Berkley Center Events

December 14, 2009

The Role of Religion in the Public Square of a Pluralist Democracy

Clergy Beyond Borders will be holding a conference at American University on the topic of "Human Rights in Christianity, Islam and Judaism" on December 14th. This conference will bring together imams, ministers and rabbis -- along with other scholars in Christianity, Islam and Judaism -- to discuss religious leadership and human rights issues. A small number of imams from abroad will participate through a grant from the U.S. Insititue for Peace. At 8pm there will be a presentation open to the p...

December 14, 2009 | Katherine Marshall

Workshop on Faith-Inspired Institutions and Global Development in Southeast Asia

Event on religion and world affairs....

November 30, 2009 | Jocelyne Cesari

Islamopedia: Mapping Islamic Thinking Online

Jocelyne Cesari of Harvard University will present Islamopedia, a collection of rulings and religious opinions addressing important topics in contemporary Islam: gender, non-Muslims, violence, secularism. Islamopedia (www.islamopediaonline.org) maps the landscape of global Islam, given the highly charged context of the global Muslim community today. Toward this end, the site explores topics of vigorous discussion and diverse opinion: democracy, human rights, pluralism, women’s roles, and the im...

November 20, 2009 | Charles Villa-Vicencio

Peace or Justice in Africa: Does the ICC Help or Hinder?

Join us as Charles Villa-Vicencio discusses his recent book, 'Walk with Us and Listen: Peace and Reconciliation in Africa.' Dr. Villa-Vicencio will address the need for more complementarity between the ICC and African mechanisms for justice and peace-building; question the obligation to prosecute those allegedly guilty of gross violation of human rights; and assess the success of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission....

November 17, 2009 | Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

Islam and Liberal Democracy: How Tradition Matters

The Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and the Berkley Center are sponsoring a seminar with leading scholars to address how tradition matters in Islamic political thought today....

November 12, 2009 | Karen Armstrong

Charter for Compassion Launch with Karen Armstrong

On November 12, 2009, the "Charter for Compassion" was unveiled to the world, and the Berkley Center hosted a roundtable discussion with Karen Armstrong as part of the Charter's global launch. The "Charter for Compassion" is an interfaith initiative that seeks to apply shared moral principles to foster global interreligious understanding. Georgetown faculty, staff, and students posed questions about the Charter's drafting process, the action agenda for the Charter, and how the...

November 12, 2009 | José Casanova

The Religious Lives of Migrant Minorities: Great Britain, Malaysia, and South Africa

Immigrant minority groups frequently face discrimination from their host societies on the basis of differences of national origin, race, culture, and religion. But religion can also provide identities, connections, resources and practices that can facilitate immigrants’ adaptations and integration into new contexts. To improve understandings of religion in the day-to-day lives of international migrants, the SSRC Project on the Religious Lives of Migrant Minorities investigated the roles of Ch...

November 10, 2009

Malaria & Multi-Faith Action: A Calling for Our Generation

Malaria, a preventable and treatable disease, kills nearly 1 million people every year. Join us for an interactive presentation to learn what malaria is, why it is still a problem, and why multi-faith action is needed to fight it. Avi Smolen and Randa Kuziez, Faiths Act Fellows with the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, will share their experiences in Africa, the reason that their faiths compel them to serve, and explain how college students can get involved. Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7:00pm at the Berkley...

November 9, 2009 | Jean Bethke Elshtain

America and the World, featuring Jean Bethke Elshtain

Critics of American foreign policy decry anything that smacks of 'American exceptionalism'. Despite former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's insistence that America is the ‘indispensable' nation, such claims are either condemned as rampant ethnocentrism or ignored as rhetorical overreach. There are strong grounds for criticism of presumptions of exceptionalism. But might condemnations of American exceptionalism also be a cover for abandoning America's international responsibilities? T...

November 9, 2009 | Aicha Ech-Channa

Changing Women’s Realities in Morocco: Aicha Ech-Channa

On November 9th 2009, Georgetown University celebrated the remarkable accomplishments of Aicha Ech-Channa, a Muslim Moroccan woman who has earned wide respect for her advocacy of human and civil rights for single mothers and their children.On November 4th, 2009, Mrs. Ech-Channa was announced the winner of the Opus Prize, a one-million dollar faith-based humanitarian award, the winner to be announced November 4. Having witnessed, as a social worker in Casablanca, sexual violence and the terrible ...

November 6, 2009 | Fida J. Adely

Constructing Proper Faith in a Girls’ High School in Jordan

The power to interpret religious knowledge and define the terms of religious propriety is contested in many countries throughout the Muslim world today. Yet beyond analysis of curricular content, very little scholarly attention has been focused on the role of schools in such contests. This paper addresses struggles surrounding moral authority through an ethnographic exploration of religious teaching and practice in a girl’s secondary school in Jordan. I examine both the formal or official r...

November 3, 2009 | Thomas Farr

Symposium on Religion & Democracy in the Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration

The day-long event consisted of four panels, each of which examined the question of religion and democracy in U.S. foreign policy from a different perspective. The panels addressed the role of religious actors in U.S. democracy programs and policies; the "twin tolerations" and democratic stability in highly religious societies; emerging trends in the data concerning the relationships between religion and democracy; and the relationship between Islam and democracy in key Muslim countries....

October 29, 2009 | Hans Joas

Human Rights and Universal Values

Can there be agreement about universal human rights? Given the diversity of religious and philosophical value traditions in today’s world, is consensus possible? In his third Berkley Center lecture, Hans Joas argued that much depends on the way we talk about values with one another. We have to resist the notion that human rights controversies inevitably link to a “clash of civilizations,” or that individuals and groups simply embrace and articulate the values that are right for them – wit...

October 28, 2009 | Hans Joas

Punishment, Rights, and the Sacredness of the Person

The history of human rights runs parallel to the rise of the modern state and new forms of punishment. In that history some discern progress in the gradual constraints placed on state power with respect to its citizens. Others follow Michel Foucault, who saw the modern state developing more and more effective means of discipline over time. In his second Berkley Center lecture Hans Joas presented an alternative view of the origins of human rights. Drawing on the insights of Emile Durkheim he exami...

October 28, 2009 | Hans Joas

Student Lunch with Hans Joas

Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students were invited to a lunch with Berkley Center Lecturer Hans Joas to engage in a discussion of his work on Human Rights. Those who are submitting pieces to the Berkley Center Lectures Essay Contest were welcome to attend, as this informal event offered students the opportunity to speak directly with Joas, ask questions, and offer their own reflections on this challenging topic. ...

October 27, 2009 | Hans Joas

Violence and the Origins of Human Rights

Current debates about human rights obscure their origins in the experience of violence. The affirmation of the universal value of human dignity is not only part of the history of ideas. It links back to violent and traumatic collective experiences such as slavery and the Holocaust. In this first Berkley Center lecture, Hans Joas traced the history of violence in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and other important documents, and discussed the conditions for the successful transfor...

October 21, 2009

Human Rights and the Defamation of Religions

For several years, various UN bodies have enacted resolutions condemning the "defamation of religions," arising from the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. This raises complex issues at the intersection of domestic and international law and policy. How do states conceptualize the relationship between freedom of speech, censorship, blasphemy laws, and the prohibition on defamation or hate speech? Can theological debate and criticism of religion be disentangled from defam...

October 16, 2009

Diwali Festival of Lights Celebration and Dinner 2009

Known widely as the "Festival of Lights," Diwali is a Hindu holiday in celebration not only of the New Year, but of the "inner light." This inner light serves to provide warmth and love, help overcome obstacles, and guide us in the right direction. Every Diwali, the Hindu Students Association invites the Georgetown Community to celebrate this festive holiday with food and dance. Come and learn how and why Hindus celebrate their New Year's Day. The event included Diwali Puja (a short Hindu prayer...

September 29, 2009 | Talal Asad

Islam, Human Rights, and the Secular: A Conversation with Talal Asad and Abdullahi An-Naim

Can one ground universal human rights in the Islamic tradition? How do secular notions of human rights -- and those derived from other religious traditions -- compare with Islamic perspectives? Does the secular and democratic state pose a threat to Islam? Or might it in fact provide the best possible gurantee of the rights of Muslim citizens?. Two leading Muslim scholars, Talal Asad and Abdullahi An-Naim, discussed these questions with Jose Casanova, Professor of Sociology and Senior Fellow in th...

September 28, 2009 | Talal Asad

Reflections on the Origins of Human Rights

The enormous academic interest in human rights is reflected in several excellent histories. Although there has been some disagreement over the origins of human rights, most scholars acknowledge their modern European provenance. In his talk, Talal Asad took it for granted that their origins do not make human rights inappropriate to non-European cultures. Through a discussion of two recent contributions -- John Headley's The Europeanization of the World; On the Origins of Human Rights and Democ...

