Professor Lofton has written extensively about religion, capitalism, celebrity, sexuality, and the concept of the secular. Her first book, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon (2011) uses the example of Oprah Winfrey’s multimedia productions to evaluate the material strategies of contemporary spirituality. Her second book, Consuming Religion (2017) offers a profile of religion and its relationship to consumption through a series of case studies including the Kardashian family and the Goldman Sachs Group. Recent essays have described the role of religion in documentary film, musical theater, and American popular music. At Yale, Professor Lofton has worked to strengthen faculty governance and academic freedom through institutional leadership addressing community ethics, diversity, and inclusion. She currently serves as Dean of Humanities.