About Robert Hunt

Robert Hunt was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. After attending school in Austin and Richardson, he majored in History at the University of Texas in Austin. After completing a Master of Theology at Perkins School of Theology (SMU), he served as associate pastor of the Bethany United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas.

In 1985 Robert and his wife Lilian traveled to the Philippines and then Kuala Lumpur, where they taught at the Seminary Theology Malaysia. At STM Robert was the director of extension education, and taught a wide variety of courses. He was also a participant in current Malay translation of the Bible. He received a PhD in History from the University of Malaya in 1993, focusing on the history of Bible translation and Christian Muslim relations. From 1993 to 1997 Dr. Hunt taught World Religions at the Trinity Theological College, and directed the education by extension and field education programs. From 1997 to 2004 he was pastor of the English Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna, and an adjunct professor at Webster University in Vienna in Religions and International Studies.

Dr. Hunt is presently Director of Global Theological Education at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He is responsible for overseeing and developing cross-cultural immersion courses for Perkins students, the Virtual Visiting Professor website, and Interfaith Encounters, a weekly podcast on contemporary social issues.

He is an Associate of the Tower Center for Political Studies and a Fellow of the Hunt Institute for Engineering and the Humanities. He lectures on World Religions, Cultural Intelligence, Inter-religious Dialogue, and Contemporary Islamic Movements. He is author of numerous books and articles on Malaysian Church history, Missions, and Islam including: Islam in Southeast Asia, Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World, and The Gospel Among the Nations, a Documentary History of Inculturation. His most recent books are Muslim Faith and Values, and Guide for Christians. He has also published numerous articles, journals, and reference works. His current projects include a study of Christian identity in religiously plural contexts, a study on the relationship of Muslim identity to power-sharing in secular societies. He participated in diverse conferences on Christian – Muslim dialogue in Malaysia, Indonesia, Austria, Macedonia, Spain, China, and the United States.