After leaving her religious order in 1969, Karen Armstrong took a degree at Oxford University and taught modern literature. She has since become one of the world's foremost commentators on religious affairs. Her books include The Battle for God, The Spiral Staircase, A History of God, Islam, and Buddha. A teacher at the Leo Baeck College for the Study of Judaism and the Training of Rabbis and Teachers, and an honorary member of the Association of Muslim Social Sciences, she lives in London.