Diana Butler Bass

Diana Butler Bass, an independent commentator on American religion, is a leader in Mainline (Protestant) and Progressive Christianity. She is the author of six books on American religion, three of which have won research or writing awards. She earned a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University in 1991, with an emphasis on American church history where she studied under George Marsden. From 1995–2000, she wrote a weekly column on religion and culture for the New York Times Syndicate that appeared in more than seventy newspapers nationwide. Currently, she is a blogger for the God’s Politics blog with Jim Wallis at Beliefnet ^[1] and is a Red-Letter Christian.

Early life & Career

Born in 1959 in Baltimore, Maryland, as Diana Hochstedt, she grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. Raised a United Methodist, she became an evangelical Christian. She attended Westmont College, a Christian college in Santa Barbara, California, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where she earned a master’s degree in church history. Her spiritual memoir, Strength for the Journey, records her growing dissatisfaction with conservative evangelical religion. She is now a member of the Episcopal Church. For a decade, she worked primarily as a college professor before becoming an independent scholar. In 2002, the Lilly Endowment awarded Bass a major grant to support her research on mainline Protestant churches.

Bass’s books range from a study of nineteenth-century evangelicalism (Standing Against the Whirlwind) to a contemporary ethnography of mainline Protestantism (Christianity for the Rest of Us). Throughout her work, she displays an interest in the role of religion in cultural and social change. Her theories of postmodernism, tradition, and Christian practice to renew congregations have proved influential with mainline Protestant church leaders. She eschews programmatic spirituality and leadership in favor of encouraging Christians to seriously practice their faith as a way to reform American churches and political life.

Two of her books, Strength for the Journey ^[2] and Christianity for the Rest of Us ^[3] have been named among the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Christianity for the Rest of Us was named Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.^[4] Standing against the Whirlwind was awarded the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize by the American Society of Church History.

Although Bass is considered a leader in progressive Christianity because of her criticism of the religious right, she is ultimately difficult to classify. Her work combines elements of liberal theology, progressive spirituality, classical evangelicalism, mystical awareness, feminist concerns, and Christian tradition to create an inclusive and transformative vision of Christianity.

Her work has been written about by USA Today,^[5] US News and World Report,^[6] Newsweek,^[7] The Washington Post,^[8] the Los Angeles Times,^[9] and other papers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.^[10] She has appeared on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly ^[11] and is, along with Martin E. Marty, one of two scholars chosen to represent Mainline Protestantism in The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World, a book edited by the show's host, Bob Abernethy.

Personal life

She is married to Richard Bass and is the mother of two children. Her sister-in-law, Dorothy C. Bass, is a noted theologian of Christian practice.

Bibliography

• A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (Harper One, 2009)
• Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith (Harper One, 2006)
• From Nomads to Pilgrims: Stories from Practicing Congregations (Alban, 2006), with Joseph Stewart-Sicking
• The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church (Alban, 2004)
• Broken We Kneel: Reflections on Faith and Citizenship (Jossey-Bass, 2004)
• Strength for the Journey: A Pilgrimage of Faith in Community (Jossey-Bass, 2002)
• Standing Against the Whirlwind: Evangelical Episcopalians in Nineteenth Century America (Oxford University Press, 1995) published as "Diana Hochstedt Butler"

References

1. ^ http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/
2. ^ http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA257022.html
3. ^ http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6388182.html
4. ^ http://www.apclergy.org/BookoftheYearTopTenBookspublishedin2006.html
5. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-10-31-protestant-cover_x.htm
6. ^ http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/050607/7religion.htm
7. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15320763/site/newsweek/
8. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043000959.html
9. ^ http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/408379031.html?dids=408379031:408379031&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+20%2C+2003&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=B.22&desc=Religion%3B+New+Life+Seen+in+Protestant+Churches
10. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07163/793363-85.stm
11. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week845/interview1.html

External links

• Official site of Diana Butler Bass

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Name	Bass, Diana Butler
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Date of birth	1959
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