Long served as an assistant dean at the University of Chicago while completing his doctorate. After completing his doctorate, he was officially appointed as a faculty member of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. He subsequently served as chair of the History of Religions Field and of the Committee on African Studies at the University of Chicago. After his time at the University of Chicago, Long went on to teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Syracuse University.Bloesch, Sarah J., Minister, Meredith, "Signifying Religion in the Modern World: Charles H. Long", Cultural Approaches to Studying Religion (London and New York, 2019), pp. 93–109
