His next book project, with Eerdmans Press, explores the theological and ethical conviction that human life is sacred. This will be a scholarly work tracing the development of this conviction through its roots in scripture, articulation in Christian tradition, and development, alteration, and tragic rejection in western moral thought and practice.
Dr. Gushee’s work as a scholar has been recognized by his peers through such measures as his service on the editorial board of the Society of Christian Ethics, his recent election to the board of directors of that professional group, his co-leadership of the Scriptural/Contextual Ethics Consultation of the American Academy of Religion, and his role as a Visiting Member of the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton.
A professor deeply committed to teaching and mentoring his students, Dr. Gushee was named Faculty of the Year at Union University in May 2000, in his first year of eligibility for the award. He created and led a Christian ethics program at Union that graduated dozens of majors and minors. He continues such teaching and mentoring at McAfee School of Theology and with undergraduates at Mercer University, and is committed to ongoing relationships with his graduates.
In recent years Dr. Gushee has had the opportunity to engage as an activist and public intellectual on a number of controversial issues. His widely quoted 2006 Christianity Today cover article opposing torture has led to ongoing opportunities to address issues related to U.S. foreign policy since 9/11. He founded and served as president of Evangelicals for Human Rights (EHR), which led the fight against excesses in counterterrorism policy, and which has now merged with two other organizations to form the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. On the environment, Professor Gushee was the principal drafter of the 2006 Evangelical Climate Initiative and remains deeply involved in follow-on efforts to address climate change and other environmental issues.
In the 2008 election year, Dr. Gushee intensified his involvement in scholarly and popular analysis of the role of religion, and especially evangelicalism, in American public life. He published The Future of Faith in American Politics (Baylor University Press), which argues that there is an “emerging evangelical center” that offers the best way forward for evangelical political engagement. This publication helped to solidify his role as a commentator on such issues for the media. During that presidential campaign, he was contacted by candidate Barack Obama and remains in conversation with the religious affairs office of the Obama Administration. He spoke at the Compassion Forum in April 2008 and at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver.
Dr. Gushee was educated at the College of William and Mary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he earned his Ph.D. in Christian Ethics in 1993.
He resides in Atlanta with his wife Jeanie, daughter Marie, cat Noah, and college kids Holly and David when they make it home.
