Mark Valeri

Mark Valeri is the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. He holds a PhD from Princeton University and is affiliated with the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. His research focuses on religion’s intersection with social thought, economics, and political history in America, particularly during the Reformation, Puritan era, and Enlightenment periods. Valeri’s work bridges historical analysis with contemporary issues like secularism and global economic ethics.

Education: PhD, Princeton University.

Research Interests: Religion and social thought (especially economics) in America; Reformation theology; political history of Calvinism; Puritanism; Enlightenment moral philosophy. Current projects include studying religious persuasion, evangelicalism, and secularism in the 18th century.

Publications highlight transformative shifts in religious attitudes toward commerce, moral obligations in modern economies, and historical Christian practices. His book Heavenly Merchandize (2010) won the Philip Schaff Prize and was recognized as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice magazine.

He has received prestigious fellowships including an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, and Lilly Endowment faculty fellowship. His work is housed at the John C. Danforth Center, fostering interdisciplinary research on religion and public life.