Pauline Kollontai
Fellow
Professor Pauline Kollontai was appointed Honorary Fellow in 2023 where she contributes to the work of the Centre for Faith in Public Life and is a research supervisor. Pauline is a Professor Emeritus at York St John University, York. She previously worked at the University of Bradford in the Department of Peace Studies and the University of Leeds in the School of Adult Education. Her academic qualifications are in Peace Studies, and Theology and Religious Studies. In 2019, Pauline was appointed as a member of the Resident Research Interdisciplinary and International Seminar Programme Team on ‘Religion and Violence’ at the Centre of Theological Inquiry, Princeton. She is a co-founder and one of the Series Editors for the Routledge book series, Religion Matters: On the Significance of Religion in Global Issues.
Pauline has supervised MA post-graduate taught, MA by Research and Ph.D. students at the University of Bradford, University of Leeds, The Centre for Mission Studies, Oxford, and York St John University, York. She has experience as an examiner for doctorates and as a Viva Chairperson.
Pauline’s research focuses on religion, peacebuilding, and conflict. She has researched the ambivalent nature of religion; the theological origins and socio-political manifestations of religious violence in ‘real-life’ contexts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria, and Israel; inter-religious peacebuilding in conflict and post-conflict contexts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria, and Israel; religion and democracy; and religion and human rights. Her current research project with two other people, one a theologian and the other an international relations scholar, is on religion and populism in the UK, Turkey, and Israel. This research will be published as a co-authored book. Pauline has published several journal articles and chapters in books and edited and co-authored books.
Recent Publications:
Books
Kollontai, Pauline and Yore, Sue, (eds). (2024). Religion in Diverse Societies: Crossing the Boundaries of Prejudice and Distrust, London and New York: Routledge.
Kollontai, Pauline and Lohmann, Friedrich. (2023). On the Significance of Religion for Human Rights, London and New York: Routledge.
Schliesser, Christine, Kollontai, Pauline and Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana, (2021). Religion Matters: On the Significance of Religion in Conflict and Conflict Resolution, London and New York: Routledge.
Xie, Zhibin., Kollontai, Pauline and Sebastian Kim, (eds). (2020). Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Social Justice: A Chinese Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Global Perspective, Hong Kong: Springer International.
Kollontai, Pauline, Yore, Sue and Sebastian Kim, (eds). (2018). The Role of Religion in Peacebuilding: Crossing Boundaries of Prejudice and Distrust, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Kim, Sebastian, Kollontai, Pauline and Sue Yore, (eds). (2015) Mediating Peace: Reconciliation Through Art, Music and Film, Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Press.
Kollontai, Pauline and Nesfield, Victoria, (eds). (2012). Building Communities of Reconciliation, Volume III, Seoul, South Korea, Nanumsa Publications.
Kollontai, Pauline and Noake, Richard, (eds). (2012). Religion Creating Cultures of Peace, Vol II, Seoul, South Korea, Nanumsa Publications.
Articles and Chapters
Kollontai, Pauline, (2024). ‘Challenging the Religious Political Discourse and Practice of Racism in Israel’, in Kollontai, Pauline and Yore, Sue, (eds). Religion in Diverse Societies: Crossing the Boundaries of Prejudice and Distrust, London and New York: Routledge
Kollontai, Pauline, (2023). ‘A Jewish Perspective on Democracy and Minority Rights in Israel’, in Schliesser, Christine, (ed). On the Significance of Religion for the SDGs: An Introduction, London and New York: Routledge.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2020). ‘On Human Dignity and Rights: The Dialectics of Religious and Secular Law in Israel, in Xie, Zhibin, Kollontai, Pauline and Sebastian Kim, (eds). Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Social Justice: A Chinese Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Global Perspective, Hong Kong: Springer International.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2019). ‘Promoting the ‘Peaceable Garden Culture of Religion’: The Challenges of Growing Inclusive and Just Community from the Perspective of Theology and Religious Studies’, in Betina Jansen, (ed). Rethinking Community Through Transdisciplinary Research, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2018). ‘Biblical Jewish Values on Care of the Stranger and Neighbour: Israel and the Bedouin of the Negev’ in Kollontai, Pauline, Yore, Sue and Sebastian Kim, (eds). The Role of Religion in Peacebuilding: Crossing the Boundaries of Prejudice and Distrust, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2017). ‘Who is My Neighbour: The Laïcité-Islam Encounter in France’, in David Kim, (ed). Religious Encounter in Society, New York, Lexington Books.
Kollontai, P.C.H (2015) ‘Inter-Religious Work for Peace through Globalized Transnational Civil Society,’ in Haynes, J. (ed) Nations Under God: Religion and Geopolitics, London, E-IR Publications.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2015). ‘Story Telling in Religious Education: Promoting Respect and Empathy in Diverse Communities’, in Zehavit Gross and Lynne Davies, (eds). The Contested Role of Education in Conflict and Fragility, Rotterdam, SENSE Publications.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2015). ‘Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education: Using Art in a Philosophical Discussion on God, Evil and Suffering’, Journal of Research in Education, 93:1, pp. 66-76.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2014). ‘Coming to the Edge and Reaching Over: Women and Muslim-Christian Dialogue’, in Khadar, Jamal and & Twal, Iyad, (eds). Religion and Society: From Theocracy to Secularism and in Between, Bethlehem, University of Bethlehem Publications.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2014). ‘Finding a Way Forward Together: Religion and Cosmopolitanism in Bosnia-Herzegovina’ in Rovisco, Maria and Sebastian Kim, (eds). Religion, Cosmopolitanism and Public Life, London, Routledge.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2014). ‘Adopting a Peace Education Approach in Schools: Perspectives from Bosnia-Herzegovina’ in Buchanan, Michael, (ed). Leadership and Religious Schools: International Perspectives and Challenges, London, Bloomsbury Academic Press.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2012). ‘The Sacred Icon: Confronting the Anthropocentrism of a Secularized World’, in Gibson, Stephen and Mollan, Simon, (eds). Representations of Peace and Conflict, Basking Stoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan.
Kollontai, Pauline, (2012). ‘Faith and Feminism: Bosnian Women Challenging Religious Boundaries’ in Noake, Richard and Kollontai, Pauline, Religion Creating Cultures of Peace, Vol II, Seoul, South Korea, Nanumsa Publications.
Current Wesley House research students
Wan Yin Lim