Elizabeth Schrader Polczer

Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, better known as Elizabeth Schrader, is an American biblical scholar who concentrates on textual studies concerning Mary Magdalene, the Gospel of John, and the Nag Hammadi corpus. She currently teaches at Villanova University. Before transitioning to her academic focus, she was a singer/songwriter professionally known as Libbie Schrader.

Schrader grew up in Portland, Oregon and moved to California to attend Pomona College, from which she graduated in 2001. She moved to New York in 2008.

Schrader's involvement with religious scholarship began after a long and successful career as a singer-songwriter. In 2010 she launched a fan-funded campaign to record her album Magdalene. The album's title track led to Schrader doing research into Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John, and to two master's degrees in theology from General Theological Seminary. She completed her doctorate in Early Christianity and New Testament studies at Duke University in 2023, and became an Assistant Professor of New Testament at Villanova University.