Chris Durante

Chris (Χρήστος) Durante is an Associate Professor of Theology at Saint Peter’s University in N. J., USA. Durante’s primary research and teaching interests are in Religion, Ethics, Science & Society broadly construed to include: Political & Moral Theology; Ecumenical & Interfaith Dialogue; Science-Engaged Theology and Ecological & Bio-medical Ethics.

Durante is also a longstanding Fellow of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics & Human Rights in Rome, Italy, where he is primarily involved with the Bioethics, Multiculturalism & Religion project that consists of a series of workshops, and publications, that provide a forum for interfaith and intercultural dialogue and collaboration on bioethical issues. From 2021-2022, he was also a Fellow of the New Visions in Theological Anthropology (NVITA) project of the School of Divinity at St. Andrews University under the auspices of the Science-Engaged Theology (SET) initiative of the John Templeton Foundation, where his project focused on developing an Orthodox Christian science-engaged ecological theology and corresponding ethics.

As an someone who is deeply committed to raising ecological awareness, Durante has been involved with the Greening of the Orthodox Parish initiative of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Toward Green Democracy and against Energy Poverty initiative of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies in Greece as well as the Integral Ecology project of the Carmelite NGO. He has also had the honor of serving as an invited speaker at Halki Summit V, which is part of a series of symposia hosted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople that seek to advance cooperation amongst the world’s faiths to address environmental issues.

Durante received his Ph.D. in Ethics from the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill University, M.Sc. from the Institute of Psychiatry and Department of Philosophy at King’s College London, M.A. from the Religious Studies Department at Georgia State University, and his B.A. from the Philosophy Department at Fordham University. He has served as a contributing co-editor for two books, respectively entitled: Religious Perspectives on Social Responsibility in Health: Towards a Dialogical Approach (Springer 2018) and Interreligious Perspectives on Mind, Genes & Self: Emerging Technologies & Human Identity (Routledge 2018). And, his publications have also appeared in a variety of academic journals such as the: Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies; Journal of Medical Ethics; Journal of Global Ethics; and Journal of Church & State; as well as in books such as: Politics, Society and Culture in Orthodox Theology in a Global Age (Brill 2023).