Disciples Divinity House

Disciples Divinity House is saddened to learn of the death of Mark G. Toulouse on March 2. A leading historian and theologian of the Disciples movement, ordained Disciples minister, and expert on Religion and Public Life, he was honored as the Alumnus of the Year by the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2018. A memorial service will be held at South Hills Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, March 9.  

Toulouse retired as Principal and Professor of the History of Christianity of Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto in 2017. Under his leadership, several new academic programs were introduced, including the PhD degree, the MA degree, and the Certificate of Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, all offered conjointly with the University of Toronto. His work has included the creation of Muslim and Buddhist Studies programs. He was also Emeritus Professor of American Religious History at Brite Divinity School, where he taught from 1986 to 2008 and served as Dean and Executive Vice-President from 1999-2002. He began his teaching career at Illinois Benedictine College (1980-84) and served on the faculty of Phillips Theological Seminary from 1984-86.

Mark Toulouse received his PhD in the History of Christianity from the University of Chicago in 1984, where he was a student of Martin E. Marty. Toulouse has written or edited ten books, including Joined in Discipleship: The Shaping of Contemporary Disciples Identity (1992 and 1997); Makers of Christian Theology in America (1997), Sources of Christian Theology in America (1999), Walter Scott: A Nineteenth-Century Evangelical (1999), God in Public (2006), and The Altars Where We Worship: The Religious Significance of Popular Culture (2016). His research and teaching were been supported by grants from the Association of Theological Schools, the Lilly Endowment, the Louisville Institute, the Wabash Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the Connaught Fund at the University of Toronto.

He was serving as a member of the Disciples-ELCA Bilateral Dialogue, which met in Chicago the weekend before his death, and where he brought classic clarity, wisdom, and erudition.