Barbara Brown Taylor (born 1951) is an American Episcopal priest, academic, and author. In 2014, ''

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'' magazine placed her in its annual ''Time'' 100 list of most influential people in the world.

Education and recognition

Taylor was born on September 21, 1951, in Lafayette,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. She did her undergraduate studies at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

where she graduated in 1973. She then went on to study at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

, where she graduated in 1976. She was ordained in 1984, and became the rector of Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church ( Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta) in Clarkesville,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in 1992. She later left parish ministry and became a full-time professor at

Piedmont College Piedmont University is a private university in Demorest and Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1897, Piedmont's Demorest campus includes 300 acres in a traditional residential-college setting located in the foothills of the northeast Georgia Blue Ri ...

in Demorest, Georgia, and an adjunct professor of Christian spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She taught

world religions World religions is a socially-constructed category used in the study of religion to demarcate religions that are deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential in the development of human societies. It typicall ...

and exposed her mainly Christian students to other faiths so they could better understand how various groups worship. In 1996, she was named one of the twelve "most effective" preachers in the English-speaking world by

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

. She was awarded the 1998 Emory Medal by the Emory Alumni Association of

for her distinguished achievement in education. In February 2009, Barbara Brown Taylor led the second annual

religion conference in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Georgia. Taylor had been the keynote speaker at the conference in previous years. In addition, Taylor gave the 2009 Annual Buechner Lecture at the Buechner Institute at King University. She has written twelve books on

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. In February 2010, days before Piedmont College's religion conference, Taylor ranked in the top ten most influential living preachers in a poll conducted by the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

Career

In the early 2000s, she chose to leave active ministry, while retaining her ordination. Her memoir of this time ''Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith'' was the first of a trilogy of books about redefining her faith followed by ''An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith'' and ''Learning to Walk in the Dark''.

Private life

She lives on her farm in northern Georgia, with husband Edward Taylor.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *''Learning to Walk in the Dark''. HarperOne. 2014. p. 200. . * *Co-editor with David L. Bartlett, ''Feasting on the Word'' Commentary Series.

Westminster John Knox Press Westminster John Knox Press is an American publisher of Christian books located in Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southea ...

. 2008.

References

External links