The Rev. Dr. Noel L. Erskine teaches theology and ethics at Candler and in Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion. He came to Candler in 1977, and has been a visiting professor at 10 schools in six countries.

His research interests include Caribbean and Black theologies, the history and development of plantation and Black churches, and theological method in the work of James Cone, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Erskine has authored and edited 11 books, all of which chronicle the historical and complex nature of Black Theology, Revivalism, Rastafarianism and the theological perspective of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In his most recent book, Plantation Church: How African American Religion Was Born in Caribbean Slavery (Oxford Univ. Press, 2014), Erskine investigates the history of Black churches both in the Caribbean and the United States after the arrival of enslaved Africans. Erskine is the editor for Research in Religion and Family: Black Perspectives. In addition, he has contributed to scores of journals, magazines and anthologies, and is a sought-after lecturer and presenter.

As a consultant to the National Institute of Corrections, Erskine works closely with prison chaplains and volunteer staff. He also serves as a member of the Commission of Creation-Care of the Baptist World Alliance, and is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, and the Society for the Study of Black Religion.

Erskine has been recognized by his students for his dedication to teaching, winning Candler’s “Faculty Person of the Year” award in 2003, and the school’s “On Eagle’s Wings” Excellence in Teaching Award in 2004. Erskine is currently serving as Emory’s Ethics and Society chairperson and the Association of Caribbean Educators and Students advisor.

In 2013, Candler established the Erskine-Smith-Moseley Endowment in honor of Erskine, Luther Smith and Romney Moseley, three of the school’s first African American faculty, which provides financial support to students in Candler’s Black Church Studies program.