Stephen B. Roberts

Rabbi Stephen B. Roberts, MBA, BCC is a nationally recognized leader in multifaith chaplaincy and spiritual care. With over 30 years of experience, he has helped shape how professional chaplains are trained, supported, and deployed in hospitals, disasters, and diverse community settings.

He is the founding editor of Professional Spiritual and Pastoral Care, the first comprehensive, multifaith textbook used by thousands of chaplains, clergy, and spiritual caregivers. He is also the author of A Truth versus The Truth: How Religious People Embrace or Resist the Modern World, which offers a powerful and accessible framework—the Modernity Spectrum—for understanding how faith traditions respond differently to modern life.

Rabbi Roberts served as Past President of the NAJC (now Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains) and was certified as a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) in 1998. He played a central role in shaping national chaplaincy standards by working with the leaders of APC, NACC, ACPE, AAPC, CASC, and others to develop the Common Standards for Professional Chaplaincy, the Common Code of Ethics, and The White Paper on Chaplaincy.

A longtime expert in disaster spiritual care, Rabbi Roberts co-edited both editions of Disaster Spiritual Care (Skylight Paths), still the go-to resource for clergy responding to crisis. After the 9/11 attacks, he was the first Spiritual Care Officer for the American Red Cross’s national spiritual care team in New York City and later chaired one of the largest post-9/11 interfaith conferences in the city.

He founded and leads a distance-learning platform that supports the next generation of chaplains in preparing for certification and service. He is also Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Disaster Chaplaincy Services, a multifaith organization serving New York City in times of crisis.

Ordained by Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in 1995, Rabbi Roberts also holds an MBA from The Wharton School. His work bridges theology, public service, and strategic leadership—all grounded in a deep commitment to multifaith understanding and compassionate care.