Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance

Founded in 2013, the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance is a premier interdisciplinary institute at Rice University investigating religious conflict and pluralism. Led by Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund since 2022, the Boniuk Institute aims to conduct and catalyze original research and scholarship on religious pluralism, violence, conflict, and collaboration; convene top scholars from around the world on these topics; and disseminate cutting-edge research to relevant local, national, and global communities to promote meaningful change.

Ecklund and the Boniuk Institute have conducted grant-funded research projects on religious pluralism globally, interfaith leadership and collaboration in Houston, religious diversity and practice in the workplace, and several global projects on the intersection of diverse faiths and science.

The Boniuk Institute regularly convenes top scholars on religious pluralism and violence whose research examines these topics in nearly twenty countries, including Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Israel, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zimbabwe, as well as religion-specific foci on Christian, Jain, Islamic, and Buddhist religious traditions.

The Institute conducts several dissemination programs, such as Religious Literacy Workshops, which provide continuing education in religious literacy to secondary social studies educators and student-facing professionals, exploring topics in religion via classroom-ready scholarly training sessions.

In addition, the Boniuk Institute has wide influence through its Religion and Public Life Center (RPLC), which reaches an extensive network of religious and civic leaders who regularly participate in events and receive news and materials translating the research of the Institute and the RPLC for broader impact. Through RPLC, the Boniuk Institute runs Religious and Civic Leader Gatherings, which often draw in scientists and energy workers who are involved in the civic sector, as well as religious leaders who are interested in science and technology. The Institute also produces a podcast in partnership with the RPLC, Religion Unmuted, that disseminates research on religion.  Lastly, 128 undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs have been trained through the Boniuk Institute and the RPLC.