Paul Knitter

Paul F. Knitter is the Emeritus Paul Tillich Professor Emeritus of Theology, World Religions and Culture at the Union Theological Seminary in New York and a leading theologian of religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue. He also is professor emeritus of Theology at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he taught for 28 years before moving to Union. In his former role as co-general editor of the Orbis Books Faith Meets Faith series, Dr. Knitter was instrumental in the publication of two Center-developed titles as part of that series: Subverting Hatred: the Challenge of Nonviolence in Religious Traditions and Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy. He edited the latter with Chandra Muzaffar. The title of his most recent book, 2009’s Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian, perhaps best expresses the creative, questing spirit he brought to all of his work. He is best known for No Other Name? A Critical Survey of Christian Attitudes toward World Religions (1985). Other titles include One Earth Many Religions: Multifaith Dialogue and Global Responsibility (1995), Jesus and the Other Names: Christian Mission and Global Responsibility (1996), and Introducing Theologies of Religions (2002). Knitter holds a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate from the University of Marburg, Germany. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Knitter was a Catholic priest, but left to marry.