Rate My Professor Mark Taylor

Mark Taylor is the Maxwell M. Upson Professor of Theology and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary since 2004, having joined as Assistant Professor of Theology in 1982, promoted to Associate Professor in 1988, and Professor in 1999. He previously held research fellowships at the University of Helsinki's Institute of Advanced Studies (2004-2005) and served as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2014. His educational background comprises a PhD in Theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1982, with a dissertation on "Religious Dimensions in Cultural Anthropology," an MDiv/DMin from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia in 1977, and a BA from Seattle Pacific University in 1973.

Taylor's research interests include theologies of Paul Tillich and Gustavo Gutierrez, white racism as a theological challenge, feminist and womanist theologies, empire and capital in theological perspective, cultural-political hermeneutics, and the dynamics of churches in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico, encompassing Mayan theology and resistance to repression. Key publications feature Beyond Explanation: Religious Dimensions in Cultural Anthropology (Mercer University Press, 1986), Paul Tillich: Theologian of the Boundaries (Fortress Press, 1987/1991), Remembering Esperanza: A Cultural-Political Theology for North American Praxis (Orbis, 1990; Fortress, 1995), The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America (Fortress Press, 2001; revised and expanded, 2015)—recipient of the 2001 Theologos Award for Best General Interest Book by the Association of Theological Booksellers—Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post-9/11 Politics and American Empire (Fortress Press, 2005), and The Theological and the Political: On the Weight of the World (Fortress Press, 2011). He has authored numerous articles, such as "The Political in Paul Tillich’s Theology" (2020) and "Theological Resistance to U.S. Christian Nationalism" (2018). In addition to his academic contributions, Taylor founded Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal (EMAJ) in 1995, contributing to Mumia Abu-Jamal's 2011 transfer from death row, and co-founded the Coalition for Justice in Iraq. He has served on the editorial board of The Complete Works of Paul Tillich (2014-2019), as semi-finals reader for Charlotte Newcombe Fellowships since 1997, and as external assessor for tenure and promotions at Yale Divinity School, Duke Divinity School, and others. His work influences discussions on prison abolition, decolonizing spirituality, and resistance to Christian nationalism.