Edward Kessler (born 3 May 1963) is the Founder President o
The Woolf Institute
a leading thinker in interfaith relations, primarily Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations, a Fellow of

St Edmund's College, Cambridge St Edmund's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. Founded in 1896, it is the second-oldest of the three Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which accept ...

as well as a Principal of the

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in mem ...

and Chair of th
Commission on the Integration of Refugees

Biography

Born in 1963, Kessler was educated at

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

and graduated with a First-Class Honours Degree in Hebrew and Religious Studies from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

in 1985, an MTS degree from

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the religious studies, academic study of religion or for leadership role ...

in 1987, and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

degree from the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

in 1989. He went on to work in a family business, Kesslers International Group, for 7 years before returning to his academic studies, completing a PhD degree at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1999. Kessler, with Martin Forward, founded the Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations (CJCR) in 1998 and was elected Fellow of St Edmund's College in 2002. In 2006 The Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations (CMJR) and the Centre for Policy Public Education were established and the name of the organisation was changed to The Woolf Institute in 2010, and its focus was extended to the study of relationship between religion and society, with a focus on relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims. It constructed its own building in 2017, located at Westminster College where the Institute is presently located. Kessler launched an independent UK Commission in November 2022 on the Integration of Refugees. Lord Carlile was appointed Chair and Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani Vice Chair for the first year and he took over in 2023. The Commission took evidence at hearings around the UK and published its report
From Arrival to Integration
in March 2024. In 2023 he was appointe
Chair of the Advisory Board
overseeing the unification of Reform and Liberal Judaism. In 2006, he was awarded the Sternberg Interfaith Award from philanthropist Sir Sigmund Sternberg "in recognition of outstanding services in furthering relations between faiths". In June 2007 The Times Higher Education newspaper described him as "probably the most prolific interfaith figure in British academia". In 2011 he was awarded an MBE awarded for services to interfaith relations Kessler has written or edited 13 books, including
An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations
' (Cambridge, 2010)
Jews, Christians and Muslims
' (SCM, 2013) and
Jesus
' (The History Press, 2016). Hi
''Documentary History of Jewish-Christian Relations''
was published by Cambridge in 2024. In 2024, he was awarded the Seelisberg Prize for his contribution to fostering Jewish-Christian relations. Kessler was Convenor and Vice-Chair for the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life (2013–15), a two-year initiative that examined the role of religion and belief in Britain. Its report,
Living with Difference
made 37 recommendations and generated public controversy, particularly over faith schools. He was also Principal Investigator of the Woolf Diversity Study, a study of diversity in England and Wales (2017–19), which published a policy report entitled,
How We Get Along
Much of his academic work has been examining scripture and exploring the significance for Jewish-Christian relations of sharing a sacred text. He has identified a common exegetical tradition, especially in the formative centuries. More recently his writings have focussed on the encounter with Islam and contemporary relations between the three Abrahamic faiths and implications for fostering a vibrant and open society. Kessler proposes approaches for managing difference, which he argues is vital in forming a positive identity as well as sustaining communities. In his discussion on covenantal theology, he argues for the creation of ‘theological space’ in which people of faith can affirm one another without losing their particularities of faith. Kessler also explores the tensions, positive as well as negative, between religion and civil society. At a lecture at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

in 2014, he argued that diplomats and policymakers need to be better trained in religion and belief, describing the contemporary religious landscape as a post-interfaith world. In 2019, at The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities in Oslo, he argued that because religious monopolies are in decline, Christianity can no longer be portrayed as the dominant ‘host’ religion in Europe and a previously intrinsic relationship is being weakened - belonging to a minority is the norm. In his 2024 address upo nreceiving the Seelisberg Prize at the University of Salzburg he called for a redoubling of efforts to pursue genuine dialogue at a time of increasing polarisation. As well as teaching Cambridge University students, Kessler teaches at the

. In 2022, as visiting professor at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin, he delivered a lecture on ways to sustain and safeguard
Jerusalem’s Holy Places
in 2023, he delivered th
Krister Stendahl
Memorial Lecture in Stockholm and discussed the importance of tackling the difficult issues in interfaith dialogue.

