Taylor was born on September 21, 1951, in
Lafayette,
Indiana. She did her undergraduate studies at
Emory University where she graduated in 1973. She then went on to study at
Yale Divinity School, where she graduated in 1976. She was ordained in 1984, She later left parish ministry and became a full-time professor at
Piedmont College in
Demorest, Georgia, and an adjunct professor of
Christian spirituality at
Columbia Theological Seminary in
Decatur, Georgia. She taught
world religions and exposed her mainly Christian students to other faiths so they could better understand how various groups worship. She was awarded the 1998
Emory Medal by the Emory Alumni Association of
Emory University for her distinguished achievement in education. In February 2009, Barbara Brown Taylor led the second annual
Piedmont College religion conference in
Athens, Georgia. Taylor had been the keynote speaker at the conference in previous years. In addition, Taylor gave the 2009 Annual Buechner Lecture at the
Buechner Institute at
King University. She has written twelve books on
faith and
spirituality. In February 2010, days before Piedmont College's religion conference, Taylor ranked in the top ten most influential living preachers in a poll conducted by the
Southern Baptist Convention. ==Career==