Raised in the Mennonite Church, Howard Snider earned a divinity degree from Goshen Biblical Seminary in Indiana. He wrote adult Sunday school materials, pastored a church in Edmonton, Alberta and counseled in a family welfare agency. Later he earned a doctorate from the University of Kansas. Snider is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas.

Christian imperialism, virulent religious fundamentalism, and the fusion of religion and national militarism in the last half century have been the focus of his interest in the Sociology of Religion. His book “The Cultural Creation of Christianity,” 2005, reflects a theological response to crucial issues in our society.