Dr. Formicola's specific field of expertise is Church-State relations. During her tenure at Seton Hall University, she has published extensively on social and religious topics related to the relationship between the Catholic Church and the American government. Dr. Formicola is the author of four books: The Catholic Church and Human Rights (1988); John Paul II: Prophetic Politician (2002); The Politics of Values (2008) and Clerical Sexual Abuse: How it Changed U.S. Catholic Church-State Relations (2014). She is the co-author of The Politics of School Choice (1999) and Faith Based Initiatives and the Bush Administration (2003) and also the co-editor and chapter contributor to three other volumes: Everson Revisited (1997); Religious Leaders and Faith Based Politics (2001); and Taking Religious Pluralism Seriously (2005). 

Dr. Formicola is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Church and State and a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Politics and Religion. She is also a frequent commentator on Church-State issues and recently did the television commentary for the visit of Pope Francis to the White House, the Congress, the United Nations and Ground Zero.