September 24, 2009

After September 11th: Change in the Academy?

Panelists discussed the frequent observation that the attacks of 2001 “changed everything” and how scholars and disciplines have adapted or changed their approaches and topics, if at all, in the post-9/11 world....

September 16, 2009 | Séamus Finn

Faith-Based Socially Responsible Investing and the Economic Crisis

Rev. Séamus P. Finn OMI addressed the implications of the global financial and economic crisis in his presentation at the Berkley Center on September 16, 2009. The crisis is unique in the extent of its reach (global), the scale of its impact (trillions of dollars of capital destroyed); the genesis of the problem (at the center - Wall Street - and not the periphery); and the role of the state (s) in response (bailouts and stimulus packages).

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September 15, 2009 | Akbar Ahmed

"Journey into America" Film Screening and Ramadan Iftar Dinner

“Journey into America” is a project led by Ambassador Akbar Ahmed examining the evolution of American identity through the lens of the American Muslim community. Sponsored by the Brookings Institution, American University, and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, the project investigates how Islam tests the boundaries of the core American values of freedom, civil liberties, and society's acceptance of others. The experience of the Muslim community a...

September 11, 2009 | Simon Cohen

'The Other 9/11' – Faith, Hope and the Media

What is the role and responsibility of the media in a post 9/11 era? How can we protect ourselves from images that leave us feeling helpless, fearful and insecure? In his presentation, Simon Cohen, Managing Director of the London-based Global Tolerance, drew out the example of the “other 9/11” – September 11, 1906, when Gandhi first deployed his method of nonviolent resistance. By comparing both anniversaries and their legacies he explored the unparalleled power of the media to influence pe...

September 10, 2009

Welcome Week Student Open House

The Berkley Center hosted a Welcome Week hors d'œuvre open house on September 10, 2009 from 4:00 to 5:30 P.M. The event was held at the Berkley Center where students were invited to learn about employment and programmatic opportunities at the Center....

June 23, 2009 | Eric Patterson

Faculty Development Seminar: The Religious Dynamics of War and Peace

U.S. and associated armed forces, including interagency and non-governmental partners, are involved in regions of the world where issues of religion and identity can both drive conflict and promote reconciliation. To date, however, religion-related issues have played very little role in military leadership training. In order to further understanding among officers, Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and National Defense University’s Institute for the St...

May 1, 2009 | Thomas Getman

Away from Evangelicalism: Reflections on Changes at World Vision

As they operate in ever more diverse contexts, faith-based humanitarian organizations face important questions about their identities. As the top diplomat for World Vision, a humanitarian organization with a $2.6 billion annual budget, 40,000 employees, and an established Christian identity, Thomas Getman grappled with these questions, searching for a way of working that respected the organization’s faith heritage while embracing the pluralistic contexts in which it now operates. In this event...

April 27, 2009 | Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

Islam and the Secular State

What is the proper relationship between Islamic law and the state in modern Muslim societies? In this talk, distinguished human rights activist and legal scholar Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im discussed his most recent work around this critical question, speaking in favor of secular politics from his perspective as a devout Muslim. He posited that the coercive enforcement of religious law is contrary to the basic principles of Islam, which emphasize the importance of personal conviction and free choice...

April 15, 2009 | Francisca Cho

How to be an Enlightened Materialist: A Buddhist View of "Religion and Science"

The reigning model for the current engagement between Buddhism and science is to scientifically test the effects of Buddhist meditation in the hope of learning more about the brain and the physiological benefits of contemplative practices. Some people worry that this form of engagement can potentially diminish Buddhism by neglecting its own history and values as scientists take the lead in determining what is important and true about Buddhism. In this talk, Cho and Squier proposed a completely di...

April 15, 2009 | Thomas Farr et al.

International Religious Freedom – How Important is it to America?

What role should the promotion of international religious freedom play in American foreign policy? This event convened a panel of three experts -- Akbar Ahmed, Allen Hertzke, and Andrew Natsios -- for a conversation with Thomas Farr about his new book, World of Faith and Freedom: Why Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security (2008). The book argues that the advancement of religious freedom should be a central component of US foreign policy, but that it has been neglected ove...

April 15, 2009 | Liyong Dai

Understanding Contemporary Religious Pluralism in China

The religious landscape in China has unique features that are poorly understood outside the country. While Buddhism, Christianity, and other "World Relgions" are present in the country, China is also home to a rich array of traditional religious practices. Contemporary social forms of Chinese religions fall into four basic types, each with complex historical roots: Confucclesia (the Confucian Assemby), Forest (a space for certain Buddhist and Daoist practices), Jianghu (the "gray" public sphere, ...

April 7, 2009 | Shaun Casey

The Making of a Catholic President

The 1960 presidential election, won ultimately by John F. Kennedy, was one of the closest and most contentious in American history. From the outset, Kennedy saw the religion issue as the single most important obstacle on his road to the White House. At this event Shaun Casey presented his new book, The Making of a Catholic President, a fascinating account of how the Kennedy campaign transformed the "religion question" from a liability into an asset. Casey also reveals, for the first tim...

April 2, 2009 | E.J. Dionne, Jr.

New Challenges for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

The Berkley Center hosted a symposium which addressed the future possibilities and challenges facing the rechristened White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Panelists E.J. Dionne, Ira C. Lupu, Melissa Rogers, and Stanley Carlson-Thies addressed issues related to the President Obama's reconfiguration of the Office's mission. including whether to bar religious groups from using religion as a basis for hiring, and how to pursue common ground on divisive "culture wars" issue...

March 30, 2009 | Mayfair Yang

Ritual Economy and Religious Revival in Rural Southeast China

The “Wenzhou Model” is often touted in China as a successful model of rural economic development and rural industrialization. Based on privatized household production, flourishing commodity markets, and rapid urbanization and industrialization, the local people of Wenzhou have rapidly transformed themselves from being one of China’s poorest rural areas in the 1970’s to one of its most prosperous today. This talk showed how the Wenzhou Model as described by economists and sociologists ha...

March 26, 2009 | Michael Szonyi

Secularization Theory and the Study of Chinese Religions

Over the course of the last half-century, evidence from China has been used first to support and later to confound simplistic arguments about the decline of religion in the face of modernity. Without launching a defense of secularization theory in general, Dr. Michael Szonyi argued that there is something to be gained from situating scholarship on Chinese religion in relation to recent debates in the theory. He suggested on the one hand that secularization theory can be a useful tool in understa...

March 24, 2009 | MJ Akbar

From Iraq to Pakistan: The Arc of Turbulence

On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the Berkley Center and the Office of the President of Georgetown University hosted "From Iraq to Afghanistan: The Arc of Turbulence" featuring MJ Akbar on the geopolitical consequences of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.The US military presence in the region has unintentionally strengthened the regional position of Iran, America's principal foe, and undermined its principal ally, Pakistan. Instability in Pakistan, a country that combines toxic ideology and nucle...

March 18, 2009 | E.J. Dionne, Jr.

The Roots of Faith in Public Service: A Conversation with EJ Dionne and Tim Shriver

On Wednesday, March 18, 2009, the Berkley Center and Georgetown's Public Policy Institute sponsored a conversation between non-profit leader and Washington Post 'On Faith' columnist Tim Shriver and Georgetown faculty member E.J. Dionne. They discussed the role of faith in their lives as they charted their own careers in public service. More generally, they also considered the roles of faith and service in the education of youth, public policy leaders and foreign policy decision makers today.
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March 13, 2009 | Katherine Marshall

"True Wealth of Nations": A Workshop exploring Project Progress

On Friday, March 13, 2009, the Berkley Center and the Woodstock Theological Center hosted a workshop presented by the True Wealth of Nations research project, a part of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies. Attended by approximately 15 scholars and policy advisers from Georgetown, the World Bank, and elsewhere, the workshop focused on the project’s central proposition: that the economic and cultural criteria identified in the tradition of Catholic social thought provide an effective path...

February 23, 2009 | Geshe Thupten Jinpa

Buddhism and Science: How Far Can the Dialogue Proceed?

The field of neuroscience has emerged as one of the most promising and potentially fruitful areas for engagement between Buddhism and modern science. Ongoing conversations between scientists and Buddhist scholars, many featuring the personal participation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, have moved from the realm of theoretical discussion into actual clinical research. Today, rigorous experiments involve Buddhist monks not simply as subjects to be investigated but as active participants in the des...

