Richard Hays, influential scholar who changed his mind on same-sex marriage, dies at 76

Richard Hays, a renowned New Testament scholar and former dean of Duke Divinity School known for his influential books on Christian ethics and his change of mind about same-sex marriage, died January 3 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, from pancreatic cancer. Hays was 76.

“He was surrounded by his books, overseen by photos of his parents and wide family, and with Christmas music from Kings College Cambridge playing softly in the background,” his wife, Judy, wrote on CaringBridge.org, in announcing his death.

A former English teacher and pastor, Hays was a graduate of Yale University and Yale Divinity School and earned his doctorate from Emory University in 1981. He then returned to teach New Testament at Yale from 1981 to 1991 and then at Duke Divinity School until his retirement in 2018.