Gregory Baum

Who is Gregory Baum?

Gregory Baum, OC is a Canadian theologian.

Born of a Jewish mother and a Protestant father, in Berlin, Germany, he came to Canada from England as a war refugee. He arrived by boat in Quebec in 1940 with other Germans, most of them Jewish, and they were interned in refugee camps, under military control. After some transfers between Quebec, Trois-Rivières, New-Brunswick and Farnham, he was finally interned to Sherbrooke. Being only 17 years old at this time, he considers this period of his life as an incredible adventure. Among the refugees, some intellectuals hastened to set up inside the camps educational systems of which he took advantage. Although Canada had no law for the refugees at this time, a lady who met them in these camps, put pressure on the government so that some of them could complete their studies outside of camps with financial aid that she had collected for scholarships.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and physics in 1946 from McMaster University, a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 1947 from Ohio State University, and a Th.D. in 1956 from the University of Fribourg.

He was the Professor of theology and sociology at University of Saint Michael's College in the University of Toronto and subsequently professor of theological ethics at McGill University's Faculty of Religious Studies. He is currently associated with the Jesuit Centre for Justice and Faith in Montreal.