Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson serves as president and CEO of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and is a research fellow with the Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. He previously held leadership positions including president of the Religious Freedom Institute, dean of the School of Government at Regent University, and associate director at the Berkley Center.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara
• M.Sc. in international politics from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth
• B.A. degrees in biblical studies and music education from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri

Dr. Patterson is an expert in two overlapping areas: the ethics of war and peace, and global religious trends and religious freedom policy. His work focuses on how these areas intersect, such as in building post-conflict systems that represent diverse ethnoreligious factions, understanding the religious factors in conflict, and measuring U.S. democracy promotion efforts. He has extensive government experience, including time at the U.S. State Department, service as a White House Fellow, and over 20 years as an Air National Guard commander.

As an accomplished author, Patterson has written or edited 20 books, including "Politics in a Religious World: Toward a Religious Informed U.S. Foreign Policy" (2011) and "Just American Wars: Ethical Dilemmas in U.S. Military History" (2018). His scholarly contributions regularly address the application of just war principles to historical and contemporary conflicts.

Dr. Patterson is frequently invited to speak at major conferences and events related to religion, national security, and foreign policy, demonstrating his influence in these fields.

His government service includes:

• White House Fellow and special assistant to the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (2007-2008)
• William C. Foster Fellow in the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (2005-2007)
• State Department contractor working on the Interagency Man-Portable Air Defense Systems Task Force (2011-2012)

At the Berkley Center, he led initiatives on Religion, Conflict, and Peace, which developed teaching resources including 20 case studies and nine film guides for classroom use, and Government Outreach, which provided expertise on religion and world affairs to numerous government agencies.