Dr. Jill Carroll is a Houston-based
scholar, writer and speaker who specializes in world
religions, religion and world politics, religion in public
life, and applied life philosophy.
She is
an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of
Religious Studies at Rice University, where she also
directed the Boniuk Center for Religious
Tolerance until
June 2009. 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, the impact of religious diversity in
global business, and applied life philosophy.
Dr. Carroll earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Rice
University in 1994 with a specialty in philosophy of
religion. She is the author of numerous articles and four
books. A recent book, A
Dialogue of Civilizations: Gulen’s Islamic Ideals and
Humanistic 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.
For two years, she co-produced and co-hosted with Kym King
the popular radio program “Peaceful Coexistence” on
Houston’s Pacifica station KPFT 90.1 FM. She is the creator
and founding director of the Amazing Faiths
Project, a
national grassroots community initiative that fosters
interpersonal relationships between people of all faiths
and no faith through dialogue and table fellowship.
She has taught widely for many years in the Houston area,
including at all campuses of the University of Houston
system, Rice University, The Women’s Institute of Houston,
The Jung Center of Houston, and in the Texas State prison
system. She is a favorite for keynotes and public lectures
because of her informative content as well as her inspiring
and entertaining style.
Dr. Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. She lives
with Nishta Mehra in
Pearland, a suburb of Houston, Texas.