Dr. Josef Boehle

• Visiting Scholar, Jena Center for Reconciliation Studies (2021 - 2023)
• Visiting Scholar, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies
• Graduate Center of the City University of New York (2005)
• Coordinator, UNESCO Chair in Interfaith Studies, University of Birmingham, UK (2004 - 2010)
• Research Fellow, Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham (since 2001)
• PhD, for thesis on 'Inter-religious Co-operation in a Global Age' (March 2001) Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, UK
• Diplom-Theologe, Katholische Theologie, Universität Tübingen, Germany (1993)

• Religion and Politics
• Peacebuilding, Restaurative Justice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation
• Sustainable Development and Ecology
• United Nations System and International Relations
• Interreligious Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation
• Worldviews, Ontology and Epistemology

German, English, French

Postgraduate Seminars:

Religion and Contemporary Global Politics; Religion and Peacebuilding

• Earth Community: Globalisation and Civilisations, Workshop held for UN Association-UK, Oxford Branch, Oxford Union, 23 February 1999.
• The UN System and Dialogue among Religions and Civilisations, Paper given at Higher Education for Peace Conference, University of Tromsoe, Norway, 6 May 2000.
• Inter-religious Co-operation in an Age of Globalisation, Paper given at conference organised by Centre UNESCO de Catalunya, World Trade Centre, Barcelona, Spain, 1 December 2000.
• The Growth of International Inter-religious Activity, Paper given at Transnational Civil Society Seminar, London School of Economics, 2 June 2001.
• The Future of Interfaith Organisations, Presentation at Graduate Seminar, Graduate Institute for Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, 29 April 2002.
• Inter-religious Co-operation and Global Change: From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations, Paper given at 2002 Annual Meeting of Academic Council on the United Nations System, Cascais, Portugal, 22 June 2002.
• Religious Co-operation or Confrontation? Paper given at An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2002 Conference, Plater College, Oxford, 29 July 2002.
• Inter-religious Co-operation in a Global Age, Paper given at North-South Roundtable, Cairo, Egypt, 28 November 2002.
• Inter-religious Co-operation and Global Change: From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations, Paper given at An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2003 Conference, St Petersburg, Russia, 28 April 2003.
• Inter-religious Co-operation and Global Change: From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations, Paper given at International Student Forum, Rothermere American Institute, Oxford University, 21 May 2003.
• Religions and International Institutions, Presentation given at UK Pre-parliament Event, preparing for the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions, Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Birmingham,13 October 2003.
• Workshop on Globalisation, Moderator, International Summit 'Towards a Culture of Harmony and Peace', preparing for the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions, New Delhi, India, 9 December 2003.
• Religions and Cooperation for the Common Good,Paper given at An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation 2004 Conference, Dubai, UAE, 28 March 2004.
• Symposium on ‘Religions and International Institutions’, Moderator, 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions, 9 July 2004, Barcelona, Spain.
• Globalisation and Religion, Paper given at One World Forum, University of Warwick, 16 January 2005.
• Religion, Civil Society and the UN System, Paper given at UN Seminar Series, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, Graduate Centre, City University of New York, New York, USA, 30 March 2005.
• Religions, Civil Society and the UN System, Paper given at the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace
• and Member of the Organising Committee of the Conference, United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA, 22 June 2005.
• Religions and Globalisation: What is the Outlook?, Paper given at the Conference on Religions and Globalization: Disorder or Harmony organised by the Institut Aspen France, Lyon, 1-2 July 2006.
• Religions, Civil Society and the UN System, Paper given at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations System, and Organiser of Workshop Panel on The UN System and the World(s) of
• Religions and Cultures, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, City University New York, New York, 8 June 2007.
• Advisor and Respondent at the Interactive Hearing with Civil Society of the High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace of the UN General Assembly, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 4 October 2007.
• Religion in Contemporary Global Politics, Paper given to Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows at a weekend seminar at Cumberland Lodge, invited by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, 13 April 2008.
• Religion in the Public Sphere, Panellist in discussion at launch of Commonwealth Scholarship Commission ‘Faith and Civil Society’ Network, Birkbeck College, London, 17 January 2009.
• Religion in a Global Age: Initiatives at the United Nations, Plenary Speaker at the 2nd International Conference on ‘Integrating Spirituality and Organisational Leadership’, 10 February 2009, Pondicherry, India, invited by the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.
• Moderator of two Panels during the Universal Ethics Summit (9 November 2010) and Dialogue among Civilizations, Cultures and Religions (11 November 2010), as part of the G20 Moral Politics side event organised in the context of the G20 Summit, November 2010, Seoul and Iksan City, South Korea.
• Co-convenor, Workshop on Interfaith Collaboration and Global Development, 4th Alliance of Civilizations Forum, 12 December 2011, Qatar, Doha.
• Can Religious NGOs Help to Achieve Development Goals, Paper given at 10th Annual Conference, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative, 4 September 2012, Oxford, UK.
• Peace Negotiations and Peacebuilding in the Middle East: The Role of Religion and Culture in Processes of Reconciliation, Co-organiser and Panellist, 1 April 2014, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
• International Symposium on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Lead Organiser of Symposium and Director of Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Nishkam Centre, Birmingham, UK, 2 April 2014.
• Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Workshop Presentation, 34th World Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom, 25 August 2014, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
• Presentation of Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation Project during the EU Peace Building Process Day, Religions for Peace Europe, European Parliament, Brussels, 9 March 2015.
• Inner Peace as a Vector for Fostering Forgiveness and Compassion, Moderator of Workshop, Religions for Peace European Assembly, Castel Gandolfo, Italy, 29 October 2015.
• International Inter-religious Peacebuilding and the UN System: Challenges and Opportunities, Paper presented at The Challenge of Mutual Recognition in Interfaith Relations Conference, Rabat, Morocco, 24 February 2016.
• Inaugural Annual Peace Forum on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Lead Organiser of Peace Forum, Nishkam Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 4 February 2017.
• 2nd Annual Peace Forum on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Lead Organiser of Peace Forum, Nishkam Centre, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 4 February 2018.
• Organiser and Moderator, Seminar on Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Perspectives from the World’s Religions, at 7th Parliament of the World’s Religions, Toronto, Canada, 2 November 2018.
• Speaker and Panellist at Religious Tolerance in Cities and Societies Session, 2019 World Government Summit, Dubai, UAE, 11 February 2019.
• Forgiveness, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation, Presentation at Oberseminar of the Jena Center for Reconciliation Studies, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 5 February 2021.
• As initial Co-ordinator and then Director (since 2013) of the Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation: convened, directed, organised, moderated and/or participated in multiple events, summits, symposia, conferences, panels and workshops, nationally and internationally, 2012 - 2021.

