About

Andrew Marin is President and Founder of The Marin Foundation, which over the past dozen years has been widely credited with creating a new cultural category of building bridges between the LGBT community and social, political, and religious conservatives.

On this topic he frequently lectures at universities and facilitates trainings for community groups and religious organizations around the world. His speech, Homophobia and Bridging from within the Evangelical Church, given on Capitol Hill the night before the first Inauguration of President Barack Obama, is archived in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.

Andrew is the award winning author of three books and a DVD curriculum, and publishes his academic research in theology and political journals. His recent book, Us Versus Us: The Untold Story of Religion and the LGBT Community, was released June 2016.

Andrew also works as a government advisor in the more broad area of bridging opposing worldviews: From 2009-2014 with the White House Offices of Faith Based Initiatives and Civic Participation; since 2010 with the various global agencies of the United Nations; and since 2014 with the Scottish Parliament as a member of their International Development Committee. Andrew’s expertise on bridge building has taken him to five continents for policy and political engagement work ranging from Christian engagement, reconciliation, contraception, gay marriage, clean needle exchanges, and refugee resettlement; to religion-state relations, religious deradicalization, terrorism responses, new government consultations, and military-civilian engagement.

His bridge building work has been called a model of hope for the future by the BBC; described as blocking hate with love by CNN; and was #1 on BuzzFeed’s list of Restoring Faith in Humanity. In 2012 Andrew was named an Everyday Hero in the city of Chicago, and in 2014 was named by FAITH as one of the 25 Most Influential Christians for the Next 25 Years.

Andrew has degrees in Applied Psychology (BA), Urban Studies and Social Change (MA), and has recently submitted a PhD in Political Theology from the University of St. Andrews, where he is currently a Research Associate at the university’s Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics. Andrew is based in St. Andrews, Scotland with his wife Brenda. You can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the blog of The Marin Foundation.