In April of 2025, the Boniuk Institute gathered scholars representing nearly a dozen different nations at the Rice University Global Paris Center to discuss new directions for global research on religious violence and pluralism.
"It was life-changing for me, and I do not say that lightly," said Elaine Howard Ecklund, director of the Boniuk Institute and the Herbert S. Autrey Professor in Social Sciences at Rice. "We captured a vision for academic diplomacy, discussing some of the most significant issues facing our time, including how we can work together to do research that makes it attractive to states and communities to end religion-based violence, what healthy religious pluralism might look like and how academics might work more effectively with policymakers to address religious violence."
Leading experts in the field and from a range of disciplines gathered in Paris and presented current projects on religious violence and pluralism, ranging from systems and theoretical explorations, to national, regional, and international-level data sets, case studies, and interfaith and peacebuilding efforts. In ensuing dialogue, scholars noted the critical need for such complementary and supplementary conversations across disciplines and national/ regional contexts, and attention to micro and macro-level gender, race, and ethnicity dynamics in situations where religious violence seemingly "erupts," and policy implications for religious governance as well as nation-building.