February 13, 2009 | Erica Bornstein

A Nexus of Suspicion: On the Ethics of Humanitarianism and Trust

A dynamic tension exists in practices of giving: while impulsive philanthropic giving allows no claims on the donor by the recipient, welfare-oriented giving transforms the recipient into a claimant with rights. These conflicting pressures on giving frame this examination of contemporary humanitarian and philanthropic practice in New Delhi, and its relation to sacred Hindu conceptions of dān (donation) in light of the response to the 2004 tsunami disaster. The February 13, 2009 talk, part of an ...

February 9, 2009 | Donald S. Lopez, Jr.

Buddhism and Science: A Brief History

In the debates about the relationship between religion and science, some have argued that among the religions of the world, it is Buddhism—with its lack of a creator deity and its natural law of karma—that is most compatible with modern science. In this lecture, Donald Lopez provided a history of the various associations of Buddhism with science, beginning with the polemical responses of Buddhist monks to Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century and moving to the present day and the v...

January 30, 2009 | Katherine Marshall et al.

Consultation on Faith-Inspired Organizations and Development in Latin America

On January 30-31, 2009, Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) hosted a consultation in Antigua, Guatemala on the role of faith-inspired organizations in responding to development challenges in Latin America. The meeting brought together practitioners, religious leaders from a range of faith traditions, and academics to review major issues facing the region.

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January 29, 2009 | E.J. Dionne, Jr. et al.

Brooks, Dionne, and Tippett Discuss the Legacy of Reinhold Niebuhr and the Future of Christian Realism

David Brooks and E.J. Dionne, Jr. discussed the lasting impact of Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism on American political and theological ideas with public radio host Krista Tippett. They addressed how Christian Realism presents an enduring option for many aspects of our political life, from foreign policy and the war on terror to issues about the religion's role in politics. As Barack Obama took office, there was opportunity to reflect both upon the past presidential election and the future...

December 12, 2008 | Katherine Marshall et al.

Leadership Consultation on Scaling up Faith Community Impact against Malaria

CIFA (Center for Inter-faith Action on Global Poverty) hosted a Leadership Consultation on Scaling up Faith Community Impact against Malaria at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on December 12, 2008. The Consultation, co-sponsored by the Berkley Center, included leaders from the faith-inspired development community and from global organizations active around the issue. The goal of the Consultation was to assess the landscape of faith contributions on malaria, and to discuss possible ways...

December 8, 2008 | Richard Stearns et al.

The Role of Faith-Based Groups in Foreign Assistance

Sponsored by the Post-Conflict Reconstruction (PCR) Project and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, this discussion explored the Role of Faith-Based Groups in Foreign Assistance. The CSIS' (Center for Strategic and International Studies) goal for the session was to discuss how faith-based groups like World Vision could contribute to U.S. smart power in the new Obama administration. The event featured Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, with com...

December 5, 2008 | Charles Villa-Vicencio

Prosecutions and Conflict Resolution: Is the ICC Using Africa as a Guinea Pig?

On December 5, 2008, The Berkley Center and the Master of Arts Program in Conflict Resolution hosted an event during which Charles Villa-Vicencio, Visiting Fellow at the Berkley Center, discussed recent cases before the International Criminal Court, with a focus on tensions at the interface between justice and sustainable reconciliation and peace in Africa. While acknowledging that the 2002 ratification of the ICC constitutes a major step forward in the international struggle for human rights, Vi...

November 14, 2008 | Hiro Miyazaki

Hope in the Economy

In this lecture, Professor Miyazaki examined personal hope as an emergent locus of articulation between the secular and the nonsecular in public debates about political and economic futures in the U.S. and Japan. From the recent encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI to the speeches of Barack Obama, hope has emerged as a key concept in the political theology of the present moment. Hiro Miyazaki seeks to bring the political-theological deployment of hope in conversation with current debates about the...

November 13, 2008 | Peter Phan

The Holy Spirit and the Universality of God's Saving Grace in Human History with Peter Phan

Peter Phan of the Theology Department spoke as part of the Religion and Religions seminar series sponsored by the Berkley Center's Program on the Church and Interreligious Dialogue. Over the course of the semester, Georgetown professors from a variety of fields addressed how religion and religions intersect. An ongoing theme was whether and how interreligious dialogue sheds new light on the category of religion, advances our understanding of it, makes it more complicated, or diminishes the cla...

October 30, 2008 | Felicitas Opwis

Interreligious Dialogue: Chances and Perils with Felicitas Opwis

Felicitas Opwis of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies spoke as part of the "Religion and Religions" seminar series sponsored by the Berkley Center's Program on the Church and Interreligious Dialogue. Over the course of the semester, Georgetown professors from a variety of fields addressed how religion and religions intersect. An ongoing theme was whether and how interreligious dialogue sheds new light on the category of religion, advances our understanding of it, makes it m...

October 29, 2008

Seminar on Secularism and Religious Pluralism in the US, France, Turkey, and India

The United States, France, Turkey, and India represent four secular democratic states with distinctively different patterns of religion/state separation and distinctively different modes of religious pluralism. This seminar examined comparatively the historical patterns of constitution of the four secular regimes, as well as the contemporary contentious debates on secularism, religion, and democratic politics in all four countries.

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October 28, 2008 | Rajeev Bhargava

What the World Can Learn from India's Religious and Secular Traditions

The world's largest democracy, India combines secular institutions with a vibrant religious pluralism. Bhargava discussed the tensions between the religious and the secular in India and explored the broader implications of the Indian case for how we conceptualize the relationship between religion, democracy, and modernity. Rajeev Bhargava has been the most articulate and spirited defender of Indian secularism as a unique vernacular, constitutional and institutional arrangement against the onsl...

October 27, 2008 | Katherine Marshall

Decent Shelter for All Meeting

Invitees discussed the role of faith-inspired organizations in global efforts to ensure decent housing for all persons. This project was part of the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs, and was supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD), and the World Bank’s Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics.

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October 23, 2008 | Charles Taylor

2008 Berkley Center Lectures with Charles Taylor: A More Adequate Narrative of Western Secularity

World-renowned philosopher Charles Taylor examined the picture that the narrative of Western secularity yields of our present situation, with particular attention to the phenomena of politico-religious mobilization in our time. This is the third of the 2008 Berkley Center lectures on the topic: Narratives of Secularity. The lectures surveyed the master narratives which have underpinned the secularization, explored more adequate ones, and hazarded a picture of the present predicament of religio...

October 22, 2008 | Charles Taylor

2008 Berkley Center Lectures with Charles Taylor: Disenchantment and Secularity

World-renowned philosopher Charles Taylor examined the complex relation between disenchantment and secularity in the West, including the different meanings of "disenchantment," and the implicit meanings behind notions of "re-enchantment." This was the second of the 2008 Berkley Center lectures on the topic: Narratives of Secularity. The lectures surveyed the master narratives which have underpinned secularization, explored more adequate ones, and hazarded a picture of the p...

October 21, 2008 | Charles Taylor

2008 Berkley Center Lectures with Charles Taylor: Narratives of Secularity

World-renowned philosopher Charles Taylor explored "Narratives of Secularity" in the 2008 Berkley Center Lectures. In his first lecture, Taylor explored the master narratives of modernity -- sound in some respects, but questionable in others -- that provide the matrix within which secularization theories have been advanced. In a series of three lectures at Georgetown University, Taylor surveyed the master narratives that have underpinned secularization, explored more adequate ones, and ...

October 15, 2008 | Michael Kessler

Political Theologies: Past, Present, and Future

This event was the inaugural conference of the Berkley Center’s project on The Future of Political Theologies, which inquires about the meaning of religion’s role in politics -- especially about the enduring way that human reflection continues -- even in the modern West -- to seek legitimacy for political and legal affairs in religious narratives and first principles. Leading thinkers and practitioners from within each tradition – and critics from outside the traditions – came togethe...

October 15, 2008 | Caitlin Zaloom

God's Economy: Living with Debt in Evangelical America featuring Caitlin Zaloom

Caitlin Zaloom, Assistant Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU, gave a lecture entitled "God’s Economy: Living with Debt in Evangelical America." For contemporary American evangelicals, debt meets God in financial ministry, which offers help for the financial trials so widespread today. Church teachings encourage believers to bring their intimate relationship with God into the marketplace, to resist the powers that tempt them to keep on buying, and to redirect their consumpti...

October 14, 2008 | Katherine Marshall

Governance and Faith: Consultation on Issues and Next Steps

Faith leaders and institutions play myriad roles in social fields but broad and sustained engagement on public anti-corruption and good governance issues has been somewhat muted. Why is this? And how might faith leaders mobilize to play a greater role in these areas globally? This event explored current efforts by faith leaders and institutions to address governance challenges internationally and possible avenues towards more effective engagement. The work forms part of the Luce/SFS Program ...

