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Patheos Featured Writers

Roger Gottlieb

Columnist

Roger S. Gottlieb is professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the author or editor of sixteen books and more than 100 articles on environmentalism, religious life, contemporary spirituality, political philosophy, ethics, the Holocaust, feminism, and disability. He is internationally known for his work as a leading analyst and exponent of religious environmentalism, for his passionate and moving account of spirituality in an age of environmental crisis, and for his innovative and humane description of the role of religion in a democratic society. He is editor of six academic book series, on the editorial boards of several journals, and contributing editor to Tikkun Magazine.

Gottlieb's writings have appeared in top academic journals such as The Journal of Philosophy, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Conservation Biology, and Ethics; in popular publications such as E Magazine online, The Boston Globe, and Orion Afield; and in anthologies celebrating the best of Jewish writing, environmental ethics, religious life, spirituality, the Holocaust, and disability. Widely respected for his unique range of interests, combination of personal and political passion, clarity of writing, and originality, he is probably the only American intellectual to be reviewed or interviewed in publications as disparate as San Francisco Chronicle, Environmental Ethics, The Boston Globe, Christianity Today, Philosophical Review, Journal of Harvard Divinity School, New Age Journal, Socialism and Democracy, Discover, Chronicle of Higher Education, Sierra Club Magazine, Shambhala Sun, and The American Prospect.

Gottlieb's newest work is Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming , a collection of related but distinct short stories in which Gottlieb explores moral, political, intellectual, and spiritual dilemmas provoked by the environmental crisis; and asks how, in the face of powerful emotions and deeply contested views, we can live and talk to each other.

He lives in Boston with his wife, noted psychotherapist and author Miriam Greenspan, and shares in the care of his daughters, Anna and Esther.

Works by Roger Gottlieb

Pope Francis and Climate Change: Some Critical Questions

Roger Gottlieb | September 24, 2015

...

Fifty Shades of Jihad

Roger Gottlieb | February 24, 2015

...

Five Stories You won't read ANYWHERE ELSE!

Roger Gottlieb | January 13, 2015

...

Climate Future Part 2

Roger Gottlieb | December 23, 2014

...

Climate Future? Take a Look Part I

Roger Gottlieb | December 17, 2014

...

Passover and Easter: Celebrations of Violence?

Roger Gottlieb | March 28, 2013

We would be far better off forgetting the objective question of whether these stories......

Vast Forces and a Cardinal's Song: On Death, Part 2

Roger Gottlieb | March 25, 2013

Death is just around the corner for all of us. Is this a great tragedy? A loss to be......

"Amour," Death, and a Song

Roger Gottlieb | March 18, 2013

Perhaps that is all we are: just a song sung by the universe. Does a song -- does my ego......

What Difference Does it Make? Thoughts on Torture, Gun...

Roger Gottlieb | February 03, 2013

What difference does it make if torture works? if we ban guns? if it's warmer than......

Why "Zero Dark Thirty" Made Me Cry

Roger Gottlieb | January 16, 2013

It's not the suffering that made me cry, but four simple words spoken by one of the Navy......

Soren Kierkegaard and Mary Daly Walk Into a Bar...

Roger Gottlieb | December 18, 2012

Why would we ask the question in the first place? Why should I care what God my neighbor......

Holiday Spiritual Practices to Soothe the Soul

Roger Gottlieb | December 05, 2012

If ubiquitous Christmas music, endless "Get It Now!" sales, and long lists of gifts are......

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Gratitude, and (of all things)...

Roger Gottlieb | November 27, 2012

Wisdom and kindness have only their credit cards to lose, and a whole world to win....

Prayer: Yoga for the Heart

Roger Gottlieb | November 14, 2012

Prayer helps harness the unruly energies of desire and emotion into a direction that can......

Hurricane Sandy: Time to Stop Digging?

Roger Gottlieb | November 04, 2012

It may be that too many years from now people will look back at the environmentalists of......

Cultivating a Spiritual Response to Presidential Politics

Roger Gottlieb | October 23, 2012

Is it possible to find some gratitude in our hearts, even in the face of such......

Are Any Christians Running for President?

Roger Gottlieb | January 17, 2012

If Christians are known by their fruit, can our presidential candidates rightly lay......

Steve Jobs: Rest in Peace, But Let's Not Overdo It

Roger Gottlieb | October 12, 2011

Thanks a lot for the toys. And now let's get back to the essential task of being better......

Cornel West, Obama, Wall Street, Feminism, Socialism, Etc.

Roger Gottlieb | June 21, 2011

If Cornel West needed to spend some quality time with his therapist before he gave his......

Gratitude: An Active Act of Will

Roger Gottlieb | May 25, 2011

Given how much there always is to be disappointed by, afraid of, or mad at, practicing......

Is the World Going Insane?

Roger Gottlieb | May 05, 2011

In a world that increasingly makes no sense, all we can do is take care of our loved......

What Is Worth Saving?

Roger Gottlieb | April 19, 2011

As we contend with budget cuts, global warming, and endless and faster technological......

A Moral Superiority Diet

Roger Gottlieb | April 05, 2011

Just like too much ice cream or chocolate leads to the inevitable expanded waistline, so......

After Japan . . . Scared Yet? A Moral Path Forward

Roger Gottlieb | March 28, 2011

Perhaps in the end we'll get to a conflict, a difference between us, that can't be......

Engaging Voices: Reflections on Japan’s Terrible Tragedy

Roger Gottlieb | March 24, 2011

...

Spirituality in an Age of Ecocide: An Introduction to the...

Roger Gottlieb | March 17, 2011

What is spirituality in the face of evil, loss, and our own complicity? Where is God......

Engaging Voices: A Book Excerpt

Roger Gottlieb | March 16, 2011

"Some years ago I met a man who, over a single cup of ginger-mint tea, shook my deepest......

Spirituality and the Revolutions in the Middle East:...

Roger Gottlieb | March 09, 2011

In moments of political freedom, like moments of spiritual grace, we learn that......

Can Democracy Save Egypt . . . or Us?

Roger Gottlieb | February 24, 2011

The reason why democracy won't save Egypt, or the U.S., or anyone else is that democracy......

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