Dr. Thigpen earned a B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale University (1977) and an M.A. (1993) and Ph.D. (1995) in Historical Theology from Emory University, where he was awarded the George W. Woodruff Fellowship. He has served on the faculties of Missouri State University (Springfield), The College of Saint Thomas More (Fort Worth, Texas), and Saint Leo University (Savannah, Georgia).
A best-selling author and award-winning journalist, Dr. Thigpen has published thirty-five books and more than five hundred journal and magazine articles in more than forty religious and secular periodicals for both scholarly and popular audiences. His work has been circulated worldwide and translated into twelve languages.
Dr. Thigpen was appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a lay representative on their National Advisory Council. He also serves the Church as an historian, apologist, evangelist, and catechist in a number of settings, speaking frequently at conferences, seminars, parish missions, and scholarly gatherings in the United States and abroad.