Leonard J. Swidler (born January 6, 1929) is Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has taught since 1966. He is the co-founder (in 1964, with Arlene Swidler) and editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (quarterly). He is also the founder/president of the Dialogue Institute (founded 1978), the senior advisor for iPub Global Connection a book publisher, and the founder and past president of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (1980–).

Biography

Leonard Swidler was born in Sioux City, Iowa to Josephine Marie Reed Swidler (1901–62) and Samuel Swidler (1897–1984). His father was a Ukrainian Jew who had come to the U.S. at age 16, and his mother was an Irish-American Catholic. Eventually, the family moved to Cumberland, Wisconsin, and then to Green Bay, where his parents owned and operated the Bay Beauty Shop until after World War II, when they bought a home in Allouez and set up a beauty parlor there. Samuel worked in a paper mill in DePere and Josephine continued to run the hair salon. In 1935 Leonard's brother Jack was born, followed in 1940 by his sister Sandra. In 1957, while they were graduate students at the University of Wisconsin, Leonard Swidler and Arlene Anderson were married. They have two daughters, Carmel (born 1958) and Eva (born 1962), and one granddaughter, Willow (born 2000). Leonard and Arlene Swidler lived in Philadelphia since 1966. Arlene died at home in 2008 after suffering from Alzheimer's for 17 years. Swidler has published over 80 books and 200 articles. He has lectured on Catholicism, Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Global Ethics all over the world, including Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Burma, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Republic of Congo, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, and, of course, the United States. Swidler has edited and written about the movement Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration ratified at the Parliament of the World's Religions in 1993 and updated in 2018 by the Parliament and the leadership of Myriam Renaud, PhD.

Honors

Education

• St. Norbert College, B.A. (1946–50) - Philosophy • St. Norbert Seminary, 1950-52 - Theology • St. Paul Seminary (Minnesota), 1952-54 - Theology • Marquette University, 1954-55 - M.A. in History; Philosophy and Literature Minors • University of Wisconsin, 1955-57 - History, Philosophy and Literature • University of Tübingen (Germany), 1957-58 - History and Theology; Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in 1959 • University of Munich (Germany), 1958-59 - History and Theology • University of Wisconsin (1961) - Ph.D. in History

Teaching

• Milwaukee School of Engineering, 1955 (English) • Edgewood College, 1955-56 (Philosophy) • University of Wisconsin: Integrated Liberal Studies Department, 1956-57 (English and History) • University of Maryland in Europe, 1958-60 (History and Philosophy) • U.S.A.R. Intelligence School, Fort Sheridan, 1959 (German) • Duquesne University, 1960-66 (History; also on Theology faculty, 1962–66) • Professor at Temple University, Religion Department, 1966– Guest Positions while tenured at Temple University • ACUIIS summer school at University of Graz, Austria, 1972, 1973 • Guest Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Protestant Theology Faculty of the University of Tübingen, 1972-73 • Visiting Professor at Saint Michael's College, Winouski, VT. Summer, 1976 • Exchange Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Institute for Ecumenical Research of the University of Tübingen, Summer Semester, 1982 • Exchange Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Institute for Ecumenical Research of the University of Tübingen, Summer Semester, 1985 • Guest Professor in the Philosophy Department, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China, Summer Semester, 1986 • Professor at Temple University Japan (Tokyo), Summer School, May–June, 1987 • Exchange Professor on the Protestant Theology Faculty, Hamburg University, Fall semester, 1989 • Guest Professor in the Philosophy Department, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, Summer Semester, 1990 • Professor at Temple University Japan (Tokyo), 1990-91 • Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Civilisational Dialogue of the University of Malaya, Kualalumpur, Malaysia, summer 2003 • Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Civilisational Dialogue of the University of Malaysia, Kualalumpur, Malaysia, summer 2004 • Visiting Professor, East China University, Shanghai, China, June, 2004 • Visiting Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, June, 2004 • Visiting Professor, Peoples’ University, Beijing, China, June, 2004 • Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Catholic Studies, Chung Chi College, [The Chinese University of [Hong Kong, November, 2007 • Visiting Fulbright Professor at Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1–28, 2011

Publications

Books (including edited and translated volumes)