Within the natural sciences, Clayton's research has focused on emergent dynamics in biology and on the neural correlates of consciousness in neuroscience.
He has co-authored or edited a number of publications with physicists, chemists, and biologists, analyzing emerging natural systems and exploring their significance for the study of religion.
[4] As Fulbright Senior Fellow and Humboldt Professor he studied with Wolfhart Pannenberg in Theology and in Philosophy with Dieter Henrich and Lorenz Puntel.
His international lectureships include India,[5] Great Britain,[6] France,[7] and China.
[8] He speaks and writes extensively on issues at the intersection of science, religion, ethics, and politics.