Leonard Swidler
Leonard J. Swidler (January 6, 1929 - March 23, 2026) was Professor Emeritus at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he taught from 1966 - 2022.
At Temple and as a visiting professor at universities around the world – including Graz, Austria; Tübingen, Germany; Fudan University, Shanghai; and the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur – he has mentored a generation of U.S. and international scholars in interreligious dialogue. He held a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the University of Tübingen and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin; he also holds honorary doctorates from St. Norbert’s College and LaSalle University.
Leonard published/edited more than 200 articles and 75 books, including: Jewish‑Christian‑Muslim Dialogue (1978); Religious Liberty and Human Rights (1986); After the Absolute: The Dialogical Future of Religious Reflection (1990); A Bridge to Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (1990); Muslims in Dialogue: The Evolution of a Dialogue over a Generation (1992); Jesus Was a Feminist (2007). He has lectured on Catholicism, Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Global Ethics all over the world, including Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, North Macedonia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Republic of Congo, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, and, of course, the United States.
View Dr. Swidler’s Curriculum Vitae (updated July 2022) HERE.
As recently as 2025, Dr. Swidler was teaching in retirement at the University of Sulaimani in Iraqi Kurdistan. His legacy lives on.
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Remembering Professor Swidler
Leonard Swidler, founder of the Dialogue Institute, passed peacefully on March 23, 2026, at the age of 97, surrounded by his family.
Professor Swidler lived a life of extraordinary purpose and dedication. Even after his retirement from teaching at Temple University in 2022, he continued teaching in Iraqi Kurdistan until last year. He was a pioneer in the field of interfaith and dialogue studies, and the journal he co-founded with his wife, Arlene, the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, continues to be published today. He mentored hundreds, taught thousands, and inspired countless more to engage the world with curiosity and compassion. He modeled a life committed to dialogue and to advancing understanding across differences.
We are deeply grateful for his enduring legacy. Our heartfelt condolences are with his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life and work.
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The Arlene and Leonard Swidler Chair at Temple University
Professor Leonard Swidler is something of an institution in the College of Liberal Arts' Religion Department and is well-known abroad for furthering interfaith dialogue. And now, Dr. Swidler has made a decision that will ensure the professor, who's been with Temple University since 1966, will remain an institution here long after his teaching tenure is complete.
In June 2020, he made a generous commitment to the college in his will, allowing for the creation of the Arlene and Leonard Swidler Chair for Interreligious Dialogue and Modern Catholic Thought in the Religion Department. This will ensure Dr. Swidler's lifelong dedication to Temple and the College of Liberal Arts will extend into a lasting legacy.
“Len Swidler has been a vital member of the College of Liberal Arts’ faculty for over five decades. I’m delighted that he’ll be making such a generous gift to the college, allowing his name and legacy to live on here to the benefit of future students and faculty members. Creating an endowed professorship will strengthen the Religion department for the long haul.”
Dr. Swidler says that Temple has had a broad, inter-religious history since it became a state-related university in 1966. It's no coincidence that the university became such right at the same time Dr. Swidler joined the faculty—its becoming a public university was the main reason he came! Once he joined the faculty here, the college began teaching religion "from the inside as well as from the outside," according to Dr. Swidler. The professor says it was an approach no other university in the world attempted before Temple.
Press Release by Temple University
Guest Positions while tenured at Temple University
ACUIIS summer school at University of Graz, Austria, 1972, 1973
Guest Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Protestant Theology Faculty of the University of Tübingen, 1972-73
Visiting Professor at Saint Michael's College, Winouski, VT. Summer, 1976
Exchange Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Institute for Ecumenical Research of the University of Tübingen, Summer Semester, 1982
Exchange Professor on the Catholic Theology Faculty and the Institute for Ecumenical Research of the University of Tübingen, Summer Semester, 1985
Guest Professor in the Philosophy Department, Nankai University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China, Summer Semester, 1986
Professor at Temple University Japan (Tokyo), Summer School, May–June, 1987
Exchange Professor on the Protestant Theology Faculty, Hamburg University, Fall semester, 1989
Guest Professor in the Philosophy Department, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, Summer Semester, 1990
Professor at Temple University Japan (Tokyo), 1990-91
Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Civilisational Dialogue of the University of Malaya, Kualalumpur, Malaysia, summer 2003
Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Civilisational Dialogue of the University of Malaysia, Kualalumpur, Malaysia, summer 2004
Visiting Professor, East China University, Shanghai, China, June, 2004
Visiting Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, June, 2004
Visiting Professor, Peoples’ University, Beijing, China, June, 2004
Visiting Fulbright Professor at Centre for Catholic Studies, Chung Chi College, [[The Chinese University of Hong Kong, November, 2007
Visiting Fulbright Professor at Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1–28, 2011
Honors
LL.D. from La Salle University, Philadelphia, October, 1977.
LL.D. from St. Norbert College, DePere, WI, October, 2001.
Prize for 2002 from the Academic Society for the Research of Religions and Ideologies (SACRI), University of Cluj, Romania.
Most recently, Len was teaching students from the Political Science Department at the American Corner of the University of Sulaimani. These students are the future diplomats and leaders of Kurdistan.
Dr. Swidler met with Dr. Anwer Jaff and a researcher from the University of Sulaimani.
Having students sit in a circle is Len’s favorite approach. Dialogue is the center of his teaching!
