Kate Bowler

Dr. Kate Bowler (born June 16, 1980) is a Canadian academic and writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bowler works at Duke Divinity School as an associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America. Her doctoral dissertation became the inspiration for her first book, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel; in the following years, she has published seven other titles. Bowler also is the host of the podcast Everything Happens with Kate Bowler, a product of Lemonada media.

Early life and education Bowler was born in 1980 in London, England where her father Gerry Bowler was pursuing a PhD in history at King's College London; he is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba. Her mother, Karen Bowler, was also a professor at the University of Manitoba; the pair spent a combined 60 years teaching at the institution. Kate grew up primarily in Winnipeg, Manitoba where she was raised in a Mennonite community. While her own family did not identify as such, she attended Mennonite youth groups and camps, experiences further detailed in the introduction of her book The Preacher's Wife. Kate Bowler met her now husband, Toban Penner, in high school; they married in 2002. In her post-secondary career, Bowler received her Bachelor of Arts at Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota in 2002, and her Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School in 2005. In 2010, she completed her PhD at Duke University, with which she is currently affiliated. Her PhD work focuses on the history of the prosperity gospel in the United States.

In 2015, at age 35, Kate Bowler was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. In a 2018 appearance on NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross, but has been responsive to immunotherapy. Despite being given two years to live after receiving her diagnosis, Bowler celebrated her 45th birthday in June 2025.

Career Dr. Kate Bowler is currently an associate professor of American religious history at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.

Bowler's academic work has received a variety of grants and awards; she is currently receiving support from the Lilly Endowment through 2026 for leadership education operations. Her contributions to the field of teaching earned her the 2022 Distinction in Theological Education Award from Yale Divinity School, an honorary degree from Macalester College in 2022,

Within Duke Divinity School, alongside her faculty position, Bowler leads the "Everything Happens Project". This initiative is a multimedia location for spiritual conversation and research, highlighting narratives that often contradict the self-help industry's touted promises.

This umbrella project of "Everything Happens" is the source of journalism, conversation, newsletters, In these years, Bowler visited megachurches, archives, and various other evangelical events and interviewed church leaders in pursuit of exploring the "prosperity gospel". This theological notion, unique to the Charismatic Christian population, attributes worldly health and wealth to the will of God and commitment to religious practices.

A Publishers Weekly review describes this history and ideological scaffolding as a "rich narrative [that] traces the entanglement of prosperity and the divine in New Thought thinkers, who believed in mind-power to transform heaven-sent blessings; the power of positive thinking in the postwar era, from Norman Vincent Peale to the televangelists of the 1980s; and the rise of the contemporary megachurch, which includes preachers like Joel Osteen, who argue that believers are created to excel". Though critics note that in Blessed, Bowler "could expand her analysis of civil religion's influence on the prosperity gospel. The movement's expansion in the years of the Cold War and its emphasis on American exceptionalism beg for more discussion".

Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved. New York: Random House, 2018.

Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved was published in 2018. This memoir chronicles Bowler's internal dialogue following her diagnosis with stage IV colon cancer, particularly her meditations on her area of academic focus, the prosperity gospel, and the ways in which it manifests in her life. Kirkus Reviews describes this synthesis as "a touching tale of battling cancer set against the backdrop of the prosperity gospel". Bowler discussed this book and offered further reflections and recommendations for an audience in her TED Talk, given on July 2, 2019. Bowler's website also offers discussion questions related to the book for readers looking to apply writing to their own lives and conversations.

The Preacher's Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020.

Bowler's third full-length book observes women in American evangelist culture, specifically the wives of megachurch preachers. The text explores how these individuals "balance the demands of celebrity culture and conservative, male dominated faiths", Published in 2020, this topic was also addressed in Bowler's New York Times Op-Ed, titled "The Perilous Power of the Preacher's Wife". While the book was generally received positively, the Christian Scholar's Review notes, "If I could have asked Bowler for more, I would have been glad if she had pondered the extent to which some of this material reflects evangelical history more generally".

Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2022. ISBN 9780593193686

Released in 2022, this text was co-authored with Jessica Richie, the co-producer of Bowler's podcast and the executive director of the Everything Happens Project at Duke Divinity School. Both faculty at Duke Divinity School, these women created this reflection on finding beauty and truth in the chaotic moments of life. The text works as a counter to the "ruthless individualism and blind optimism" that its authors claim characterizes contemporary culture. Bowler spoke on this book in February 2022 on Good Morning America.

The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days. Convergent Books, 2023.

Richie and Bowler released this devotional on the heels of Good Enough in 2023. Rather than long-form prose, this book is similarly split into smaller blessings/meditations designed to elevate gratitude in the smaller or less glamorous moments of life. The Lives We Actually Have is formatted as a prayer text, with related guides available for lent and advent seasons.

Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Meditations for the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens. Harmony/Rodale/Convergent, 2024. ISBN 9780593727676

Composed in a season of chronic pain and cancer treatment, this book is a continuation of Bowler's recent writing of devotionals and smaller guides over inquiry-based research books. Each section offers a poem of sorts with an accompanying verse and action-oriented advice from Bowler. This publication also offers a lent guide.

Joyful, Anyway. Random House publishing Group, 2026. ISBN 9780593734193

Set to release April 7, 2026, Joyful, Anyway is Bowler's newest addition to her shelf. Bowler prefaces this book with gratitude for surviving her stage-four cancer diagnosis, Grant awarded by the Lilly Endowment (2018–2020) for a project entitled: "Everything Happens Project Planning" Grant awarded by the Richard J. Reynolds III and Marie Mallouk Reynolds Foundation (2019–2020) for a project entitled: "Everything Happens for a Reason - Reynolds" Grant awarded by the Duke Endowment (2020–2021) for a project entitled: "Equipping Pastors for the Digital Church - Everything Happens Project" Grant awarded by the Duke Endowment (2020–2023) for a project entitled: "Everything Happens for a Reason" Grant awarded by the Lilly Endowment (2020–2026) for a project entitled: "Leadership Education Operations" Recipient of the Christopher Award (LINK) (70th annual ceremony in 2019) for her memoir Everything Happens for a Reason: and Other Lies I've Loved; Books for adults' category 2022 Distinction in Theological Education Award from Yale Divinity School