Faithful Politics Amar Peterman on Becoming Neighbors – The Common Good, Made Local
In this conversation, we sit down with Amar D. Peterman to talk about his new book, Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local. Amar reflects on his experience as an Indian American adoptee formed across Catholic, evangelical, and interfaith spaces, and how those tensions shaped his understanding of belonging, faith, and the common good.
We explore why “neighbor” is an active practice rather than a passive label, how shared tables create space for real relationship across difference, and why listening, lament, and accompaniment matter more than efficiency or winning arguments. The conversation moves from theology to lived practice, grounding big ideas like evangelism, interfaith dialogue, and Christian witness in everyday, local relationships.
Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local -https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780802884121
Guest Bio
Amar D. Peterman is a writer and theologian focused on religion, civic life, and community formation. He is the founder of Scholarship for Religion and Society, LLC, a former Assistant Director of Civic Networks at Interfaith America, and a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Amar holds an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and has written for outlets including Sojourners, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, The Future Institute, The Berkeley Forum, and The Anxious Bench. He also publishes regularly on Substack at The Common Life.
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