October 10, 2008 | Thomas Farr et al.

The Future of US Religious Freedom Policy: Recommendations for the New Administration

The Berkley Center hosted the third of three symposia commemorating the tenth anniversary of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Act in October 2008. Panelists addressed U.S. IRF policy as it relates to democracy promotion, civil society, religion-based terrorism, law (domestic and international) and public diplomacy. The previous two symposia, on the origins of the Act and its implementation, were held in February and April 2008. The series culminated in a brief, "Recommendations for the O...

October 7, 2008

Seminar on Faith and Community with Youth Leaders from the Balkans

The Berkley Center hosted a dialogue with youth leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, who are visiting the U.S. through a State Department-sponsored program that seeks to strengthen the role that clerics, educators, and community leaders – influential forces among youth groups – play in creating religious tolerance and understanding. The International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) hosts the program, "Faith and Community: A Dialogue," to provide o...

October 1, 2008 | Dennis McManus

New Frontiers for Interreligious Dialogue, with Dennis McManus

Dennis McManus of the Theology Department spoke on New Frontiers for Interreligious Dialogue as part of the "Religion and Religions" seminar series sponsored by the Berkley Center's Program on the Church and Interreligious Dialogue. Over the course of the semester, Georgetown professors from a variety of fields addressed how religion and religions intersect. An ongoing theme was whether and how interreligious dialogue sheds new light on the category of religion, advances our...

September 30, 2008 | Jorge Cela, S.J.

Promoting Education for All in Latin America: Fe y Alegria's Experience and Inspiration

Latin America is the world's most unequal region, with 40% of the total population affected by poverty. In the 21st century, education remains the key to reducing the gap between rich and poor, but much work remains to achieve an inclusive and accountable cross-sector partnership on education and development in the region. Jorge Cela, S.J. spoke at the Berkley Center about how faith-based organizations play a key role in this effort, highlighting the work of Fe y Alegria, the largest ...

September 26, 2008 | Jane Guyer

Prophecy and the Near Future: New Observations featuring Jane Guyer

Jane I. Guyer, Professor of Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University presented a paper entitled Prophecy and the Near Future: New Observations. This paper is one in a series of five that address economic theory, policy and people’s practice in our present moment of increased uncertainty. Others are devoted to confusion, hope, price, and rhetoric. They result from the need to frame better the key questions we engage with during intensive fieldwork on current economic life, which...

September 18, 2008 | José Casanova et al.

First Berkley/Van Leer Workshop

At the first Berkley/Van Leer First workshop, participants engaged the theme "Religious/Political Identities in the Mediterranean" from a variety of historical perspectives. The first session reviewed "The Mediterranean from Late Antiquity to 15th Century: Empires, World-Systems, Civilizations, Religious Regimes", with papers on Catholicism, Islam, and the great capital cities of the era. The next session focused on the region's four major religious traditions: Latin Christianity, Eastern Chris...

September 16, 2008 | John Borelli

When Mission Includes Dialogue and Dialogue Becomes Mission

John Borelli, special assistant to President DeGoia for interreligious initiatives, addressed the Catholic Church's embrace of dialogue in the decades after Vatican II (1962-65) and some of the internal and external tensions it has occassioned. The Council used the term "mission" to describe its activity, and the relationship between mission and dialogue remains a complex issue with several unresolved theological questions. If the object of mission is conversion, then any other motives ...

September 11, 2008 | Yahya Hendi

Berkley Center/Muslim Student Association Ramadan Iftaar Dinner 2008

Every year the Berkley Center co-sponsors an Iftaar dinner with the Muslim Students Association. Faculty and students come together to break the fast of Ramadan and enjoy fellowship and conversation with one or more featured speakers. In 2008 Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, President of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy, shared some reflections of Islam in America seven years after September 11, and Imam Yahya Hendi, Georgetown's Muslim chaplain, underscored the continued importance of int...

September 10, 2008

Project Rebirth: Film and Understanding Our Common Bonds of Loss

9/11 Anniversary Symposium

Project Rebirth: Film and Understanding Our Common Bonds of Loss explored the use of film and other media to help individuals and communities rebuild from catastrophic events and break down barriers to interreligious and intercultural understanding. This was an inaugural event in a new partnership between Georgetown and Project Rebirth. This major film chronicle...

September 8, 2008 | Peter van der Veer

Comparing Secularism in India and China

Peter van der Veer, University Professor at Utrecht, explored different patterns of secularism in India and China, with special attention to the historical legacies of colonialism and the nation-building projects first undertaken in the 19th century. The government hostility towards religion in China, evident both before and after the 1949 revolution, was in part a reaction to the negative colonial and missionary experience. In India, a more constructive relationship between secularism, nation...

September 4, 2008 | Jacques Berlinerblau

Religion and Religions Seminar Series featuring Jacques Berlinerblau

Jacques Berlinerblau of the Program for Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University spoke as part of the "Religion and Religions" seminar series sponsored by the Berkley Center's Program on the Church and Interreligious Dialogue. Over the course of the semester, Georgetown professors from a variety of fields addressed how religion and religions intersect. An ongoing theme was whether and how interreligious dialogue sheds new light on the category of religion, advances our understanding...

June 24, 2008 | Katherine Marshall

Workshop on Global Development with Faith-Inspired Organizations in Africa and Europe

Engaged practitioners met in the Hague to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations that are inspired by religious faith and to explore the policy implications that emerge from their interactions with development organizations. The purpose was to take stock of the wide range of ongoing work by different organizations that are, in varying ways, inspired by religious faith, but more importantly, to explore the policy implications that emerge from their interactions ...

May 28, 2008 | Mohamed Magid

Who is Jesus? Muslim and Christian Reflections

This Berkley Center conversation, sponsored by the Buxton Initiative, featured a spirited discussion between Imam Mohamed Magid and Dr. Nigel M. de S. Cameron, who explored points of agreement and discord between both traditions on the person of Jesus and his relevance for interfaith dialogue today. While Jesus occupies an important place in the Islamic and Christian traditions, each religion also differs significantly in its approach to who he was. For Christians Jesus is both an historical f...

April 29, 2008 | Jay Hein

The President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: A Quiet Revolution in Addressing Need

What role do faith-based initiatives play in US foreign policy? Jay Hein, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, outlined the efforts of the Bush Administration to collaborate with faith-inspired organizations, particularly in Africa. Through targeted funding and cooperative networks, the White House program has helped to support the struggle against HIV/AIDS and malaria, to draw public attention to pressing development challenges...

April 23, 2008 | John Langan, S.J.

Religious Voices on Health Care Reform

Although medical technology is advancing at an astounding pace, health care in the United States is both uneven and unequal. At the same time, there is little understanding of the essential role religion plays in health care decisions. When patients interact with the health care system, they are significantly influenced by their religious values, as are health care workers themselves. What can religious voices bring to the current debates about health care reform? The speakers shared the moral...

April 22, 2008

Advancing Interreligous Understanding Dinner

This was the first of an annual series of dinners convened to bring together students and faculty in collaboration and celebration of their important work towards advancing interreligious understanding and dialogue on campus and in the community. The evening began with dinner, entertainment from a spoken word artist, HaWaH, and small group discussions led by student leaders on how to improve interreligious dialogue on campus and incorporate the role of "faith" into the discussion surrounding dive...

April 22, 2008 | Michael Ross

Oil, Islam, and Gender

Women have made less progress towards gender equality in the Middle East than in any other region. Many observers claim this is due to the region's Islamic traditions. Michael Ross argues, on the contrary, that oil production has caused women to lag behind in many other countries, including Nigeria, Venezuela, and Russia. In other words, oil - not Islam - is harmful for women in the Middle East. Speaking at Georgetown University, Ross argued that oil production reduces economic opportunities for ...

April 21, 2008 | Thomas Farr et al.

U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: Assessing the Results

This event was the second in a series of three symposia on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Act of 1998, which mandated the promotion of religious liberty around the world as an element of US foreign policy. Its focus was on the impact of US international religious freedom policy, which particular emphasis on its place in overall US strategy and the response of the Muslim world. Other symposia addressed the origins of the policy (February 2008) and...

April 18, 2008 | J. Lorand Matory

Free to Be a Slave: Slavery as a Metaphor in the Afro-Atlantic Religions

Scholars tend to regard enslavement as a form of disability inflicted upon the enslaved. This event confronted the irony that not all black Atlantic peoples and religions conceive of slavery as an equally deficient condition or as the opposite of freedom and other rights that are due to respected human beings. Indeed, the religions of enslaved Afro-Latin Americans and their descendants—including Brazilian Candomblé, Cuban and Cuban diaspora Ocha (or Santería), and Haitian Vodou—are far more...

