Stanley Kent Stowers

Stanley Kent Stowers (born 1948) is a historian of ancient Mediterranean religion and a theorist of religion. He taught at Brown University for 31 years and is now Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies. Working from a comparative analysis of Greek, Roman, Judean, and Christian evidence, he has developed a theory of ancient Mediterranean religion, and of religion more generally. He is also known for his publications on the early Christianity and especially the letters of Paul. He has also published on National Socialism (“Nazism”) and religion and on the early modern invention of monotheism.

Biography

He was born in 1948. He currently resides in Tiverton, Rhode Island. During his career at Brown, he supervised numerous graduate students who later became prominent scholars in religious studies and related fields. He retired with emeritus status and has continued to publish major scholarly works. His approach is most fully articulated in A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (1994). Although initially controversial, the book has had a lasting impact on Pauline studies and contributed to later developments sometimes described as the “radical new perspective” on Paul. Its influence is reflected in sustained scholarly engagement, including a dedicated session at the Society of Biblical Literature marking the book’s twenty-fifth anniversary.

In related work, Stowers developed a new account of “participation in Christ,” interpreting it in light of ancient philosophical and ontological traditions, particularly Stoic and Platonist thought.

This approach is synthesized in Christian Beginnings: A Study in Ancient Mediterranean Religion (2024) and History and the Study of Religion: The Ancient Mediterranean as a Test Case (2024), both of which draw together decades of previously published research. Drawing on cognitive psychology and the philosophy of science, he argues that religion should be understood as a “social kind” rather than as a system defined primarily by belief. This theoretical position has been developed over many years and presented most fully in History and the Study of Religion

In 1997, he received the Harriet W. Sheridan Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Learning at Brown University.

Among many invited lectureships, he was Visiting Professor at the University of Bologna, Spring 2001, and Visiting Fellow at Macquarie University, Spring 2006.