar popes. He has taught theology at virtually every level of the Church’s life: parish, diocese (including programs of formation and courses for adults, catechists, permanent deacons, Catholic educators, and seminarians), Catholic schools, and undergraduate and graduate degree programs. He has served as Director of Education for the Diocese of Duluth, MN, and is past Director of the Institute for Religious and Pastoral Studies (University of Dallas), and of the Institute for Pastoral Theology (Ave Maria University). Currently Prof. Bushman’s research focuses on the pastoral theology of the Second Vatican Council and the New Evangelization.
At the heart of Douglas Bushman’s vocation and service to the Church is his family. He and his wife, JoAnn, a research scientist in cardiac toxicology, are in their 28th year of marriage. The last of their six home-schooled children is in her senior year in high school, three are in college, one teaches at a Catholic high school in St. Louis, and one works in the insurance business.
Prof. Bushman currently holds the Blessed Pope John Paul II Chair of Theology for the New Evangelization at the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO. He teaches courses on the New Evangelization, Catholic Spirituality, Vatican II and Pope John Paul II. He earned the Licentiate in Sacred Theology degree, awarded by the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland (1980).
In addition to writing numerous articles for Catholic journals, he is the author of introductions for The Sixteen Documents of Vatican II (Pauline Books & Media, 1999), and the In His Image Program of Renewal through Education (Ignatius Press, 1989/1990). He is a regular contributor to Magnificat and The Catholic Servant, and a frequent guest on Catholic radio and television. During the Year of Faith, he gave over twenty presentations in seven dioceses for clergy, religious, catechists, and Catholic school teachers, on themes relating to Vatican II, the New Evangelization, and the renewal of faith in the Church.