[1] After gaining his Ph.D.[2] from Cornell University, Schluter worked as an applied economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Bank.

Along with colleagues in the field, he has founded a variety of international NGOs focused on public policy, food security, and peace-building initiatives.

[4] Schluter's approach to public policy was first articulated at book length in The R Factor (1993), co-authored with Princeton professor David Lee.

In 1987, Schluter and colleagues initiated a peace process under the name Newick Park Initiative[6][7] (NPI) in South Africa, which held low-profile conferences between 1987 and 1997, bringing together the leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) and the white political leadership to discuss key issues and ease the path to a political settlement.

In 2016, Schluter helped to establish Relational Peacebuilding Initiatives (RPI) based in Geneva to heal relationships in situations of national conflict.

[12] In 1983 Schluter helped to establish the Jubilee Centre[13] to explore the shared heritage of Jewish and Christian understanding of the Torah as a part of the Hebrew/Old Testament scriptures.

[16] Schluter has continued to speak out against Sunday Trading,[17] arguing that a new law needs to be brought in to give everyone a shared day off[18] and to ensure parents can spend time with their children.

[19] Schluter argued that Sunday shopping in the United States was ''a fairly major contributing factor damaging to family life and stability'' and said he was fighting the battle against it here ''on grounds of Christian principle.