Books and edited volumes

1989 – ''An English Jew: The Life and Writings of Claude Montefiore'', London:

Vallentine Mitchell Vallentine Mitchell is a publishing company based in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The company publishes books on Jewish-related topics. One of its earliest books was the first English-language edition of '' The Diary of Anne Frank''. Fr ...

, (2nd Edition, 2002) 2002 – ''Jews and Christians in Conversation: crossing cultures and generations'', eds., E. Kessler, JT Pawlikowski & J Banki, Cambridge: Orchard Academic 2004 – ''A Reader of Liberal Judaism: Israel Abrahams, Claude Montefiore, Israel Mattuck and Lily Montagu'', London:

2004 – ''Aspects of Liberal Judaism: Essays in Honour of John D Rayner on the occasion of his 80th Birthday'', eds., E. Kessler and D.J.Goldberg, London: Vallentine Mitchell 2004 – ''Bound by the Bible: Jews, Christians and the Sacrifice of Isaac'', Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

2004 – ''Themes in Jewish-Christian Relations'', eds., E. Kessler & M.J. Wright, Cambridge: Orchard Academic 2005 – ''A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations'', eds., E, Kessler & N. Wenborn, Cambridge:

2006 – ''Challenges in Jewish-Christian Relations'', eds., J. Aitken & E. Kessler, New York: Paulist Press 2006 – ''What do Jews Believe?'' London and New York: Granta Publications 2010 – ''Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations'', Cambridge:

2013 – ''Jews, Christians and Muslims'', London: SCM 2016 – ''Jesus,'' Stroud: The History Press 2024 - ''A Documentary History of Jewish-Christian Relations: From Antiquity to the Present Day,'' eds. E. Kessler & N. Wenborn, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (forthcoming)

Other media and public presence

Kessler regularly appears in the media commenting on religion and belief issues of the day, such as the impact of October 7th 2023 attack on Israel and the Gaza War on th
Leading Podcast
is a regular contributor to th
Woolf Institute blog
and hosted the weekly podcas
Naked Reflections
(2020-23). He also presented the series
Covid-19 Chronicles
(2020), which consisted of more than 50 interviews with faith leaders on the impact of the coronavirus on religion and belief. He wrote and presented two A-Z podcasts (2018–20), An A-Z of Believing: From Atheism to Zealotry an
An A-Z of the Holy Land: From Arab to Zion
For examples see ''external links''. He has expressed opposition about any imminent beatification/canonisation of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. Kessler has delivered a number of public lectures including: The 1st Hugo Gryn Memorial lecture, London (1998); The 30th Cardinal Bea Memorial Lecture, London (2000); The Shapiro Lecture, Chicago (2003); The Martin Buber Lecture, East Anglia University (2004); The Bishop Grossteste Lecture, Lincoln Cathedral (2005); The Kennedy lecture, North Carolina (2008); Ely Cathedral Lectures: 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Changing Landscapes: A lecture on Jews, Christians and Muslims in the UK Today, University of Derby (2012)); The Abrahamic Religions: the prospects for their inter-relations,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

(2013); Religion and International Relations: towards a post-interfaith society,

, Washington, D.C. (2014); 2016 ''Keeping Faith in Foreign Affairs,'' University of London (2016); ''How can Christians, Jews and Muslims move beyond our religious differences and work together to build a better world?'' (Kirk Interfaith Conference, Glasgow, 2017), ''Religion and the Nation State'', The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities, Oslo (2019), ''The Changing Landscape of Religion and Belief: Standing on the Crossroads'' (University of Suffolk, 2021)

References

External links

Woolf Institute Home Page

Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life

BBC Religion & Ethics biographies including of Edward Kessler

Times Higher Education article

European Association for Jewish Studies profile of Edward Kessler

Archived articles by Edward Kessler in The Tablet

Woolf Institute in the Press, including various articles by Edward Kessler

Recent example of BBC Radio 4 broadcast, on the subject of the Pope and Holocaust denial

Woolf Institute podcasts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Edward 1963 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Stirling Alumni of the University of Cambridge Members of the Order of the British Empire Harvard Divinity School alumni People in interfaith dialogue People educated at the City of London School English theologians Academics of the University of Cambridge 20th-century English theologians 21st-century English theologians British Jewish theologians 20th-century English Jews 21st-century English Jews