Eric Roux has been reelected Chair of United Religions Initiative's Global Council, the governing body that sets direction for our global network. It's the second time the Council has entrusted him with the role, and this time the vote reads less like a fresh start and more like a vote of confidence in work already underway.
Eric Roux was reelected Chair of United Religions Initiative's Global Council in September 2026, extending his leadership of the governing body that sets direction for our global network. "First of all, I'm deeply honored to have been chosen again as Chair of the Global Council,"
Roux said. "URI has been doing great over the past two years, and we have been working as a fantastic team to grow the movement, give it greater visibility, and, most importantly, increase its impact all over the world, a world that desperately needs it."
That "fantastic team" line matters here, because Roux's reelection is really a story about continuity at every level of URI's leadership. He has spent his first term working closely alongside Executive Director Karen Volker, aligning the Global Council's strategic direction with the day-to-day work of URI's Global Support Office and regional staff. It's the kind of steady partnership between board and executive leadership that lets a grassroots network keep growing without losing its footing.
And running through both terms is the same founding thread Bishop William E. Swing set in motion when he first asked what the world's religions were doing to match the United Nations' work for peace: URI's Charter still guides the Global Council's decisions today, a quarter-century after it was signed.
Roux doesn't treat the reelection as a formality. "I am fully aware of the trust that has been placed in me by re-electing me, and I definitely intend to live up to it," he said.
That trust comes with specifics attached, not just goodwill: "We are working on very concrete plans and strategies to bring URI to a point where it can truly accomplish its goals and fulfill its Purpose. I hope that, over the next two years, we will have achieved enough to be able to speak with much greater confidence about a more hopeful future for our world."
He's candid, too, about the gap between what URI has built and what it could still become. "URI is a huge international movement, rooted in deeply committed people acting at the most local level. We have the potential to change the world. We simply have to turn that potential into concrete action — something we are already doing, but need to do ten times more. That's my goal."
It's a goal that, by his own account, isn't his to carry alone. "I'm so happy and thrilled to continue working with the fabulous fellow Trustees of the Global Council, our Executive Director and staff, the Strategic Advisory Council, and, of course, our 1,300+ Cooperation Circles all around the world!" Roux said.
Eric, we are grateful for your steady leadership and support for achieving the promise of URI for a world living in the culture of peace, justice and healing.
