Download Nate's Curriculum Vitae

          Reverend Nathan C. Walker is honored to serve as the minister of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. During his 2012-2013 sabbatical he completed a research fellowship at Harvard Divinity School and is currently a doctoral candidate at Columbia University.

          During his tenure at 1stU, Nate's preaching has gained national attention, including delivering the John Murray Distinguished Lecture; and joining with former UUA President John Buehrens to participate in the Minns Lectures; speaking on church/state relations at the National Constitution Center; and delivering the installation sermon for Rev. Meg Riley and the Church of the Larger Fellowship.

           The UU World magazine featured his proposal to create a code of ethics for Monsanto, the world’s largest producer of genetically modified seeds. Reverend Nate’s national activism on issues of gay rights, ethical eating, and finance reform has been featured by the New York Times, Mother Jones, AirAmerica, and other national media venues.

           As a scholar in church/state relations, he is currently completing an interdisciplinary doctorate in Law, Education and Religion at Columbia University. His dissertation is about whether it is constitutional for teachers to exercise their religious freedom by wearing religious garb in the public classroom, or whether as public officials they give up those constitutional rights so as not to portray the school as establishing a state religion.

           Nate explores similar themes as co-editor of “Whose God Rules?” (Palgrave Macmillan 2011) with the foreword by former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Additional contributors include Alan Dershowitz, Martha Nussbaum, Kent Greenawalt, William Schulz, Joseph Grieboski and other scholars. Cornel West calls it "provocative and pioneering." For more details visit www.WhoseGodRules.com.