Rodney L. Taylor, PhD, the foremost American researcher of Confucius as a religious and spiritual figure, is author of The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism, The Way of Heaven, The Confucian Way of Contemplation and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism, among other books. He is professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he also served as director of Asian studies, chair of the Department of Religious Studies and associate dean of the Graduate School.