Dr. Pravina Rodrigues

Biography

Dr. Pravina Rodrigues is Assistant Professor of Comparative Theology, Ethics, and Interreligious Studies at Starr King School for the Ministry in Oakland, California. She is Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s Journal of Dharma Studies and Co-Chair of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region’s Dharma Unit and Goddess Studies Unit.  

Dr. Rodrigues holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is also the associate editor of the thirty-four-chapter volume Religion & Sustainability: Interreligious Resources, Interdisciplinary Responses (2022), published as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Series. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California (2021–2022), and served as a Newhall Teaching Fellow (2017, 2018, and 2020) and an Interreligious Collaborative Research Fellow (2019).  

Her recent publication, A Śākta Method for Comparative Theology: Upside Down, Inside Out (Lexington Books, 2024), offers a Hindu perspective on comparative theology, theology of religions, and interreligious dialogue. Her forthcoming anthology (Re)Mystifying the Devī Māhātmyam: From Mythic-Texts to Life (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026) queers a central Hindu mythical-text for goddess worship to address leadership, war, peace, diplomacy, reproductive justice, gender equality, grief, psychological resilience, and spiritual empowerment.  

Her research interests include postcolonial and decolonial studies, Hindu-Christian comparative theology, interfaith theology, comparative mysticism, and Śākta thealogy. 

Outside of her academic work, Dr. Rodrigues enjoys reading, chanting, practicing yoga, and engaging in walking contemplation in nature, especially near mountains and rivers. She values these practices as sources of balance, inspiration, and ongoing spiritual inquiry. 

Website: www.pravinarodrigues.com