Townes earned her
Bachelor of Arts in Religion and the Humanities from the
University of Chicago in 1977. She then earned her
Master of Arts in Religion as well as her
Doctor of Ministry from the
University of Chicago Divinity School in 1979 and 1982. Townes earned her
Doctor of Philosophy in Religious and Theological Studies from the joint
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary/
Northwestern University Program in 1989. Townes has taught at a number of academic institutions, including
Chicago Theological Seminary,
McCormick Theological Seminary,
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary,
DePaul University,
Saint Paul School of Theology,
Union Theological Seminary in New York,
Yale Divinity School, and
Boston University School of Theology, holding named chairs at both Union and Yale. Townes has been an ordained
American Baptist minister since 1980. Townes has made major contributions to the field of
womanist theology and ethics. She has been described as a "towering figure in theological education." The connection between faith and activism is a hallmark of her scholarship. Her research interests include health, interlocking forms of oppression, womanism, cultural studies, and postmodernism. She was awarded an honorary master's degree from
Yale University in 2005, and an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters from
Christian Theological Seminary in 2022. Townes served as the president of the
American Academy of Religion in 2008, and the president of the
Society for the Study of Black Religion from 2012–2016. In 2022, Townes was elected as the 2025 president of the
Society of Christian Ethics (SCE). She will become the society's first Black woman president. == Honors ==