April 10, 2008 | Katherine Marshall

Religion, Women, and Development

Research findings, human rights principles, practical experience, and common sense all underscore the pivotal role that women play in social change, and that includes fighting poverty and working for social justice. Religion has central importance for women in far corners of the earth, across virtually all faith traditions. But the nexus of religion, women and development has been little explored. This discussion took place on the eve of the Washington National Cathedral's Breakthrough Summit,...

April 10, 2008

Seminar on Religion and Society with Visiting Indonesian Scholars

The Berkley Center hosted a seminar with visiting Indonesian scholars around the topic: "Religion and Society: A Dialogue between the US and Indonesia." The 12 scholars visited Georgetown as part of a State Department sponsored program, and the discussion centered on religious pluralism as it intersects with state and society in the US, Indonesia, and around the world.

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April 9, 2008 | Sam Brownback

A Conversation about Religion and Politics with Senator Sam Brownback

In this discussion with President John J. DeGioia, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) explained how he engages with domestic and global politics as a person of faith. Senator Brownback has taken the lead in numerous legislative battles in defense of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, beginning at the moment of conception. On issues of religious freedom, Senator Brownback is deeply "concerned about the tendency of the courts in recent years to weaken the First Amendment rights of religio...

April 3, 2008 | E.J. Dionne, Jr.

Souled Out? Faith and Politics After the Religious Right

E.J. Dionne was joined by Ray Suarez, a senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, to discuss Dionne's new book, Souled Out, and the future of religion's role in American public life; President John J. DeGioia introduced the speakers. The religious and political winds are changing. Tens of millions of religious Americans are reclaiming faith from those who would abuse it for narrow, partisan, and ideological purposes. And more and more secular Americans are discov...

April 3, 2008 | Chester Gillis

How can Catholic Identity be Protected?

In this discussion, Fr. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C, and Chester Gillis offered their thoughts on the question: to be Catholic, does a university need a faculty composed predominantly of Catholics, or can a majority non-Catholic faculty pursue higher education within a Catholic tradition? Holy Cross priest and Notre Dame history professor Wilson Miscamble, who authored the article "The Faculty 'Problem': How Can Catholic Identity be Preserved?" (America September, 2007), argued tha...

April 3, 2008

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Dr. Sayyed Hossein Nasr

As part of the Nostra Aetate Lecture Series, Dr. Sayyed Hossein Nasr spoke on the topic of "The State of Religious Dialogue: 40 years after Nostra Aetate." Dr. Sayyed Hossein Nasr is one of the world's leading experts on Islamic science and spirituality, is University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University. Professor Nasr is the author of numerous books including Man and Nature: the Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man (Kazi Publications, 1998), Religion and the Orde...

April 1, 2008 | Sharon Kugler

Women in Interreligious Dialogue

Why have women not contributed as much as men to the literature discussing the theories and practice of interreligious dialogue? Theologian Maura O'Neill and Yale Chaplain Sharon Kugler examined the role of women in dialogue. In an environment long dominated by patriarchy, they spoke about the challenges for women in dialogue and about the special talents and viewpoints that women bring to interreligious dialogue....

March 25, 2008 | Michael Kessler

Building Interreligious Understanding on the 21st Century College Campus

This lunch meeting and panel discussion was part of the launch for the Berkley Center project on Undergraduate Learning and Interreligious Understanding. Panelists addressed the initial findings of a new poll of Georgetown undergraduates about their attitudes towards their own religious traditions and the traditions of others. This multi-year study will deepen our knowledge about connections between undergraduate learning and interreligious understanding in an era of growing religious and cultura...

March 14, 2008 | Richard Land et al.

Religion, Migration, and Foreign Policy: Tensions in Immigration and Immigrant Integration

In this panel co-sponsored with the Institute for the Study of International Migration, participants discussed how immigrants are transforming religious life in their destination countries. The event addressed tensions in immigration policy and explored the religious dimension of immigrant integration, particularly the impact of immigrants on religious diversity in the United States and the relationship between immigrants and mainstream religious denominations. Panelists Bishop Nicholas DiMarzo...

March 13, 2008 | José Casanova et al.

The Stillborn God? A Conversation about the Future of Political Theologies

Two leading contemporary thinkers, Mark Lilla from Columbia University and the Berkley Center’s José Casanova, explored the problems of political theologies in a conversation on the issues raised in Lilla’s recent book, The Stillborn God. In his book, Lilla challenges his readers to reconsider the genealogy and consequences of the “great separation” of religion and politics brought about by the Enlightenment and to look anew at the pervasive role of re...

March 10, 2008 | Abdolkarim Soroush et al.

The Islamic Political Tradition: Can It Be Saved?

In this event sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Abdolkarim Souroush and Paul Heck addressed the various issues facing the Islamic political tradition in the modern age. This Islamic political tradition represents a rich array of dialogue on the welfare of human society; however, this tradition is increasingly threatened by extremists committed to militant ideologies. During this conversation, Souroush and Heck revisited the politics of Islam in order to s...

February 25, 2008 | Thomas Farr et al.

Why Religious Freedom? The Origins and Promise of US International Religious Freedom Policy

This event was the first in a series of three symposia on religious freedom on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Act of 1998, which mandated the promotion of religious liberty around the world as an element of US foreign policy. This first symposium addressed the origins of US IRF policy in both domestic politics and international developments. Subsequent symposia, held in April and October 2008, discussed the development of that policy to date and ...

February 8, 2008 | John L. Jackson, Jr.

Black Judah: Race, Gender, and the Twelve Tribes of Transnationalism

In this event co-sponsored by the Georgetown University Anthropology Program, John L. Jackson, Jr. discussed his fieldwork exploring how Black Hebrew Israelites in New York City, Washington DC, and Israel construct a globally diverse, spiritual community, as well as their implications for the Black Diaspora.  This event is part of the 2007-2008 Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs Lecture Series on Religion, Identity, and Race, which features well-known anthropologists of ...

February 5, 2008 | Jaime Pedro Gonçalves

Peace from Africa: The Mozambique Story

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jaime Pedro Gonçalves, Archbishop of Beira & Apostolic Administrator of Quelimane, Republic of Mozambiqu, gave a lecture at Georgetown University on the peace process in Mozambique. After a long struggle resulting in Mozambique's independence from Portugal, the country slipped into a 16-year civil war, with a million dead and 4.5 million refugees. With neither side nearing military victory, Archbishop Jaime Pedro Gonçalves, two members o...

February 4, 2008 | Sherman Jackson

The New Gama'ah Islamiyah: Prospects and Implications for US-Muslim World Relations

In this lecture, Sherman Jackson of the University of Michigan reviewed US-Muslim relations worldwide and identified the challenges in fostering such relationships. He especially focused on the varying influence of the Gama'ah Islamiyah, an Islamic extremist organization based in South-East Asia. ...

January 30, 2008 | Todd Wintner et al.

Religious Advocates: A Force in US Politics?

The 2007 Berkley Center Undergraduate Fellows Report entitled “Religious Advocates: A Force in US Politics?” was launched Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at the Berkley Center. The launch included discussion of the report from Prof. Jonathan Ladd and Prof. Clyde Wilcox of the Department of Government at Georgetown University as well as Prof. Mark Rozell, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. The event was moderated by project leaders and co-authors Jenna Cossman (COL &rs...

January 29, 2008 | Jim Wallis et al.

Debating Jim Wallis's "The Great Awakening"

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and Sojourners co-hosted an evening of discussion and debate on Jim Wallis's latest book, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post–Religious Right America. The presentation included a dialogue with E.J. Dionne Jr., a professor at Georgetown University and long-time op-ed columnist for The Washington Post. Wallis, bestselling author and international commentator on religion and public life, is...

January 17, 2008 | Michael Melchior et al.

Religion in Israeli Society, Politics, and Foreign Policy

The Berkley Center, in cooperation with the Program on Jewish Civilization, hosted a panel on Religion in Israeli Society, Politics, and Foreign Policy to examine the effects of religion and religious pluralism in Israeli domestic politics and foreign policy. The state of Israel lies at the center of U.S. foreign policy concerns in the greater Middle East. Its strategic location, its volatile political-security relationship with the Palestinian Authority, and the determined c...

January 15, 2008 | José Casanova et al.

