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Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture.

Member of:

The Episcopal Church

Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of eight books including Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening (HarperOne, 2012), and A People's History of Christianity: the Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009). Her best-selling Christianity for the Rest of Us (2006) was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Christian Century, won the Book of the Year Award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and was featured in a cover story in USA TODAY.

Diana regularly consults with religious organizations, leads conferences for religious leaders, and teaches and preaches in a variety of venues. She regularly comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA TODAY, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR. From 1995-2000, she wrote a weekly column on American religion for the New York Times Syndicate. She has written widely in the religious press, including Sojourners, Christian Century, Clergy Journal, and Congregations.

From 2002 to 2006, she was the Project Director of a national Lilly Endowment funded study of mainline Protestant vitality-a project featured in Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Diana also serves on the board of directors of the Beatitudes Society.

Diana has taught at Westmont College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Macalester College, Rhodes College, and the Virginia Theological Seminary. She has taught church history, American religious history, history of Christian thought, religion and politics, and congregational studies.

She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, D.C.

Latest Content by Dr. Diana Butler Bass

David Crumm Interviews Diana Butler Bass on Growing Healthier Churches

David Crumm

Diana Butler Bass is one of America's leading experts on faith and culture. She is in great demand among church leaders who want to chart a healthier path toward growth. Her conclusions, based on a wealth of new data, are surprising.

Earlier on ReadtheSpirit.com we reviewed her new book, Christianity After Religion.
Now ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm interviews Diana ...

Read full article...

A Conversation with Diana Butler Bass

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

In this special Day1 Podcast Extra, author and religious historian Diana Butler Bass and Day1 host Peter Wallace discuss her new book, Christianity After Religion.

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Other Recent Content by Dr. Diana Butler Bass

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Conversations with Peter Wallace

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author and religious historian Diana Butler Bass sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss her new book, Christianity After Religion, and delves into the roots of the crisis that churches of all kinds are facing, causes ranging from September 11th to the abuse scandal the Catholic Church faces, and where she sees the future of worship and Christianity. Join us for a conversation of faith and hope, only on Day1.

Does The Church Have A Future? - Diana Butler Bass

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Diana Butler Bass offers a compelling analysis of where she sees the church headed in the world of faith in which we live today. In this brilliant segment she explains the premise of her new book, Christianity After Religion, and explains where she sees the church going in this uncertain age.

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Conversation with Diana Butler Bass - 30 Good Minutes Interview

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Lillian Daniel and Lydia Talbot in conversation with Diana Butler Bass, who says, "An amazing amount of people in their 20s and 30s right now are breaking through all the boundaries and trying to create a generative faith based on love."

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A People's History of Faith - Diana Butler Bass on 30 Good Minutes

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Historian of religion, Diana Butler Bass, author of "A People's History of Christianity," suggest that we look at Christian history from the starting point of the Great Commandment ("Love God and love your neighbor as yourself") rather than the Great Commission ("Go into all the world") for a new perspective on that history.

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Podcast Extra

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author, speaker, and scholar of American religion and culture Diana Butler Bass talks with Day1 host Peter Wallace about the study of contemporary history and the future of the church.

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Video Features part 4

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author, speaker and scholar of American religion and culture sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss the decline of the church on the worldwide stage, the loss of the interest of youth, and the challenges to the institutional structure of the church in new times.

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Video Features part 3

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author, speaker and scholar Diana Butler Bass sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss some of the lesser known people who influenced Christianity over the centuries.

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Video Feature part 2

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author, speaker and scholar of American religion and culture sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace at the 2009 Festival of Homeletics in Atlanta to discuss the study of contemporary history, specifically the study of religion and culture, and the applications of past lessons to modern challenges in the church. Diana also discusses the high level of contention around writing a standard history of Christianity, and the spread of "triumphalist" texts on the subject.

Diana Butler Bass - Day1 Video Feature part 1

Dr. Diana Butler Bass (TEC)

Author, speaker, and scholar of American religion and culture Diana Butler Bass sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss the study of contemporary history and the future of the church.