The Woolf Institute is an academic institute in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England. Founded in 1998 by Dr

Edward Kessler Edward Kessler (born 3 May 1963) is the Founder President of The Woolf Institute and a leading thinker in interfaith relations, primarily Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations, and is a Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge as well as a Principal ...

MBE and the Revd Professor

Martin Forward Martin Forward is a British, Methodist Christian lecturer and author on religion and Professor of History at Aurora University, Illinois. He has taught Islam at the Universities of Leicester, Bristol and Cambridge, and had spent a period of time i ...

, and now located in central

on the Westminster College Site, it is dedicated to the study of interfaith relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims. Using research and education to explore the relationship between religion and society, it aims to foster greater understanding and tolerance. Beginning as the Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations, the institute expanded throughout its history to include the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations and the Centre for Policy and Public Education. In 2010, these centers were combined and renamed as The Woolf Institute in honour of Lord Harry Woolf, a patron of the institute and former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Pedestrian entrance to Woolf Institute from Madingley Road

Pedestrian entrance to Woolf Institute from Madingley Road

The institute is an associate member 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 membe ...

which brings together eleven institutions through which people of different denominations, including

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, train for various forms of Christian ministry and service.

History

The Woolf Institute was established in 1998 as The Center for Jewish-Christian Relations to "provide an academic framework and space in which people could tackle issues of religious difference constructively." In 2010, it combined with The Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations and the Centre for Policy and Public Education, and the institute was renamed to The Woolf Institute. In 2019, the institute set out to explore how to tackle extremism in the United Kingdom, and to find a way to measure different levels of extremism.

Teaching

The Woolf Institute works together with the

Cambridge Commonwealth Trust The Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust is an organization that offers scholarships to students from overseas and the Commonwealth (excluding the United Kingdom) who have been accepted for admission to the University of Cambr ...

and the Cambridge Overseas Trust to offer the Woolf Institute Cambridge Scholarship, a PhD scholarship for the study of relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims. It also contributes to the

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in Middle East Studies at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and offers a Professional Doctorate in collaboration with the

and

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

Patrons

* The Rt Hon Lord Harry Woolf, CH, PC ** The Rt Hon

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury ** Rabbi

Ephraim Mirvis Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life and ...

, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth ** Cardinal

Vincent Nichols Vincent Gerard Nichols (born 8 November 1945) is an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He previously served as Archbishop of Birm ...

, Archbishop of Westminster ** HRH Prince Hassan of Jordan ** Archbishop Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain ** Rev Dr Hugh Osgood, Free Church Moderator ** Rabbi Baroness

Julia Neuberger Julia Babette Sarah Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, (née Schwab; born 27 February 1950) was the second woman to be ordained as a Rabbi in the UK, and is a British member of the House of Lords. She previously took the Liberal Democrat whip, but re ...

DBE ** Rabbi

Joseph Dweck Joseph Dweck is the senior rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom. Biography Rabbi Dweck is American born, of Syrian-Sephardi origin, and has lived in Los Angeles, California and Brooklyn, New York. He studied in Jerusalem at '' ...

, Senior Rabbi S&P Congregation ** Rabbi Lord

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United He ...

Inter-faith patrons

* Baroness

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss Ann Elizabeth Oldfield Butler-Sloss, Baroness Butler-Sloss, GBE, PC (''née'' Havers; born 10 August 1933), is a retired English judge. She was the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and was the highest-ranking female judge in the United King ...

GBE * Dr

Richard Stone Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone (30 August 1913 – 6 December 1991) was an eminent British economist, educated at Westminster School and Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded t ...

OBE

Honorary vice-presidents

* Rev Dominic Fenton (Chair of Trustees: 2003-2007) * Mr John Pickering (Chair of Trustees: 2007-2010) * Lord Khalid Hameed CBE (Chair of Trustees: 2010-2016)

References