Jim Forest (born 2 November 1941 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American writer, Orthodox Christian lay theologian, educator, and peace activist. As a young man, Jim served in the US Navy, working with a meteorology unit at the US Weather Bureau headquarters near Washington, DC. It was during this period that he became a Catholic. His military service ended with an early discharge on grounds of conscientious objection. Jim had a long-term friendship with Thomas Merton, who dedicated a book to him, Faith and Violence. Jim also accompanied the famed Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.