Lecturer
Religious Studies

Email: dhlarson@Central.UH.EDU | CV

Biographical Summary

Duane Larson is a Systematic/Practical Theologian with strong experience and credentials in the fields of theology and science, comparative inter-religious ethics, and ecumenical/inter-religious dialogue. His main current research focus is on Moral Injury, particularly in the context of military ethics and character/leadership development. His long career includes service as a congregational pastor, theological seminary professor, and seminary president. He is currently the Senior Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston. A member of the American Academy of Religion, He also served on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Interconfessional Research, Strasbourg, France. Dr. Larson’s work also includes advocacy for racial justice here in Houston and peace-making in the Middle East.

Duane received his PhD in Systematic Theology from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, in 1993, after affirmation of his dissertation, “The Temporality of the Trinity; A Christian Theological Concept of Time and Eternity in View of Contemporary Physical Theory.”

Among his many published books and articles, recent publications include Care for the Sorrowing Soul, Healing Moral Injuries from Military Service and Implications for the Rest of Us; with Jeff Zust. (Eugene: Cascade, 2017); “Luther’s Influence on the Rise of Natural Science,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Martin Luther, a digital and hard-print project; eds. Paul Hinlicky, Derek Nelson, Johannes Zachengruber (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016); and “A Prescription for Moral Injury”, dialog, A Journal of Theology (54:2, June 2015).

Dr. Larson teaches RELS 3377, Belief and Unbelief: The Search for Meaning and hopes soon to add a course on Moral Injury.