Alum Amar Peterman and the Power of Holy Curiosity

Almost from the moment he was born, Amar Peterman’s life has defied expectation. And that, he says, has been a gift from God. Adopted from an Indian orphanage as an infant, Amar was raised in northeast Wisconsin where he was formed spiritually in a conservative, white evangelical megachurch. This is where Amar heard God’s call. He enrolled at the Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago, pursuing a degree in the only theology he had ever known.

It wasn’t long before he understood that this might not be the place for him. One professor told him “that my Indian-ness was antithetical, was completely against my Christian faith … and I would have to choose one or the other.”

“It drove me into a deep identity crisis,” he says. “How do I rid myself of my Indian-ness when it’s a part of me? I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t.” Stunned, he turned to the only Indian-American professor on staff, who showed him how his own “Indian-ness made him a better Christian, and Christian faith made him a better Indian.”

In his final year at Moody Bible Institute, a conversation with Princeton Seminary recruiter who came to speak with a student group led him to apply – he was sure he wouldn’t be accepted.

“I don't even remember everything she said, other than PTS seemed to provide the balance of academic rigor with a deep love for the church. I wanted to be challenged academically. I wanted to develop a rich, theological imagination, but I also didn't want to have that experience happen apart from a local congregation,” he says.

With his professor’s encouragement, Amar applied to Princeton Theological Seminary and entered a world where he was welcome, his questions encouraged, and his thoughts heard. At Princeton Seminary, he opened his mind to concepts previously off-limits, and learned just how big and welcoming the church tent can be – to women, to the LGBTQ and trans communities, and to people of color just like him. He wrote widely about what he was learning and his life experiences.

“At the core of this project, I'm trying to say that faith, when formed by love of neighbor, has the potential to achieve these localized common goods. Because love of neighbor turns our gaze beyond ourselves and instills in us a holy curiosity.”

At Princeton Seminary, Amar concentrated on public theology and American religious history under historian, Heath W. Carter. There, he served as a research and teaching assistant to Drs. Carter and Raimundo César Barreto, vice president of the Seminary’s Asian Association, and researcher for Dr. David Chao and the Center for Asian American Christianity.

His interests expanded while at Princeton Seminary, moving toward growing young church leaders. He was invited to become an advisor to The Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network, which amplifies and supports the leadership of Christian young adults across the United States. The network cultivates community among young adults through sharing resources and building relationships.

He also founded the Scholarship for Religion LLC after serving as Director of the Center for Empathy in Christian and Public Life at the Ideos Institute.

Now living back in Wisconsin with his wife Emily, his “day job” is with Interfaith America, the largest interfaith nonprofit in the United States. In his position there, Amar manages a network of over 2,200 emerging leaders across the country.

He is a prolific writer and widely published on several sites, including Sojourners, Christianity Today, and the Christian Century, and is author of the weekly newsletter “This Common Life.” His first book, This Common Life: Seeking the Common Good Through Love of Neighbor, is forthcoming with Eerdmans Publishing Co.

“I want to offer a vision of the common good that is rooted in the Christian tradition and my Christian faith but is accessible to those beyond it. I want our vision of the common good to begin at a local level and expand from there.”

“At the core of this project, I'm trying to say that faith, when formed by love of neighbor, has the potential to achieve these localized common goods. Because love of neighbor turns our gaze beyond ourselves and instills in us a holy curiosity.”