Catherine L. Albanese (born 1940) is a religious studies scholar, professor, lecturer, and author. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Chestnut Hill College in 1962. She earned a master's degree in History from Duquesne University in 1968, followed by a Ph.D in History of Christianity at the University of Chicago in 1972. In 1991, Albanese was named Alumna of the Year by the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.
She joined the Department of Religious Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara in 1987. She primarily taught courses in American Religious History, and served as chair of the department later in her career in 2005. In 2008, Albanese was appointed as the J. F. Rowny Endowed Chair in Comparative Religions in the Department of Religious Studies at UCSB, a title she held until her retirement from the department in 2010.