Islam, Catholicism, and the Secular: A Conversation with José Casanova and Abdolkarim Soroush

Two leading contemporary thinkers, José Casanova and Abdolkarim Soroush, explored the role of religion in politics in a public conversation on Tuesday, January 15. The event looked to address the central contemporary challenge of how to create and maintain open, democratic societies in a globalizing world marked by growing cultural and religious pluralism. Both scholars have joined the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University: Casanova as a Senior Fellow a...

January 14, 2008 | Winnifred Fallers Sullivan

Seminar with Winnifred Sullivan: The Intersection of Law and Religion

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs hosted a seminar with Winnifred Sullivan on religion and law at Georgetown University's Mortara Center. ...

December 17, 2007 | Katherine Marshall et al.

Symposium on Global Development and Faith-Inspired Organizations in the Muslim World

In December 2007, the Berkley Center and the Center for International and Regional Studies of the School of Foreign Service in Qatar hosted a symposium in Doha on the role of faith-based organizations in global development in the Muslim World. The meeting brought together a combination of practitioners and leading academics to review major issues facing the Muslim world. Major issues of focus at the Doha meeting included building better knowledge of institutional arrangements and trends in Mu...

December 3, 2007 | Michael Fischer

Purity, Danger & Violence: Torn Religions in the Contemporary World

In an event hosted by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Michael M. J. Fischer addressed issues of religion and violence.

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November 28, 2007 | Zahra Mohammadzadeh et al.

Immigration, Integration, and Islam

In November 2007, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) hosted a panel on immigration, integration, and religion with insights from German politicians who hail from immigrant backgrounds. The participants focused on the challenges facing Muslim immigrants attempting to integrate into Western societies.

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November 14, 2007 | Paul Heck et al.

Symposium on Martyrdom in Comparative Perspective

This one-day symposium looked at the phenomenon of martyrdom across the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How has legitimate martyrdom been defined by the leaders of these three faith traditions and how have believers responded to it? What purpose does martyrdom serve? Are there particular circumstances that encourage people to sacrifice their lives for the sake of God? Panelists aimed to bring clarity to these issues by offering insights from the latest thinking on martyr...

November 13, 2007 | Yossi Shain et al.

Kinship and Diasporas in International Affairs: The Jews as Paradigmatic Examples

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, in association with the Program for Jewish Civilization, the Natural Resource Center on the Middle East, and the Mortara Center for International Studies, hosted a panel discussion with Yossi Shain on his book Kinships and Diasporas in International Affairs.

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November 7, 2007 | Daniel Philpott

Explaining the Wild Variation in Religious Politics: A Discussion with Daniel Philpott

In this discussion hosted by the Berkley Center, Daniel Philpott analyzes the global influence of religion and the ambiguous relationship between religion and politics.  ...

November 7, 2007 | Hans Ucko

Pitfalls and Potentials in Interreligious Dialogue

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs hosted a seminar with Dr. Han Ucko on interreligious and interreligious dialogue....

November 7, 2007 | Daniel Philpott

When God Means War, When God Means Peace: Explaining the Wild Variation in Religious Politics

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs sponsored a lecture by Professor Daniel Philpott of the University of Notre Dame on November 7, 2007 at Georgetown University.  Philpott explored the diverse political pursuits of religious leaders and communities in an effort to uncover an explanation for the wild variation in religious politics.  He then proposed that the varied political pursuits of religious communities is rooted in their relationship with the state, an argum...

November 5, 2007 | Inon Schenker et al.

Seminar of Faith Communities and HIV/AIDS

This seminar included a presentation and discussion of the Berkley Center's report, Faith Communities Engage the HIV/AIDS Crisis: Lessons Learned and Paths Forward. The report, based on work supported by a grant from the Henry R. Luce Foundation, maps the involvement of religious organizations and religious-secular cooperation around the global health crisis. The meeting featured a presentation by Dr. Inon Schenker, Israel's leading professional in HIV/AIDS prevention, and a discussion o...

October 19, 2007

American Political Science Association (APSA) Meeting

October 18, 2007

Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Local Practice, Global Impact

The National Bureau of Asian Research sponsored a one day symposium entitled "Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia: Local Practice, Global Impact” on October 18, 2007 at Georgetown University. The symposium brought together leading academics and practitioners to cover a broad array of topics relating to Islamic finance in Southeast Asian. The following questions guided discussion:
--How are Islamic principles interpreted and applied across the regions and what explains the variations in t...

October 16, 2007 | John Esposito

Symposium on the State of West-Islamic Dialogue

Georgetown University hosted an all-day Symposium on the State of West-Islamic Dialogue on October 16, 2007. The symposium brought together international thought leaders and public figures to address West-Islamic dialogue in its religious, political, and social dimensions. The symposium was convened in the context of the World Economic Forum's planned First Annual Report on the State of West-Islamic Dialogue. The report, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University, is slated for p...

October 11, 2007 | Christopher Hitchens

Poison or Cure? Religious Belief in the Modern World

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs hosted a debate, dialogue and discussion with Christopher Hitchens, prolific essayist and author, and Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University, concerning religious belief in the modern world on October 11, 2007 at Georgetown University. Michael Cromartie, Vice Pesident at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, moderated the debate....

October 2, 2007

Berkley Center/Muslim Student Association Ramadan Iftaar Dinner 2007

The Berkley Center yearly co-sponsors a Ramadan Iftaar dinner with the Muslim Students Association. Faculty and students come together to break the fast of Ramadan and enjoy fellowship and conversation with one or more featured speakers. In 2007 the Georgetown University MSA Alumni also joined in this yearly observance of Ramadan....

October 2, 2007 | Moses Port et al.

Aliens in America: Considering Post-9/11 Tensions Through Television Comedy

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs sponsored a viewing of two episodes of the new sitcom Aliens in America on October 2, 2007 at Georgetown University.  Following the viewing was a panel discussion with the show’s creators, Moses Port and Daivd Guarascio, Assistant Dean Bernie Cook, Dr. Debby Jaramillo, Dr. Laurie King-Irani, and Ambassador Cynthia Schneider.  Discussants focused on American attitudes about Muslims and Islam in a post-9/11 world. Co...

September 28, 2007

Religion and the Nuclear Scenario

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs sponsored this one-day seminar entitled "Religion and the Nuclear Scenario" on September 28, 2007 at Georgetown University. The seminar was a multi-disciplinary event incorporating the fields of political science, Middle East studies, religion, and psychology and examined the ways that religion can impact a nuclear exchange in the Middle East, although South Asia also entered the conversation. Discussants explored the extent to which ide...

September 18, 2007

Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs sponsored a brownbag discussion about the book, Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution (edited by David Little with the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding).  The discussion centered around the book’s main focus: 16 peacemakers who put their lives on the line in conflicts around the world and use religious texts and traditions as sources of inspiration and resource for conflict r...

September 11, 2007 | Thomas Farr

Islam, Constitutions & Durable Democracy: The Cases Of Iraq & Afghanistan

"Islam, Constitutions and Durable Democracy: The Cases of Iraq & Afghanistan" focused on the fragile democratic experiments in these two countries. In Iraq, sectarian conflict abetted by foreign terrorists is putting enormous pressure on a weak governing coalition. In Afghanistan, a resurgent Taliban is challenging the writ of Kabul's democratic government. The event looked to address what roles the two countries' respective constitutions, written by nationals but brokered by the United States...

September 10, 2007 | Dennis Ross

Restoring America's Standing in the Middle East

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs sponsored a lecture featuring Ambassador Dennis Ross on September 10, 2007 at Georgetown University.  Dennis Ross, integral in shaping US involvement in the Middle East peace process, discussed America’s role, influence, and image in the Middle East.  Ross also discussed his recently published book, Statecraft: And How to Restore America’s Standing in the World, and followed this discussion with a book-signin...

May 2, 2007 | David Rosen

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Rabbi David Rosen

This event was part of the Nostra Aetate Lecture Series and co-sponsored with the Office of the President. It featured Rabbi David Rosen, the President of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation, which maintains relations with other world religions....

April 23, 2007 | Ishani Chowdhury

Forum on Religion, Migration, and Foreign Policy

Experts from government, civil society, and academia met to discuss various issues related to the foreign policy impact of growing religious diversity due to immigration. Topics covered by the panelists in their presentations and then during the Q&A period varied widely. They ranged from the persecution of Hindus by Muslims in Bangladesh and their subsequent pursuit of asylum-seeker-status in the US and elsewhere; the relocation of Soviet Jewry in the US and Israel, and the status of Muslim minor...

April 17, 2007

Children of Abraham Interfaith Arts Week

The Children of Abraham was a new, endowed, annual interfaith event that attempted to use the shared artistic traditions of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities to foster dialogue, understanding, and peace. This was a cooperative effort of the Program in Performing Arts, the Program for Jewish Civilization, and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. The events were also co-sponsored by Campus Ministry, Hillel, the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for...

