(Ph.D., Drew University, 1963) joined the Syracuse faculty in 1963 and has served on virtually all departmental committees, culminating in his appointment as director of graduate studies in religion (1975-80) and from 1980 until 2000 as Chair of the Department. His field is Western religion and culture, with particular interests in teaching and research and writing in the history of Christianity and Christian thought, religious/cultural diversity, religious views and practices concerning death and dying, interpretive theory, mysticism, and narrative and religion. His book Religion as Story appeared in 1975; he is coauthor of Foundations of Christianity (1972), Christianity : A Cultural Approach (1987), and In Praise of Religious Diversity (1996) . From 1983 until 1992 he served as executive director of the American Academy of Religion.