Christel Manning was born in southern California and raised in Germany. She has travelled all over Europe and the United States and more recently India. She currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut, with her husband and daughter.

Professor Manning teaches the introductory course in Religious Studies, as well as electives on women in world religions, religion and sexuality, cults and sects, and Eastern religions.

Research areas include the intersection of religion, gender, and sexuality; the sociology of new or marginal religious movements; and, most recently, the study of those unaffiliated with religion.