Lee M. Jefferson

BIOGRAPHY

Lee Jefferson is the Nelson D. and Mary McDowell Rodes Professor of Religion. Prior to coming to Centre in 2008, Jefferson taught courses at Memphis Theological Seminary and at Vanderbilt University, both in various areas of the Christian tradition. His primary area of interest is the development of the Christian tradition and art and imagery of Late Antiquity; and more currently religion and identity through food. He graduated cum laude from Sewanee-University of the South and earned his M.Div. from Southern Methodist University (magna cum laude). He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in religion from Vanderbilt University.

He has published articles on different aspects of early Christianity in Religion and the Arts, Studia Patristica, Religion Compass, the Sewanee Theological Review, the SBL Bible Odyssey, the Yale ISM Review, the Biblical Archaeology Review, and Interpretation. His book reviews have appeared in Review of Biblical Literature, Religious Studies Review, Church History, and the Journal of Early Christian Studies.

He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (DeGruyter) and the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Brill). Jefferson teaches widely across various aspects of different religious traditions. He teaches introductory courses in Christianity and biblical studies as well as first-year seminars on contemporary topics such as superheroes and religion. He has developed a senior capstone course that explores food and identity and involves hands on cooking in the classroom. He developed a study abroad course on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain where he has traveled extensively. Currently, he is developing a study abroad course in England walking the pilgrimage trails to Canterbury and to Durham Cathedral. 

His book, Christ the Miracle Worker in Early Christian Art (Fortress Press, 2014) concerns the early images of the miracles of Jesus. His second book, a collection of essays including a chapter he authored, and co-edited with Robin M. Jensen, is entitled The Art of Empire: Christian Art in Its Imperial Context and was published in October 2015. His latest volume is an edited collection of essays in honor of Robin M. Jensen, Death and Rebirth in Late Antiquity (Lexington Books/Rowman and Littlefield, 2022). He is currently working on a volume exploring religion and foodways in the American south including the religious history of bourbon. 

AWARDS/GRANTS

• Faculty Fellow, James Beam Institute, University of Kentucky, 2024 -
• Board of Directors, International Catacomb Society, Boston, MA, 2024 -
• Recipient of the Shohet Scholar Grant from the International Catacomb Society, May 2013

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS

• Society of Biblical Literature
• North American Patristics Society
• Historical Society of the Episcopal Church

PUBLICATIONS 

• “The Healing Christ in Pandemics: Then and Now,” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology (Vol. 77(3), Fall 2023) pp. 233–245.
• “The Horns of Moses” in Biblical Archeological Review (Spring 2023) pp. 58-60.
• Christ the Miracle Worker in Early Christian Art (Fortress, 2014)
• The Art of Empire: Christian Art in its Imperial Context, ed. with Robin M. Jensen (Fortress, 2015)
• Death and Rebirth in Late Antiquity: A Study in Early Christian Art and Theology, Essays in Honor of Robin M. Jensen (Lexington Books/Rowman and Littlefield, 2022).