 Oakley was raised in the Episcopal church but in 1903 became a devoted student of Christian Science after a significant healing of asthma while she was doing preparatory study for the first set of Harrisburg murals in Florence, Italy.She was a member of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Philadelphia from 1912, when it was organized, until her death in 1961.She received many honors through her life including an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree in 1948 from Drexel Institute.