A professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Southern Mississippi for more than thirty years, Clayton Sullivan is well known for his scholarly religious books. That career followed an active Baptist ministry that started during his college years. Since his semi-retirement from teaching, his interest has increasingly turned to the writing of fiction.

After his undergraduate work at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, he attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he earned the Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. He also holds a Master's degree in Philosophy and Middle Eastern Religions from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has engaged in postdoctoral studies at Princeton University, Southern Methodist University, New York's Union Theological Seminary and the Harvard Divinity School. He is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the author of numerous religious articles.