Franz Metcalf’s career combines the spiritual and the scholarly. He received his MA from the Graduate Theological Union, earning a doctoral fellowship from the University of Chicago to pursue his abiding personal interest in Zen, receiving his PhD in 1997 for a dissertation on the question “Why do Americans practice Zen Buddhism?”
In the ivory tower, Franz has been president of the American Academy of Religion, Western Region and chair of the Psychology, Culture and Religion Group, both regionally and nationally. He has published numerous articles and chapters on contemporary Buddhism and is book review editor of the Journal of Global Buddhism. Franz teaches religious studies at California State University, Los Angeles.
Down from the tower, Franz is director of the Forge Guild for Spirituality and Social Change. He has written five books applying Buddhism to everyday life, most recently, Being Buddha at Work (2012). He continues to inquire into Buddhism and psychology and says “Hi!” to his daughter, Pearl. Franz is currently working on a historical-spiritual-detective novel. Prayers might be in order.