James L. Ford is a Z. Smith Reynolds Fellow and Associate Professor in the Department of Religion at Wake Forest University where he teaches courses relating to East Asian religions. He holds a Master's in Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Vanderbilt Divinity School (1992) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in East Asian religions from Princeton University (1998). Dr. Ford recently served for six years as executive secretary for the Society for the Study of Japanese Religion and currently serves as co-chair for the Japanese Religions Group of the American Academy of Religion.