Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue Professor of World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the Director of the Center on World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR).

Gopin has lectured on conflict resolution in Switzerland, Ireland, India, Italy, and Israel, as well as at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and numerous other academic institutions. Gopin has trained thousands of people worldwide in peacemaking strategies for complex conflicts in which religion and culture play a role. He conducts research on values dilemmas as they apply to international problems of globalization, clash of cultures, development, social justice and conflict.

Gopin has engaged in back channel diplomacy with religious, political and military figures on both sides of conflicts, especially in the Arab/Israeli conflict. He has appeared on numerous media outlets, including CNN, CNN International, Court TV, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, Israel Radio, National Public Radio, The Connection, Voice of America, and the national public radios of Sweden, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. He has been published in the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and his work has been featured in news stories of the Times of London, the Times of India, Associated Press, and Newhouse News Service, regarding issues of conflict resolution, religion and violence.

Gopin’s research is found in numerous book chapters and journal articles, and he is the author of Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking (Oxford University Press, 2000), and Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2002), a study on what was missing from the Oslo Process, and what will be necessary culturally for a successful Arab/Israeli peace process. His latest book, Healing the Heart of Conflict was published in 2004 by Rodale Press. Dr. Gopin was ordained as a rabbi in 1983 and received a Ph.D. in religious ethics from Brandeis University in 1993. Gopin is now working in partnership with the Fetzer Foundation to create a web-based video series and book on enemies who become friends and close partners. Filming began in the summer of 2008. He is also the author of To Make the Earth Whole: Creating Global Community in an Age of Religious MIlitancy (Rowman Littlefield, 2009). Gopin is creator and principal author of www.marcgopin.com, a weblog dedicated to addressing the transformation of conflicts facing humanity.

A NOTE ON MARCGOPIN.COM

In this blog I am presenting sober analysis on the conflicts and challenges facing humanity. But the intention is always to balance problems with possibilities, tragedies with opportunities. I provide insights and information on positive ways forward, especially uncovering those hopeful realities from the past or present that are hidden from view and rarely reported on or analyzed by those in power, or by mainstream media and organizations. I welcome applications to enter blogs on this site from those who share the spirit of the blog’s interests and intentions.

Reviews of my latest books:

Healing the Heart of Conflict (Rodale, 2004)

“Psychologically and spiritually grounded, compassionate, and compelling” — Publishers Weekly starred review. Drawing on his rich experience in the field of international conflict resolution, Marc Gopin applies what he has learned about clashing cultures and beliefs on the world stage to the more personal but no less painful struggles involving families, friends, and coworkers. In Healing the Heart of Conflict, Dr. Gopin identifies the measures we can all take to make peace in our own troubled lives. His powerful 8-step plan includes careful coaching in the art of listening, the art of observation, and the delicate process of addressing the deepest emotions of others under circumstances that could turn explosive at any moment. He then applies these steps to practical examples from the workplace, in romantic relationships, and in our communities. Whether you are clashing with a spouse, a relative, or a troublesome coworker, Healing the Heart of Conflict offers profound and inventive solutions to your problems.

Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2002)

The Intifada of 2000-2001 has demonstrated the end of an era of diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The style of peacemaking of the Olso Accords has been called into question by the facts on the ground. Elite forms of peacemaking that do not embrace the basic needs of average people on all sides are bound to fail. The complete neglect of deeper cultural and religious systems in the peace process is now apparent, as is the role that this neglect has played in the failure of the process. Building on his earlier book, Between Eden and Armageddon, Gopin provides a detailed blueprint of how the religious traditions in question can become a principal asset in the search for peace and justice. He demonstrates how religious people can be the critical missing link in peacemaking, and how the incorporation of their values and symbols can unleash a new dynamic that directly addresses basic issues of ethics, justice, and peace. Gopin’s analysis of the theoretical, theological, and political planes shows us what has been achieved thus far, as well as what must be done next in order to ensure effective final settlement negotiations and secure, sovereign, democratic countries for both peoples.

Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking (Oxford University Press, 2000)

Recent years have seen a meteoric rise in the power and importance of organized religion in many parts of the world. At the same time, there has been a significant increase in violence perpetrated in the name of religion. While much has been written on the relationship between violence and religious militancy, history shows that religious people have also played a critical role in peacemaking within numerous cultures. In the new century, will religion bring upon further catastrophes? Or will it provide human civilization with methods of care, healing, and the creation of peaceful and just societies? In this groundbreaking book, Marc Gopin integrates the study of religion with the study of conflict resolution. He argues that religion can play a critical role in constructing a global community of shared moral commitments and vision–a community that can limit conflict to its nonviolent, constructive variety. If we examine religious myths and moral traditions, Gopin argues, we can understand why and when religious people come to violence, and why and when they become staunch peacemakers. He shows that it is the conservative expression of most religious traditions that presents the largest challenge in terms of peace and conflict. Gopin considers ways to construct traditional paradigms that are committed to peacemaking on a deep level and offers such a paradigm for the case of Judaism. Throughout, Gopin emphasizes that developing the potential of the world’s religions for coping with conflict demands a conscious process on the part of peacemakers and theologians. His innovative and carefully argued study also offers a broad set of recommendations for policy planners both inside and outside of government.

Whoever has compassion on all sentient beings is clearly of the seed of Abraham. Whoever does not have compassion on all beings clearly is not of the seed of Abraham.

Talmud, Betzah 32b.