• Josef Boehle, Inter-religious Cooperation and Global Change: From a Clash of Civilisations to a Dialogue of Civilisations (Pacifica Review: Peace, Security and Global Change, Volume 14, Issue 3, October 2002).
• Josef Boehle, Religions, Civil Society and the UN System (Studies in Interreligious Dialogue, Volume 17, Issue 1, Peeters, 2007).
• Josef Boehle, Religions, Civil Society and the UN System: Exploring Strategies to Enhance Interfaith Cooperation Towards Sustainable Peace, in: Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, Proceedings, 22 June 2005, United Nations, New York (Foreign Service Institute, Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila, 2007).
• Josef Boehle, The UN System and Religious Actors in the Context of Global Change (CrossCurrents, Special Issue on Religion and the UN, Volume 60, Issue 3, Blackwell 2010).
• Josef Boehle, Religious NGOs at the UN and the Millennium Development Goals: an Introduction (Global Change, Peace and Security, Volume 22, Issue 3, Routledge 2010).
• Josef Boehle, Trialogue in an Interreligious Context: reinterpreting the dialogue model of Martin Buber (Culture and Dialogue. Volume 6, Issue 2, Brill 2018).
• Josef Boehle, Forgiveness, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation in Sustainable Peacebuilding: Contemporary Debates and Future Possibilities, (Global Change, Peace and Security, Taylor and Francis 2021, accepted for publication).
• Josef Boehle, Religion and Politics in a Global Age: a New Vision for Inter-religious and International Relations (I.B. Tauris: Academic Monograph, forthcoming).