R. Marie Griffith

R. Marie Griffith

John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor
PhD, Harvard University
research interests:
  • Religion
  • Gender
  • American Politics

contact info:

mailing address:

  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
  • CB 1066
  • ONE BROOKINGS DR.
  • ST. LOUIS, MO 63130-4899

Professor Griffith writes extensively on religion and politics, including topics on evangelical women. She is ​a frequent media commentator and public speaker on current issues, including the changing profile of American evangelicals and ongoing conflicts over gender, sexuality and marriage.

Griffith's first major publication was God’s Daughters: Evangelical Women and the Power of Submission (1997), which examines the practices and perceptions of contemporary evangelical women. Her next book, Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity (2004), explores the history of Christian-influenced attitudes and practices related to embodiment in modern America, culminating in the evangelical diet and fitness movement. These books, along with her three edited volumes—Women and Religion in the African Diaspora: Knowledge, Power, and Performance (co-edited with Barbara Dianne Savage, 2006), Religion and Politics in the Contemporary United States (co-edited with Melani McAlister, 2008), and American Religions: A Documentary History (2007)—exhibit Griffith’s varied and thoughtful scholarship. Her newest book, Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics, was published in December 2017 by Basic Books. In addition to her books, Professor Griffith has published numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, and review essays.