McCleary has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago, a Master of Theological Studies from Emory University and a B.A. from Indiana University. Her work is interdisciplinary with theoretical grounding in the fields of political science, sociology and economics. Within these disciplines, she conducts research on the political economy of religion. Her research focuses on how religion interacts with economic performance and the political and social behavior of individuals and institutions across societies. She studies how religious beliefs and practices influence productivity, economic growth and the maintenance of political institutions such as democracy. Her scholarly work in philosophy focuses on issues of moral agency, consciousness and reasoning.

Her and her husband Robert Barro's work was cited in the March 25, 2013, edition of Bloomberg.

Faculty Assistant: Jamina Coleman