Kelly James Clark (born March 3, 1956) is an American philosopher noted for his work in the

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

, the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

, and the

cognitive science of religion Cognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought, theory, and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive sciences. Scholars in this field seek to explain how human minds acquire, generate, and transmit religious thoughts, pract ...

. He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Kaufman Interfaith Institute and a professor at

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Biography

Clark received his PhD from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, where his dissertation advisor was

Alvin Plantinga Alvin Carl Plantinga (born November 15, 1932) is an American analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher who works primarily in the fields of philosophy of religion, epistemology (particularly on issues involving theory of justification, epistemic ...

. He has held professorships at Calvin College, Oxford University, University of St. Andrews, Notre Dame & Gordon College. He also served as Executive Director for the

Society of Christian Philosophers The Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) was founded in 1978. The society is open to anyone interested in philosophy who considers himself or herself a Christian. Membership is not restricted to any particular "school" of philosophy or to any b ...

from 1994 to 2009. Clark's books include ''God and the Brain'', ''Strangers, Neighbors, Friends'', ''Religion and the Sciences of Origins'', ''Abraham’s Children'', ''Return to Reason'', ''The Story of Ethics'', ''When Faith Is Not Enough'', and ''101 Key Philosophical Terms of Their Importance for Theology'', many of which have been translated into multiple languages. In 1995, his book ''Philosophers Who Believe'' was named one of

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...

’s Books of the Year. That book detailed the spiritual and intellectual autobiographies of philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga,

Nicholas Wolterstorff Nicholas Paul Wolterstorff (born January 21, 1932) is an American philosopher and theologian. He is currently Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University. A prolific writer with wide-ranging philosophical and theo ...

, Basil Mitchell,

Mortimer Adler Mortimer is an English surname. Norman origins The surname Mortimer has a Norman origin, deriving from the village of Mortemer, Seine-Maritime, Normandy. A Norman castle existed at Mortemer from an early point; one 11th century figure associ ...

Richard Swinburne Richard Granville Swinburne (; born 26 December 1934) is an English philosopher. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years, Swinburne has been a proponent of philosophical arguments for the e ...

Frederick Suppe Frederick Suppe (; born 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is an American philosopher who is a professor Emeritus of philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland. He has prominent work in the philosophy of scienc ...

Linda Zagzebski Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski (born 1946) is an American philosopher. She is the Emerita George Lynn Cross Research Professor, as well as Emerita Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, at the University of Oklahoma. She wri ...

, and

Nicholas Rescher Nicholas Rescher (; ; 15 July 1928 – 5 January 2024) was a German-born American philosopher, polymath, and author, who was a professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh from 1961. He was chairman of the Center for Philosophy of Sc ...

Interfaith work

Clark is an international advocate for interfaith cooperation, focusing on the

Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

. As of October 2016, he is project director for “Abrahamic Reflections on Science and Religion” a Templeton Foundation project which brings together 36 scholars from 14 countries to reconcile issues in the fields of science and religion. Scholars include

Nidhal Guessoum Nidhal Guessoum (born September 6, 1960) is an Algerian astrophysicist. He is a professor at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. His research interests range from gamma-ray astrophysics, such as positron-electron annihi ...

, Rana Dajani, Nathan Aviezer, &

Robert Koons Robert Charles "Rob" Koons (; born February 22, 1957) is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, noted for his contribution to metaphysics and philosophical logic. Koons has also advocated for academic f ...

, among others. Clark has lectured around the world and has served as director for international conferences on science and religion, interfaith cooperation, & Chinese philosophy. He has worked extensively with the

John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a Philanthropy, philanthropic organization founded by John Templeton in 1987. Templeton became wealthy as a Contrarian investing, contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in relig ...

