March 11, 2026
Peter W. Ochs is the Edgar M. Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia, where he has served since 1997. He is an influential thinker whose interests include Jewish philosophy and theology, modern and postmodern theological philosophy, pragmatism, and semiotics. He coined the term "scriptural reasoning" and is the co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning, which promotes interfaith dialog among Christians, Jews, and Muslims through scriptural study groups. He is also a co-founder of the Children of Abraham Institute, which promotes interfaith study and dialog among members of the Abrahamic religions.
Dr. Ochs has written around a dozen books and hundreds of articles, reviews, and book chapters. He is series co-editor of Radical Traditions: Theology in a postcritical key, published by Westview Press/Harper Collins and SCM Press/Eerdmans, and series co-editor of Encountering Traditions, published by Stanford University Press. He was also one of the four Jewish co-authors of the historic text, "Dabru Emet: A Statement on Christians and Christianity" (2000).