ATLANTA/MACON – Mercer University Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics Dr. David Gushee was recently voted president-elect of the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE) at the organization's annual meeting in Toronto. He will serve a three-year term, including one year each as president-elect, president and past president.
SCE is the preeminent professional organization for scholars, writers and teachers of Christian ethics. A non-denominational association, founded in 1959, it has 950 members representing the faculties of universities, colleges and theological schools primarily in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
“I am grateful for this vote of confidence from my fellow Christian ethicists, and I look forward to serving in this role over the next several years. My primary agenda will be to advance teaching and scholarship in Christian ethics, both here and around the world, and to help communicate the essential role of Christian ethicists in the life of the church, the academy and society,” said Dr. Gushee, who also serves as director of Mercer's Center for Theology and Public Life.
In November, Dr. Gushee was voted to serve a similar three-year term as vice president, president-elect and president of the board of directors for the 9,000-member American Academy of Religion.
Dr. Gushee is widely regarded as one of the leading moral voices in American Christianity. As Distinguished University Professor at Mercer, he teaches in McAfee School of Theology and throughout the University in his specialty, Christian ethics. As director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, he organizes events and courses to advance quality conversations about major issues arising at the intersection of theology, ethics and public policy.
He is the author or editor of 20 books and hundreds of articles in his field, including Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, Kingdom Ethics, The Future of Faith in American Politics, The Sacredness of Human Life, Changing Our Mind and Evangelical Ethics.
Dr. Gushee has always accompanied his scholarly production with church work; activism related to issues such as human rights, creation care, the death penalty and LGBT acceptance; opinion writing for Religion News Service and previously for The Washington Post, Huffington Post and Baptist News Global; board service with Sojourners and the Center for Victims of Torture; and domestic and global media consultation.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts at the College of William and Mary (1984), Master of Divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1987) and both a Master of Philosophy (1990) and Doctor of Philosophy (1993) in Christian ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
He and his wife of 31 years, Jeanie, reside in Atlanta. They have two daughters, one son and one grandson.
For more on SCE, visit scethics.org.
