Historian and journalist Robert Peel (1909-1992) was a significant ecumenical figure in Christian Science, best known for writing his church's definitive three-volume authorized biography of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. He also wrote studies of Christian Science's most well-known feature: spiritual healing.
An alumnus of Harvard University, Peel studied with the preeminent authority on American Puritanism, Perry Miller, and his detailed scholarship did much to correct historical misimpressions and bridge the gap with traditional Christianity. Reversing several historic stereotypes and setting its subject against the kind of intellectual backdrop Miller had specialized in, the trilogy drew unusual acclaim.
During his later years, because of his familiarity with Christian Science's early history, he foresaw and spoke out against the church's trend toward growth through marketing and promotionalism rather than through its traditional emphasis on its healing theology, which placed him at odds with top church executives during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He was also a prime contributor to other works on which his name did not necessarily appear, an author of numerous articles in Christian Science periodicals, and a part-time unlisted Christian Science practitioner.