Kurt Johnson

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Kurt Johnson

Kurt has worked in professional science and comparative religion for over 40 years and serves on many international committees, particularly at the United Nations. As part of UNITY EARTH and the Interspiritual Dialogue Network he co-edits two magazines: The Convergence and Light on Light, and cohosts the Convergence series on VoiceAmerica. Kurt was co-editor of the EL's 2021 anthology: Our Moment of Choice: Evolutionary Visions and Hope for the Future. In comparative culture and religion Kurt has been on the faculty of New York City’s One Spirit Interfaith Seminary for 12 years and is the co-author of the very influential 2013 book on the future of world religions: The Coming Interspiritual Age.

In science, with a PhD in Evolution, Ecology and Comparative Biology he was on the staff of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years and is currently associated with the McGuire Center for Biodiversity at the University of Florida. Kurt has published over 200 scientific articles and seven books, including the popular science bestseller, Nabokov’s Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius. In 2015 his book on science and the arts, Fine Lines (Yale University Press) won the 2019 Brian Boyd Prize for scholarly writing.  

Kurt has presented regularly on science and religion at The Science and Nonduality Conference and the Parliament of the World’s Religions and published articles on this inter-relationship in many periodicals, including audio discussions with Ken Wilber at Integral Life. He is founding member of the Contemplative Alliance and President of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. At the United Nations he has served on the Executive Committee of the UN NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns and co-founded the NGO Forum 21 Institute. Formerly a monastic for over 10 years, and active in contemplative and sacred activism across several traditions, Kurt is also an ordained Eco-Minister and recently co-edited the Namaste Insights internet magazine on the eco-vision of interfaith pioneers Thomas Berry and Wayne Teasdale.  

www.interspirituality.com

Interspirituality—a more universal experience of the world’s religions, emphasizing shared experiences of heart and unity consciousness—represents part of the world’s ongoing movement toward globalization and multiculturalism. It can be seen as the inevitable response of religions to globalization. ~ Kurt Johnson, The Coming Interspiritual Age.