Julia Berger

Biography

Julia Berger is Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Religion at Montclair State University.

Dr. Berger has served as Senior Fellow with the Baha'i International Community's United Nations Office in New York (2015-2022). Prior to this, she served as the Office's Principal Researcher from 2004-2015 with a focus on human rights, gender equality and social development. Her 2021 publication, Rethinking Religion and Politics in a Plural World (Bloomsbury Academic) explores the changing role of religion in the international arena. From 2002-2004, Dr. Berger was Research Associate at Harvard University’s Program on Religion and Public Life.

Dr. Berger has served as Director of the Association for Baha’i Studies - North America (2020-2022), as Co-Chair of the American Academy of Religion Baha’i Studies Unit (2022-2025) and was a member of the Leadership Team of the American Academy of Religion Women’s Caucus.

Dr. Berger holds a PhD from the University of Kent, UK in Theology and Religious Studies; a Master of Education degree in International Development and Education from the University of Toronto; and is an Associate of the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music in Piano Pedagogy.

Dr. Berger is a Trustee of the Board of the Parliament of the World's Religions. She is a member of the Montclair Interfaith Clergy Association, the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Montclair, and is a Co-Founder of the Montclair Race Amity Initiative. She serves on the Board of The Mark Montclair, Inc - the non-profit social justice arm of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Montclair, NJ.

Dr. Berger is a citizen of Poland, Canada, and the United States. She has twin daughters in college and resides in Montclair NJ with her husband. She speaks English, Polish and is proficient in French and Japanese.

Research

religion and community engagement, religion and social activism, civil society, religion and politics, global governance