Jill Raitt

Jill Raitt (May 1, 1931 – May 27, 2025) was an American professor who became the first woman to receive tenure at Duke Divinity School and the second woman elected president of the American Academy of Religion. She was influential in the increasing acceptance of women in professional ministerial positions.

Early life Jill Raitt was born on May 1, 1931, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Neysa Atherton Raitt and Arthur Taylor Raitt. She grew up in Eagle Rock with one older brother, Richard Arthur Raitt.

Education After graduating from Santa Monica High School as salutatorian in 1949, Raitt began her first year at Radcliffe College where she studied Latin and English. After her sophomore year, Raitt worked as a nanny and studied in Rome for nine months. In Rome, she attended the General Historicum of the Society of Jesus where she studied philosophy and theology under the guidance of E. J. Burrus. During this time Raitt felt called to join the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Upon returning from Rome, Raitt transferred from Radcliffe College to San Francisco College for Women, run by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where she studied philosophy, graduating in 1953.

After graduation, Raitt joined the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and spent eleven years in the cloister. During these eleven years, she lived in upstate New York, California, and Rome. In the summer of 1964, after leaving religious life, Raitt enrolled at Marquette University to continue her theological education. She primarily dedicated her research to medieval and reformation theology, completing her Master's in Theology in 1965. She then entered the University of Chicago Divinity School. Raitt was among the first Roman Catholics to enroll in the Divinity School. followed by an appointment as visiting professor at Saint Louis University. She returned to the University of Missouri as a part-time visiting professor in 2013.

American Academy of Religion In 1972, Raitt was elected the national secretary of the American Academy of Religion, a position she held for three years. In 1979, she was elected vice president, then president elect, and finally president of the American Academy of Religion. In 1981, Raitt was awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Center for the Humanities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, an honor she declined because of her appointment at the University of Missouri.

Writing Raitt published and edited five books and numerous articles. The Colloquy of Montbéliard: Religion and Politics in the Sixteenth Century (1993) The Eucharistic Theology of Theodore Beza: The Development of the Reformed Tradition (1972, reprinted 1987) Encyclopedia of the Reformation (1996), Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation: ed. (1987) Shapers of Traditions in Germany, Switzerland and Poland, 1560-1600 (1981)

Legacy Raitt died on May 27, 2025, at the age of 94, in Columbia, Missouri. She was remembered for her advocacy for women in academia and ministry.