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Lauren Winner

Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality
Divinity School
Duke Box 90967, Durham, NC 27708
148 Langford Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Dr. Winner writes and lectures widely on Christian practice, the history of Christianity in America, and Jewish-Christian relations.

Her books include Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, Real Sex, a study of household religious practice in 18th-century Virginia, A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith, published by Yale University Press in the fall of 2010, and, most recently, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

Dr. Winner’s research has been supported by numerous institutions, including Monticello, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, and the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University.  

Dr. Winner has appeared on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has served as a commentator on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” She has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Books and Culture, and Christianity Today, and her essays have been included in several volumes of The Best Christian Writing.  She is a priest associate at St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Durham) and a member of the board of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality · 2016 - Present Divinity School

In the News


Published June 30, 2016
Commentary: The naked truth about sex and the single evangelical
Published May 19, 2016
Spirituality writer Lauren Winner asks: Who is God in the Bible?
Published February 10, 2016
The long history behind Ash Wednesday traditions

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Recent Publications


Reaganizing religion: Changing political and cultural norms among evangelicals in Ronald Reagan's America

Chapter · October 31, 2023 The 1980s saw the rise of the Religious Right-a movement within American Christianity that yoked together conservative theology with conservative politics, and that encouraged evangelical Christians to organize on behalf of a conservative social and politi ... Full text Cite

The Dangers of Christian Practice: On Wayward Gifts, Characteristic Damage, and Sin

Book · January 1, 2018 Challenging the central place that "practices" have recently held in Christian theology, Lauren Winner explores the damages these practices have inflicted over the centuries Sometimes, beloved and treasured Christian practices go horrifyingly wrong, extend ... Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 2007 M.Div.
Columbia University · 2006 Ph.D.
University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) · 1999 M.Phil.
Columbia College, Illinois · 1997 B.A.