, organizing many interfaith symposiums, notably “Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict” at Georgetown University on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. That conference inspired a book of the same name in which fifteen influential practitioners of the Abrahamic religions argued for religious liberty and tolerance from their own faith traditions. Contributors included former United States president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, Indonesia's first democratically elected president Abhurrahman Wahid,

Rabbis for Human Rights Rabbis for Human Rights is an Israeli human rights organization that describes itself as "the rabbinic voice of conscience in Israel, giving voice to the Jewish tradition of human rights".

co founder, Rabbi Arik Asherman, Rana Husseini,

Nurit Peled-Elhanan Nurit Peled-Elhanan () is an Israelis, Israeli philologist, professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, translator, and activist. She is a 2001 co-laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded by th ...

, the philosopher

& theologian

Miroslav Volf Miroslav Volf (born September 25, 1956) is a Croatian Protestant theologian and public intellectual and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology and director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University. He previously taught at the E ...

. The book earned praise from pioneers for peace such as

Bishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of ...

. He also writes a regular column for the ''Huffington Post'' which confronts Islamophobia and antisemitism while also combating religious extremism.

Selected books

* God and the Brain. Eerd''mans, 2019'' *''Strangers, Neighbors, Friends''. Cascade Books, 2018. Co-written with

Aziz Abu Sarah Aziz Abu Sarah (, ; born 1980) is a Palestinian peace activist, journalist, social entrepreneur and politician. After watching his brother die of internal injuries subsequent to being released from an Israeli jail following a year-long detenti ...

and Rabbi Nancy Kreimer. *''Readings in the Philosophy of Religion''. Broadview Press, 2017. * ''The Blackwell Companion to Naturalism''. Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. * ''Religion and the Sciences of Origins''. Palgrave Macmillan; 2014. * ''Abraham’s Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an age of Religious Conflict''. Yale University Press, 2012 * ''Reason, Metaphysics, and Mind: New Essays on the Philosophy of

'', Oxford University Press, 2012. Co-edited with

Michael Rea Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

. * ''Evidence and Religious Belief''. Oxford University Press, 2011. Co-edited with Ray VanArragon. * ''Faith, Knowledge and Naturalism'', Peking University Press, 2007. Co-edited with Xing Taotao. * ''Ethics, Religion and Society'' (Christian Academics, Fifth Volume). Co-edited with Zhang Qingxiong and Xu Yi Yie. Shanghai Guji Press, 2007. * ''Human Nature in Chinese and Western Culture'', co-edited with Chen Xia. Sichuan University Press, 2005. * ''101 Key Philosophical Terms and Their Importance for Theology''. Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004. Co-authored with

James K.A. Smith James Kenneth Alexander Smith (born 1970) is a Canadian-American philosopher who is currently Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University, holding the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview. He is the current edit ...

and Richard Lints. * ''A Dialogue Between Science and Religion'', co-edited with Mel Stewart and Zhou Zhianzang. Xiamen University Press, 2004. * ''The Story of Ethics: Human Nature & Human Fulfillment''. Prentice-Hall, 2003. Co-authored with Anne Poortenga. * ''Five Views on Apologetics''. Zondervan Publishing Company, 2000. Co-authored with

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (; born August 23, 1949) is an American Analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University and at the T ...

Gary Habermas Gary Robert Habermas (born June 28, 1950) is an American New Testament scholar and theologian who frequently writes and lectures on the resurrection of Jesus. He has specialized in cataloging and communicating trends among scholars in the fiel ...

, John Frame and

Paul Feinberg Paul David Feinberg (August 13, 1938 – February 21, 2004) was an American theologian, author, and professor of systematic theology and philosophy of religion at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Education and family Feinberg was born on Augu ...

. * ''When Faith Is Not Enough''. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. * ''Philosophers Who Believe''. InterVarsity Press, 1993. * ''Return to Reason''. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990. * ''Our Knowledge of God: Essays on Natural and Philosophical Theology.'' Kluwer academic publishers, 1992.

References

External links

Academia.edu profile

Academia.edu CV

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Kelly James 20th-century American philosophers Grand Valley State University faculty 1956 births Living people 21st-century American philosophers University of Notre Dame alumni People in interfaith dialogue