Karen Armstrong OBE FRSL (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator

known for her books on comparative religion.[1] A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went
from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's
College, Oxford, while in the convent and majored in English. She became disillusioned and left
the convent in 1969.[1] She first rose to prominence in 1993 with her book A History of God: The
4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Her work focuses on commonalities of the
major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.
Armstrong received the US$100,000 TED Prize in February 2008. She used that occasion to call
for the creation of a Charter for Compassion, which was unveiled the following year.