Joseph Andrew Sittler (September 26, 1904 – December 28, 1987) was an American Lutheran minister and theologian who taught at Maywood Seminary, eventually merged into the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
He was widely credited with pioneering the links between Christian theology and ecological thought, including the need to return to a cosmic Christology, having written about environmental matters as early as the 1950s (long before they were widely reported in the mainstream press).
He continually insisted that care for the earth and its environment is a central concern of the Christian religion.
[2] He was also interested in the topics of aging, grace, religion and science, narrative in preaching, and biblical interpretation.
They were survived by six children, Stephen, Joseph Jr, Edward, Barbara, Philip and Bay.