Debora Tonelli is a Permanent Researcher at the Institute for Religious Studies of Bruno Kessler Foundation, and Invited Lecturer in Political Philosophy, Politic and Religion, and Theology at Pontifical Athenaeum S. Anselmo and at Gregoriana University (Roma). She worked as Visiting Scholar at Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life – Columbia University (NY, fall semester 2015) and at Berkley Center for Religion Peace and World Affairs – Georgetown University (Washington D. C. Spring 2017).

Moving from her background in Political Philosophy (PhD 2005, in Rome and Frankfurt/M, Germany) and Theology (Ph.D. 2012, Münster, Germany), her current research and teaching activities are focused on the interaction between those two main fields, specifically inside the wider context of interreligious dialogue, with a key focus on the relationship between violence and biblical religions.

Since 2013 she is coordinating an interdisciplinary research project on “Religions and Violence“ in collaboration with Italian and foreign scholars, organizing workshops, seminars and scientific publications. The influence of literary images in the construction process of “religious imagery” supporting a violent conception of divinity and justifying violence in the name of God, is part of those fundamental political studies.

In 2017 she was the scientific coordinator of the international conference Exiting Violence: the Role of Religion. From Texts to Theories (Trento, October 10-12), organized by ISR in collaboration with Reset Dialogue on Civilization and Berkley Center for Religion Peace and World Affairs.