April 17, 2007 | Robert Schreiter

Faculty Seminar: Negotiating Identities And Change In Global Religion

The faculty seminar on Culture, Religion, and Globalization, under the leadership of Vincent Miller (Theology Department), met for the second time during the Spring 2007 semester. Leading the seminar was Robert Schreiter, a prominent Roman Catholic theologian....

April 16, 2007 | Katherine Marshall

Symposium on Faith-Inspired Organizations and Global Development Policy: U.S. and International Perspectives

The Symposium on Faith-Inspired Organizations and Global Development Policy: U.S. and International Perspectives, which featured both leading representatives of faith-based NGOs and policy analysts, focused its discussion on mobilizing public support, collaborating with national governments and international institutions, and implementing policy on the ground. The emphasis was on US-based NGOs that interact with national governments and international organizations across a range of issue areas, i...

April 12, 2007

Faculty Seminar on Religion and Development: Ethical Issues around US Foreign Assistance

The Faculty Seminar on Religion and Development: Ethical Issues Around US Foreign Assistance, hosted by Stephen Schwenke, addressed the many problems associated with foreign assistance. This event was a part of the the Seminar on Religion and Global Development forum, inaugurated in 2006, and was co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Initiative on International Development (Mortara Center). It is a forum for Georgetown faculty and members of the poli...

April 10, 2007 | Tariq Ramadan

The 2007 Berkley Center Lectures: Satellite Conversations with Tariq Ramadan

In April 2007 the Berkley Center hosted Tariq Ramadan over satellite feed from Europe to speak and answer questions on Islam and democracy, Muslim minorities in Western Europe, and Catholic-Muslim relations. Since July 2004 Ramadan has been unable to enter the United States. Shortly before he was to assume a professorship at Notre Dame University, his visa was revoked under the "ideological exclusion" provision of the Patriot Act. The visa denial is the subject of an ongoing legal ch...

April 4, 2007 | Eduard Ponarin

Nationalism into Islamism? The Volga-Ural Region

Eduard Ponarin, Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, European University at St. Petersburg gave a lecture, with commentary by Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Research Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University....

March 29, 2007 | Daniel Finn

Faculty Seminar on the Moral Nature of Markets

The Seminar on Religion and Global Development focused on the moral aspects of markets, dealing with the complex issues around religion and economics. Professor Daniel Finn led the discussion on the role of the moral content in assessing the justice of markets in the developing world.

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March 28, 2007 | Carol Lancaster

Symposium on Evangelicals and Foreign Policy

Co-sponsored with the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs, this symposium analyzed the effect that evangelicals have on foreign policy. Six core questions guided discussion:
--To what degree has Evangelical engagement around development agendas increased over the last decade, and how do you account for the increase?
--What issues and priorities do Evangelicals groups bring to global development policy, and how do they arrive at them?
--What form of advocacy coo...

March 27, 2007 | William Vendley

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Dr. William Vendley

In this event, co-sponsored with the Office of the President, Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of The World Conference of Religions for Peace, spoke about Nostra Aetate in the Public Sphere.

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March 27, 2007 | Tulasi Srinivas

Rethinking Religion and Globalization: The Transnational Sathya Sai Movement

Tulasi Srinivas used the example of the little known but successful contemporary Hindu-Muslim Sathya Sai Movement to examine how public, urban, religious practice and spiritual devotion productively function in a global frame. Using visual material from her eight-year-long transcontinental study, she analyzed how religious objects, sacred space, and devotional memory in the Sai tradition sharpen questions of "tradition" and "modernity" and "self" and "other.&...

March 16, 2007 | Thomas Banchoff

Conference on Religion and the Global Politics of Human Rights

Are “universal” human rights in fact an imposition of western or Christian ideas? Is democracy, the “rule of the people,” compatible with God’s law? How does religion inform – and impede – the struggle for human rights around the world? The Berkley Center conference on “Religion and the Global Politics of Human Rights” brought together leading anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and political scientists to explore questions on the ways ...

March 15, 2007 | Akbar Ganji

Religion and Democracy in Iran

Akbar Ganji spoke at the Berkley Center about the challenges of democracy in Iran on the cusp of the Center's 2007 conference on Religion and the Global Politics of Human Rights....

March 14, 2007 | Scott Lasensky

Making Peace Among Arabs and Israelis

On March 14, 2007, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Program for Jewish Civilization cosponsored a presentation on the newly developed United States Institute of Peace study of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations since 1991. The presentation of this study featured the Co-Director of the United States Institute of Peace, Scott Lasensky. Discussants spoke about the need to increase understanding of both achievement and missed opportunities in past Arab-Israeli negotiatio...

March 13, 2007 | Elizabeth Bucar

Good Hijab, Bad Hijab

In this presentation on March 13, 2007, Dr. Elizabeth Bucar discussed how two distinct cases of public hijabi practices can teach us about the productive power of the veil. Bucar explored the function of the veil in shifting Iranian political and ethical norms. Her presentation featured images from her fieldwork in Iran in 2004....

March 2, 2007 | Kjell Magne Bondevik

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Kjell Magne Bondevik

As part of the Nostra Aetate Lecture Series, Kjell Magne Bondevik, Former Prime Minister of Norway spoke at Georgetown on the topic of "Interreligious Dialogue: Seeking Understanding in Our Age." This event was cosponsored with the Office of the President. ...

March 1, 2007 | Akbar Ahmed

"Glories of Islamic Art" Movie Screening with Akbar Ahmed

This event featured short clips from the film “Glories of Islamic Art.” Through this documentary, leading Muslim scholar Akbar Ahmed took the audience on a journey of discovery, highlighting the beauty and sophistication of Islamic art and architecture. The film also portrayed the worldwide diversity of Islamic art and its influence on modern artistic expression. This screening provided Ambassador Ahmed with feedback from the audience, since at the time the series had not yet been released ...

February 12, 2007 | Douglas Johnston et al.

Promoting Peace and Tolerance through Madrasa Renewal

Dr. Doug Johnston and Azhar Hussain spoke about their experiences traveling to Pakistan in an attempt to engage madrasa students and to institute changes within Pakistani school systems. This discussion, sponsored by the Berkley Center, took place on February 12, 2007 in Georgetown University’s McShain Lounge. Specifically, the goals discussed were: (1) expansion of madrasa curriculums to include the scientific and social disciplines, with a special emphasis on religious tolerance and huma...

February 9, 2007 | Vali Nasr

Theocracy, Democracy, and the Conservative Consolidation in Iran

Dr. Vali Nasr, Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, gave a lecture entitled “Theocracy, Democracy, and the Conservative Consolidation in Iran,” which concentrated on the intersection of religion and politics in the Middle East.  The lecture took place in Georgetown University’s McShain Lounge and focused on the issues of Iranian theocracy and conservatism in politics.  Vali Nasr brought to the lecture his extensive ...

February 8, 2007

The Maghreb Center Inaugural Symposium

This symposium, cosponsored with the Department of Government, the Center for Contemporary Arab Affairs, and the World Bank Info Shop, reviewed the current political and economic state of affairs of the five countries of the Maghreb -- Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia -- in light of these countries' respective histories and achievements. These five countries achieved independence between 1951 and 1962, and since then, in spite of numerous difficulties and setbacks, the five countr...

February 6, 2007 | Aleksander Kwasniewski

Poland and Judaism Today

In this event cosponsored by the Program for Jewish Civilization, the Center for Russia, Eurasian, and East European Studies, and the Office of the President, a panel of experts analyzed the relationship between Poland and Judaism today. The symposium featured an introduction by President Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland from 1995 to 2005....

February 5, 2007 | David-Maria Jaeger, O.F.M.

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Father David-Maria Jaeger, O.F.M., J.C.D. (1st Lecture)

In an event cosponsored with the Office of the President, Franciscan Father David-Maria Jaeger, O.F.M., J.C.D. came here to spread the message that the presence of Christians in Israel is important and that Christians worldwide have a responsibility to help maintain that presence.

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January 29, 2007 | Elizabeth Lipsmeyer

Engaging Enemies: Muslims in Medieval Christian Churches

Art historian Dr. Elizabeth Lipsmeyer examined distorted and shocking images of Muslims in churches of Crusader-era France and Spain. Her lecture provoked questions about the purpose of such sculptures. How might we interpret art that is propagandistic and inflammatory within its medieval religious and cultural contexts? What meaning does such imagery have for us today? This image-based presentation and discussion inaugurated the Art History program’s “New Perspectives” series o...

