Lauren Frances Winner (born 1976) is an American historian, scholar of religion, and
Episcopal priest. She is Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at
Duke Divinity School
The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular ...
.
Winner writes and lectures on Christian practice, the
history of Christianity in America, and
Jewish–Christian relations.
Winner was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
father and a
Southern Baptist mother, and was raised Jewish. She converted to
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...
in her
freshman year at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and then to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
while doing her master's degree at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
, and one of her most popular books, ''Mudhouse Sabbath'', is about becoming a Christian while appreciating the Jewishness of historical Christian faith. She completed her doctoral work at Columbia University in 2006.
Winner's fourth book, ''A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith: Anglican Religious Practice in the Elite Households of Colonial Virginia'' is based on her dissertation.
Winner has worked as a book editor of
Beliefnet
Beliefnet is a lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment.
History
Launched in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet ...
and senior editor of ''
Christianity Today''. In 2000 she wrote a column asserting that few young evangelicals took a commitment to premarital chastity seriously, using the phrase "evangelical whores".
Julia Duin Julia Duin is an American journalist and author who is Newsweek, Newsweek's religion correspondent. She has written seven books and was the religion editor for ''The Washington Times'' for 14 years. She has received three Religion Communicators Coun ...
suggests that Winner was a "fairly recent convert" at the time, and "the evangelical response to Winner was livid."
Duin goes on to relate that "''Christianity Today'' quickly demoted her to a staff writer spot when people started asking why such a recent convert in her early twenties and still in grad school had managed to attain senior writer status at such a revered publication."
Since 2000, Winner's writing and theology has continued to evolve. She completed a
Master of Divinity degree at
Duke University in 2007. She has served as a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
and the
Institute of Sacred Music at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
and volunteers regularly at the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women.
Her memoir, ''Girl Meets God'' has been described as "a passionate and thoroughly engaging account of a continuing spiritual journey within two profoundly different faiths." A second memoir, ''Still: Notes on a Mid-faith Crisis'', released on January 31, 2012, chronicles her thoughts on God as she descends into doubt and spiritual crisis following the failure of her brief (2003–2009) marriage. ''Christianity Today'' calls ''Still'' "an instant spiritual classic." Her other books include ''Mudhouse Sabbath;'' ''Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity; and Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God (2016).''
Winner was ordained to the priesthood in the
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
The Diocese of Virginia is the largest diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episco ...
on December 17, 2011.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winner, Lauren
Living people
Jewish American writers
American women journalists
Converts to Anglicanism from Judaism
Duke Divinity School faculty
Columbia College (New York) alumni
American Episcopal theologians
Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
American Episcopal priests
1976 births
Duke University alumni
Women religious writers
Women Anglican clergy
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American women writers
American women academics
21st-century American Jews