Layla A. Karst

Associate Professor of Liturgical Theology Loyola Marymount University

  • Los Angeles CA

Department of Theological Studies | Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts

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Biography

Layla A. Karst is Associate Professor of Liturgical Theology and Associate Chair for Graduate Education for the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Karst teaches and writes at the intersection of liturgy and ecclesiology, prioritizing the study of liturgical practice as it is lived and celebrated across diverse communities of faith. Her recent work has explored the ways that racism, sexism, and sexual abuse have impacted Roman Catholic liturgical celebrations. She is currently studying theologies and practices of lay liturgical preaching and their implications for building a more synodal church.

Dr. Karst is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy, and she serves on the Archbishop’s Liturgical Commission for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She holds a PhD from Emory University and an MDiv from the University of Notre Dame.

Education

Emory University

Ph.D

Liturgical Theology/Religious Practice

2018

University of Notre Dame

M. Div.

2010

Whitworth College

B.A

2006

Courses

THST/CATH 1020 American Catholicism

What does it mean to be American and Catholic…and who gets to decide?
This course will critically examine the American Catholic religious experience in the United States from its Spanish, French, and English origins to today’s culturally and theologically diverse contexts. Through the study of both primary and secondary texts and site visits to Catholic communities, students will examine different markers of Catholic identity including beliefs and teachings, community and belonging, religious practices, and participation in public life, and explore the ways Catholics have negotiated their religious identity and faith within the American experience.

THST 1050 In Search of a Way

This course will introduce students to the meaning and significance of spiritual practice in its Christian expression by a variety of practical spiritual traditions from their early historical roots to present-day practices. Over the semester, we will explore five spiritual ways: the way of discipline, the contemplative way, the way of practical action, the way of beauty, and the prophetic way. Together we will explore the relationship between religious experience, religious practice, and religious belief while exploring the tools Christians have employed on their spiritual journeys of transformation. We will engage these questions through the study both primary and secondary texts as well as by through practical experimentation and reflection.

FFYS 1000 First Year Seminar: Bad Catholics

The goal of this course is to explore contemporary voices of loyal dissent in the Catholic church. We will consider the role that dissent plays in the creative development of Catholic teaching/theology and the tensions that often arise between religious dissent and religious belonging. The course will begin by exploring questions of teaching and authority, belief and dissent, and belonging and “cancel culture” from theological and philosophical perspectives. We will then explore voices of dissent from Feminist theologians, Black and Womanist theologians, Queer theologians, and Eco-theologians. These four areas of dissent demonstrate the plurality of discourse among contemporary Catholic theologians and the struggle over orthodox belief and right practice that take place under asymmetrical power relations. In doing so, this course will also explore various aspects of critical theory concerning gender, culture, race, sexuality, and environmental studies with which these theologians engage. The course will conclude by considering the relationship between religious belief and religious belonging and the power of faithful dissent to shape religious communities.

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Articles

Caught in the Act: Karl Rahner, Brian Flanagan, and the Problem of Liturgical Failure

Horizons

Layla Karst

2024-04-01

“Caught in the Act: Karl Rahner, Brian Flanagan, and the Problem of Liturgical Failure,” Horizons, 50:1 (June 2023), 32-61.

Mirror of the Church: Liturgy as Ecclesial Self-Recognition

Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy

“Mirror of the Church: Liturgy as Ecclesial Self-Recognition,” Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy, (2022): 71-83.

A New Creation: Translating Lourdes in America

Liturgy

“A New Creation: Translating Lourdes in America,” Liturgy, 32, no. 3 (April 21, 2017): 29-37.

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