Dr. Bill Pitts

Dr. Bill Pitts, one of the leading experts on the Branch Davidians, has served as a Baylor University faculty member since 1975. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on the Davidians, including "The Persistence of the Millenium," "Davidians and Branch Davidians," "Religious Cults in America," and "Millennial Spirituality of the Branch Davidians." During the Davidian siege, Dr. Pitts's frequent magazine, radio, and TV interviews included The New York Times, Newsweek, CBS News, Associated Press, and The Denver Post. He has also published on numerous Baptist topics, including "Recruiting for Missions: The Baylor Volunteer Foreign Mission Band, 1900-1906," "Women Ministry and Identity," and "Baptist Origins, 1609." His current research is focused on Baptist leaders Hanserd Knollys, a leading Baptist figure of the seventeenth century, and Walter Rauschenbusch, early twentieth-century proponent of the Social Gospel. He currently serves as editor of Baptists History and Heritage.

Dr. Pitts has served two terms as Director of the Graduate Program in Religion, 1988-1991 and 2006-2010. He has worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students on travel-study programs to Britain, and has read papers at national and international academic conferences. Dr. Pitts was the coordinator of World Cultures II in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core from the BIC's creation until 2019. His lectures include Augustine, the Medieval Church, and the Reformation. Related courses that he has taught include Medieval History, Renaissance and Reformation, Western Civilization, Introduction to Church History, History of Protestantism, Modern European Church History, and the English Reformation. Dr. Pitts is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, and the Baptist History and Heritage Society.