Giving Opportunities Archives
Faculty and Staff
Marc Gopin
Growing up in a deeply religious household, Dr. Marc Gopin always felt a deep connection to the state of Israel and its people. In his early 20s, he began to further explore this connection, investigating the complexity of the issues in the Middle East. His newfound knowledge pushed him in both an intellectual and activist direction as he began studying, teaching and writing on the subject.
"One of my earliest memories is of the JFK funeral, then those of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.," explained Gopin. "I think they had a strong impact on me in terms of role models making big change in the world."
Gopin came to George Mason as a temporary professor of religion but his passion for peace building lead him to continue searching for something more.
"When I discovered S-CAR [George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution] it changed my life. It gave me an intellectual push to create a new field combining religion studies with conflict analysis and resolution theories," said Gopin.
Today, Gopin is the James H. Laue Professor of Religion, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, an endowed chair named in honor of the university’s first Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution for S-CAR and established by Mrs. Mariann Laue Baker.
In his role, he has trained thousands of people worldwide in peacemaking strategies for complex conflicts in which religion and culture play a role. 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 also conducts research on values dilemmas as they apply to international problems of globalization, clash of cultures, development, social justice, and conflict. Learn more about Dr. Gopin’s work.
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