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Leah Payne (PhD, Vanderbilt University) is an associate professor of American religious history at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox University and Portland Seminary. She is also the principal investigator for two Lilly Endowment, Inc. initiatives: the Institute for Pastoral and Congregational Thriving at Portland Seminary and Theologia: the ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox University Summer Theology Institute.

Her first book,  (Palgrave, 2015), won the 2016 Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies Book Award. Payne's second book, The Rise and Fall of Contemporary Christian Music (Oxford University Press, 2023), explores how Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) shaped American evangelical theology and politics. Payne's peer-reviewed research includes articles in the Journal of Ritual Studies, Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, and Political Theology.

Her research and teaching have been supported by the Louisville Institute and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology & Religion. Payne's analysis of the intersection of American Charismatics and Pentecostals, politics, and popular culture has appeared in op-eds in,,, and. As a public-facing scholar, she is cited as an expert on matters of Pentecostal and Charismatic media, political theology, and practice in,, , and in. Payne appears regularly on podcasts like,, and to explain the influence of Pentecostals and Charismatics on American public life. As co-creator and co-host of , Payne enjoys teaching listeners about religious studies through engagement with popular culture.

Academic Background

PhD, ; MA,  MTS, ; BA, ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox University

Expertise and Research Interests

American religious innovation; Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianities; religion, politics, and popular culture; gender, race, and class construction, ritual and performance theory