Stanley Hauerwas is a Texan - a very Texan - theologian. He currently lectures at Duke Divinity School, but has in the past taught at the University of Notre Dame. Hauerwas is a Methodist. However, his writings are not 'Methodist Theology' - he frequently disagrees with the positions of the Methodist Church, often standing up for the position of other churches. Due to this, he can perhaps be best classified as a 'Christian Theologian'.

Hauerwas deals with Theological Ethics: in short, his job is to write about what's right. He is very well known for his work in medical ethics, especially with regard to the mentally ill, but he has written an enormous body of work, which covers practically every single issue one can think of. He is a very clear writer, and a very prolific one as well. He is perhaps the most controversial theologian working today: he pulls no punches and doesn't particularly care how 'nice' people think he is.

Among the main themes to be found in Hauerwas' work are how Christian communities must sustain themselves in the modern world as a 'diaspora religion', the value of narrative in these communities, the problems caused by a liberal society, the necessity of remaining faithful to one's creed, pacifism, and more. Hauerwas, when writing an essay, will often take an individual problem (ie, what's wrong with premarital sex?) and instead of simply answering it, will develop a text which describes how the community should live to be able to answer such questions on their own.

For a very good introduction to Hauerwas, this Researcher recommends The Hauerwas Reader, a hefty volume with Hauerwas' writings on diverse subjects. Among his other works (which span quite a few metres of shelf; Hauerwas is very prolific) are:

• The Peaceable Kingdom
• Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony
• Dispatches from the Front: Theological Engagements with the Secular
• In Good Company: The Church as a Polis
• Prayers Plainly Spoken
• With The Grain of the Universe: The Gifford Lectures for 2001
• After Christendom: How the Church Is to Behave If Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation Are Bad Ideas
• Naming the Silences: God, Medicine, and the Problem of Suffering
• Suffering Presence: Theological Reflections on Medicine, the Mentally Handicapped, and the Church