Jill DeTemple, PhD

Dr. Jill DeTemple is an Associate at Essential Partners as well as the Chair of Religious Studies, Professor of Religious Studies, and, by courtesy, Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Her research focuses on religiously sponsored development in Latin America and on the uses of dialogue for teaching in higher education.  She is the author of two books that focus on the intersection of religion and international development in rural Ecuador and numerous articles on that subject as well as the use of dialogue for inclusive teaching and deep learning. She is currently working on a co-authored book that will introduce EP’s Dialogic Classroom to college professors.

Dr. DeTemple's research has been supported by the John Templeton Foundation, the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the American Academy of Religion, the Tinker Foundation, and the General Board for Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

She has taught courses on Religious Literacy; Social Scientific Approaches to the Study of Religion; Identity and the Sacred in the Southwest; and Religion, Gender, and International Economic Development, among other topics. 

Dr. DeTemple is also the winner of the 2018 Award for Teaching Excellence from the American Academy of Religion.