Karen Armstrong launched the Charter for Compassion in 2009 after receiving a TED Prize to foster global understanding across religious traditions. A former Roman Catholic nun, she spent seven years in a teaching congregation before leaving the order in 1969 to pursue an academic path at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she studied English literature.
Religious Life and Academic Departure
Born in 1944 in Worcestershire, Armstrong entered the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus at age 17. During this period, she experienced physical and psychological hardship within the convent. After leaving the order, she completed her degree at Oxford. Though she initially intended to pursue a doctorate on poet Alfred Tennyson, her dissertation was rejected by an external examiner, leading her to abandon a traditional academic career path while she managed undiagnosed temporal lobe epilepsy.
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Armstrong began her career as a teacher at James Allen's Girls' School in 1976. Her writing career commenced with the publication of her memoir, Through the Narrow Gate, in 1982. A 1984 television documentary on St. Paul, filmed in the Holy Land, served as a catalyst for her subsequent research into comparative religion. She has since explored the evolution of monotheistic traditions and the Axial Age, publishing influential works such as A History of God and The Great Transformation.
Advocacy and Global Recognition
As a scholar of religious ethics, Armstrong emphasises the Golden Rule and the practical application of compassion over dogmatic belief. She has taught at Leo Baeck College and served as an advisor for various PBS documentaries. Her commitment to interfaith dialogue is reflected in numerous honours, including the Four Freedoms Award, the Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences. She remains a member of the Royal Society of Literature.
Fast facts
- Born: 1944, Worcestershire, United Kingdom
- Former occupation: Roman Catholic nun
- Education: St Anne's College, Oxford
- Key focus: Comparative religion and religious ethics
- TED Prize recipient: 2008
- Languages: English
- Notable initiative: Charter for Compassion
- Academic affiliation: Leo Baeck College
Questions readers ask
What is Karen Armstrong's religious affiliation?
Raised in the Catholic Church, she later described herself as a freelance monotheist and has suggested her current views align more closely with Confucianism.
What is the focus of her literary work?
Her books examine the commonalities of major world religions, specifically the historical evolution of monotheism and the universal importance of compassion.
Achievements
- Affiliated with Leo Baeck College
- Educated at St Anne's College
- Worked as theologian, writer and university teacher
