Dr. Jill Carroll believes that peaceful coexistence between people of different religions and cultures is the central challenge of our era. Twenty-first century mass communications, mass travel, and the global economy ensure that we are interconnected and interdependent in ways never before seen in human history. This reality makes new demands on us – and presents new challenges for us – in both our personal and professional lives.

Dr. Carroll is a public scholar who believes peaceful coexistence can be achieved when people make an effort to understand each other rather than relying on stereotypes and prejudice. Understanding requires knowledge, that is, factual information presented in an unbiased fashion and rooted in the latest data and research. As a scholar in religious studies, Dr. Carroll has spent over two decades studying the world’s religions and major religious movements – their histories, principal founders, central beliefs, basic rituals, current issues, and their impact in public life and in contemporary politics.

Dr. Carroll formerly directed the Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice University in Houston, Texas where she was also Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. She is a recognized expert on issues of religious tolerance, philosophy of religion, American religion, and religion in public life. Her areas of specialty include: the role of religion in world politics, comparative world religions, trends in American religion, and the impact of religious diversity in global business.

Dr. Carroll earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Rice University in 1994. She is the author of numerous articles and four books. A recent book, A Dialogue of Civilizations: Gulen’s Islamic Ideals and Human Discourse was a Publishers Weekly bestseller in religion, having been in a “Top 10” category on Amazon in May 2007. She is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, and has been interviewed by The New York Times, PBS, and Good Morning America. She combines her scholarly knowledge with a flair for “real world” application. Through her own consulting business, and in collaboration with others, she has conducted religious diversity training for individuals, groups and corporations. Her forthcoming book is Philosophy for Life: How Ideas from the Great Minds can Rock Your World.

Dr. Carroll is a dynamic speaker with a gift for simplifying complicated matters without stripping them of their substance and nuance, thus bringing the “ivory tower” to the “town square”. Moreover, she communicates in an informational, “faith neutral” and humorous manner that sets the appropriate context for discussing sensitive issues in a public setting.