Rev. Dr. Paul D. Numrich was trained in both theological studies
and the academic study of religion, with degrees from Aurora College (BA 1979,
concentrations in Bible, church history, and theology), Garrett-Evangelical
Theological Seminary (MDiv 1984, concentrations in Bible, theology, and pastoral
studies), and Northwestern University (PhD 1992, concentration in the
comparative study of world religions, especially Buddhism and Christianity). He
spent the better part of two decades teaching in the Chicago area, and the past
several years directing research on the civic and theological implications of
America’s increasing religious diversity, including the Religion, Immigration
and Civil Society in Chicago Project (funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts,
www.newimmigrants.org) and The Church Next Door: Christian Congregations Face
America’s New Religious Diversity (funded by the Louisville Institute,
www.louisville-institute.org). He retains a position of Affiliate Research
Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago
and is the immediate past president of the Midwest Region of the American
Academy of Religion.
Dr. Numrich is Associate Professor and Chair of the Program in World Religions
and Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus,
Ohio, teaching in the areas of comparative religion, history of religions,
sociology of religion, religious diversity, inter-religious relations, and
theologies of world religions. His courses explore the variety of Christian
perspectives on the world’s religions and encourage seminarians to develop their
own perspectives while preparing for faithful participation in inter-religious
encounters and informed leadership among fellow Christians. Dr. Numrich also
frequently advises the media, community groups, and other interested parties
about religious topics, such as religious diversity in America, Christian
responses to religious diversity, religious factors in health care, religion in
the schools, spirituality in the world’s religions, Eastern religions, Islam,
and inter-religious relations. He recently received a grant from the John
Templeton Foundation to direct a project entitled Comparative Religious
Perspectives on Science: Buddhism and Christianity.
Dr. Numrich’s publications include the following books: Old Wisdom in the New
World: Americanization in Two Immigrant Theravada Buddhist Temples (University
of Tennessee Press, 1996), recipient of the 1997 Distinguished Book Award,
Sociology of Religion Section, American Sociological Association; Buddhists,
Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History (co-author, Oxford University
Press, 2007); and Sacred Assemblies and Civic Engagement: How Religion Matters
for America’s Newest Immigrants (co-author, Rutgers University Press, 2007). His
published essays include “Marriage, Family, and Health in Selected World
Religions: Different Perspectives in an Increasingly Pluralist America,” in
Marriage, Health, and the Professions (Eerdmans, 2002), “Recent Immigrant
Religions and the Restructuring of Metropolitan Chicago,” in Public Religion and
Urban Transformation: Faith in the City (New York University Press, 2000), and
“Immigrant Parochial Schools: Religion, Morality, Citizenship,” in Children and
Childhood in American Religions (Rutgers University Press, forthcoming).
An ordained Protestant minister, Dr. Numrich enjoys basketball, contemporary
music, and multicultural cuisine, and celebrated 30 years of marriage to
Christine in December 2005.
Contact information: Dr. Paul D. Numrich
Program in World Religions and Inter-Religious Dialogue
Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus
c/o 3081 Columbus Pike, Delaware, OH 43015
Phone 740-362-3443, fax 740-362-3381, email
pnumrich@mtso.edu
Program Web page linked at www.tcgcohio.org
Rev. Dr. Paul Numrich (center) at a scholarly conference on religions of the world, November 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah.