Clair gained an MA in Theological Studies at the University of St Andrews, followed by an MTS at Harvard Divinity School. She then returned to St Andrews to complete her PhD in theology. She is also the deputy director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and the Frances Power Cobbe Professor of Animal Theology at the Graduate Theological Foundation. In addition, she is Director of the Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School, an interdisciplinary event attended by academics and students from around the world held at Merton College, University of Oxford.
She serves as co-editor of the Journal of Animal Ethics published by the University of Illinois Press, and is co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan book series on Animal Ethics, which comprises more than 40 multidisciplinary books on animal related issues.
Research Areas:
- Animal Ethics
- Animal Theology
- Environmental Ethics
- Christian Ethics
- Doctrine of Creation
- Liberation Theology
- Feminist Theology
Publications:
Books:
2023. The Ethics of Fur: Religious, Cultural, and Legal Perspectives, edited with Andrew Linzey. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
2023. Animal Theologians, edited with Andrew Linzey. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2023. Animal Ethics and Animal Law, edited with Andrew Linzey. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
2022. An Ethical Critique of Fur Factory Farming, authored with Andrew Linzey. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
2021. Developing Animal Theology: An Engagement with Leonardo Boff. London: Routledge.
2018. Ethical Vegetarianism and Veganism, edited with Andrew Linzey. London: Routledge.
2018. The Palgrave Handbook of Practical Animal Ethics, edited with Andrew Linzey. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
2018. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics, edited with Andrew Linzey. London: Routledge.
2018. The Ethical Case Against Animal Experiments, edited with Andrew Linzey. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
2017. Animal Ethics for Veterinarians, edited with Andrew Linzey. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Select Articles and Book Chapters:
Forthcoming. “An Animal Oath for Business.” In: Yanoula Athanassakis, Renan Larue, William O’Donohue (Eds.), The Vegan and Plant-Based Handbook: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Cham: Springer.
Forthcoming. “Biblical Animals in Advocacy and Ethics,” with Andrew Linzey. In: Suzanna Millar (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and Animals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Forthcoming. “Animals and Religious Ethics,” with Andrew Linzey. In: Joan Schaffner (Ed.), Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Animal Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
2023. “Theology that Drives One to Animal Rights (The Theological Basis of our Amicus Brief in Defence of Happy the Captive Elephant), with Andrew Linzey. Modern Believing, Vol. 64, No. 3, June 2023, pp. 244-253.
2019. “Seven Insights: Toward a New(er) Religious Ethic for Animals,” with Andrew Linzey. RE Today, Vol. 36, No. 3, Summer 2019, pp. 8-10.
2015. “Anthropocentrism,” with Andrew Linzey. In: Segal, R. A., and Kocku von Stuckrad (Eds.), Vocabulary for the Study of Religion (Volume 1, pp. 91-93). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2015. “Animals,” with Andrew Linzey. In: Brawley, R. L. (Ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2014. “Animals in Catholic Thought: A New Sensitivity?” In: Wrόbel, S. (Ed.) (2014), The Experience of Animality. [Special Issue]. Dialogue and Universalism, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 141-155.
