Chester L. Gillis

Chester Gillis

Amaturo Chair of Catholic Studies at Georgetown University.

"On Faith" panelist Chester Gillis is the Amaturo Chair of Catholic Studies at Georgetown University where he has served on the faculty since 1988. He was chair of the Department of Theology from 2001 to 2005. He holds degrees in philosophy and religious studies from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His research interests include comparative religion and contemporary Roman Catholicism. He is the author of "A Question of Final Belief: John Hick’s Pluralistic Theory of Salvation" (1989), "Pluralism: A New Paradigm for Theology" (1993), "Roman Catholicism in America" (1999), "Catholic Faith in America" (2003) and editor of "The Political Papacy" (2006). He is co-editor of the Columbia University series Religion and Politics. He is a Fellow in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown, and is the Director of Georgetown’s Program on the Church and Interreligious Dialogue. Close.

Chester Gillis

Amaturo Chair of Catholic Studies at Georgetown University.

"On Faith" panelist Chester Gillis is the Amaturo Chair of Catholic Studies at Georgetown University where he has served on the faculty since 1988. He was chair of the Department of Theology from 2001 to 2005. more »

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Morality Archives



September 30, 2007 6:01 AM

A Distorted View of Religion

Governments, families, communities, and individuals can be similarly accused.

Like any other institution, religion can be, and has been, misused for ill purposes. For example, a close examination of the history of Christianity exposes erroneous teachings, immoral behavior, intolerance, imperialism, and corruption among its leaders.

However, the same examination reveals charity, compassion, self-sacrifice, generosity, courage, identification with, and help for, the poor and disadvantaged, forgiveness, a call to righteousness and justice, and hope.

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