January 25, 2007

"Right as Rain" at the Davis Performing Arts Center

Right as Rain juxtaposed an expressionistic retelling of the Anne Frank story with the trial at Nuremberg of Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Nazi official most directly responsible for the round-up of Jews in the Netherlands. A celebration of Anne's fierce spirit of inquiry and the enduring power of imagination, the play Right as Rain was originally commissioned in 1993 by Facing History & Ourselves and the Spertus Museum in Chicago in association with the International museum exh...

January 18, 2007 | José Casanova

Global Religious Matters: José Casanova

José Casanova presented a lecture entitled, "Global Religious Matters." ...

January 12, 2007 | Ellen Sauerbrey

World Migrants and Refugees Day

Georgetown University celebrated World Migrants and Refugees Day by hosting the Honorable Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration. Sauerbrey spoke on the needs and problems, as well as the positive potentialities, of migrant families.

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January 10, 2007 | John Esposito

The Alliance of Civilizations: Countering Extremism in Muslim-Western Relations

In response to ongoing tensions between Islam and the West, then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan constituted a High-level Group to promote the idea of an Alliance of Civilizations. Composed of twenty prominent leaders drawn from politics, academia, civil society, business, and media around the world, the High-level Group published a report in November 2006 refuting the Clash of Civilizations thesis and offering concrete recommendations for improving relations across cultural and religiou...

December 6, 2006 | Flemming Rose

The Mohammed Cartoon Affair: One Year Later

Flemming Rose, the editor responsible for publishing the Danish Muhammed cartoons in 2005, reflected on the controversy and its implications. He was joined by Aiman Mazyek, General Secretary of the leading Muslim organization in Germany. Among the key issues discussed were the origins of the decision to publish in September 2005; the escalation of criticism and violence in early 2006; lessons learned from the controversy; and the place of Muslims in European society today. This event was co-spons...

December 4, 2006 | Thomas Banchoff

Shelter: Creative Interfaith Perspectives

On December 4, 2006, the Berkley Center, Habitat for Humanity International (HHI), and the World Faiths Development Dialogue convened an interfaith discussion, the Forum on Interfaith Engagement for Decent Shelter, which focused on the imperative need to focus more sharply and directly on assisting the world's poor. Dr. Thomas Banchoff, Director of the Berkley Center, opened the day-long forum, which was moderated by Nic Retsinas, Chair of the HHI Board and Director of the Joint Center for Housin...

November 29, 2006 | Peter Mandaville

Faculty Seminar on Culture, Religion, and Globalization: Peter Mandaville

The seminar, led by Georgetown professor of theology Vincent Miller, met for the second time during the fall 2006 semester. Peter Mandaville, the Director of the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University, discussed his research on different forms of religious authority emerging in Islam in the context of globalization....

November 28, 2006 | Susannah Heschel

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Dr. Susannah Heschel

Part of the Nostra Aetate Lecture Series, this event with Dr. Susannah Heschel was cosponsored with the Office of the President. ...

November 15, 2006 | Edward Perkins

Religion and the Struggle Against Apartheid in South Africa

In this event cosponsored with the African Studies Department, former US Ambassador to South Africa Edward Perkins discussed religion and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa....

November 2, 2006 | Thomas Stransky, C.S.P.

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Fr. Thomas Stransky, C.S.P. (3rd Lecture)

In his third lecture within the Nostra Ætate series, Fr. Thomas Stransky, C.S.P., an early drafter of the document Nostra Ætate, presented four reflections, entitled “Frontier between Bethlehem and Jerusalem: Nostra Ætate Lived,” regarding the importance of interreligious dialogue. The presentation took place in Dahlgren Chapel on the Georgetown University campus on November 2, 2006. ...

November 1, 2006 | Walter Reich

Using and Abusing The Holocaust as a Political Weapon

In this event cosponsored with the Program in Jewish Civilization, Dr. Walter Reich spoke on the uses and abuses of invocation of the Holocaust as a political weapon, focusing especially on the realm of foreign policy, such as the tendency to cite the Holocaust to justify particular diplomatic and military policies. Reich also examined the widespread claims in the Arab/Muslim world of both Holocaust denial and that Israel has committed crimes comparable to that of the Holocaust, the latter having...

October 30, 2006 | Geert Mak

Dutch Disease or European Dilemma? Calvinist Legacies Confront Globalization & Islam

In this event, cosponsored with the BMC Center for German and European Studies, Dutch journalist Geerk Mak discussed religious changes in the Netherlands. Over the last several years he has argued forcefully that a politics of fear has caused increased polarization and racism between Muslim immigrants and the Dutch. As Mak put it in a recent article of NRC Handelsblad: "The time has come to face reality and to stand up for our liberties and constitutional rights. It's time to dust off the citizen...

October 26, 2006 | Mahmood Mamdani

Mahmood Mamdani on Islam and the West

Columbia University Professor and author Mahmoud Mamdani discussed his views on Islam in Riggs Library at Georgetown University. Mahmoud Mamdani’s expertise centers around Islam in the Middle East and Africa. He is the author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War and the Roots of Terror....

October 26, 2006 | Ethan Kapstein

Economic Justice in an Unfair World

In recent years many academics, activists, and even policy-makers have claimed that the global economy is "unfair," especially to developing countries and the poor living within them. But what would a "fair" global economy look like? On that question there is significant debate. In this talk, which drew on his new book Economic Justice in an Unfair World, Ethan B. Kapstein described a politically feasible approach to bringing greater fairness to the global economy. This lecture was pa...

October 26, 2006 | Wilfred McClay

Roundtable on Michael Kazin's "A Godly Hero"

The roundtable on Michael Kazin's A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan was cosponsored by the American Studies Department, the Department of History, and the Department of Government. A Godly Hero attempts to replace the image of Bryan as an anti-intellectual racist tied to fundamentalist religion with that of a populist orator and statesman who profoundly influenced the Democratic Party with his brand of faith-based liberalism. ...

October 19, 2006 | Anwar Ibrahim

Berkley Center/Muslim Student Association Ramadan Iftaar Dinner 2006

The Berkley Center co-sponsors a yearly Ramadan Iftaar dinner with the Muslim Students Association. Faculty and students come together to break the fast of Ramadan and enjoy fellowship and conversation with one or more featured speakers. Those attending the 2006 Ramadan Iftar dinner heard from Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1993-1998. Respected by many for his principled stance against corruption and his skillful management of the Malaysian economy during the turbulent peri...

October 18, 2006 | Thomas Stransky, C.S.P.

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Fr. Thomas Stransky, C.S.P. (2nd Lecture)

At this event, Rev. Thomas Stransky continued his lectures on Nostra Aetate with a presentation entitled "The Questions of Nostra Ætate: Asked and Not Asked; Given and Not Given." The event was co-sponsored by the Office of the President....

October 16, 2006 | Joseph Nevo

A Mind of Peace: : The Evolution of Jordan's Perception of a Political Settlement with Israel 1967-1988

In this event cosponsored with the Program for Jewish Civilization, visiting scholar Joseph Nevo spoke on the process and ultimately successful conclusion of negotiations between King Hussein of Jordan and the state of Israel. Nevo discussed the historical conditions and specific leadership that made it possible for one of the leaders of the Arab world to negotiate with Israel in a way that implied both gains and concessions, ultimately leading to a successfully held peace treaty, despite the fac...

October 15, 2006

Our Moment International Development Conference

In October 2006, Our Moment hosted a conference dedicated to international development, focusing on what student leaders can do to initiate and grow movements on their own campuses to promote awareness of the issues addressed by the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. The conference featured two sets of workshops: substantive workshops, addressing academic topics in international development and issues such as the Copenhagen Consensus, and advocacy-based workshops, focusing on what stud...

October 12, 2006 | Robert Lieber

Israel & U.S. Foreign Policy

In this event cosponsored with the Program for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown professor Robert J. Lieber spoke on the drivers of American Middle East policy, citing both the historical American sympathy for and identity with the state of Israel and the fear of radical Islam. In terms of the Arab-Israeli conflict, he discussed the intense desire for a resolution and the roadblocks that lay in the path toward reconciliation, notably the absence of an authoritative Palestinian partner that is bo...

October 11, 2006 | Anatol Lieven

Ethical Realism: A Vision for America's Role in the World

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs along with the Mortara Center for International Studies was pleased to sponsor a book talk for Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman's new work entitled Ethical Realism: A Vision for America's Role in the World. Lieven and Hulsman, two distinguished policy experts from different political camps, joined forces to write an impassioned manifesto that illuminates a new direction in U.S. foreign policy. Combining both the 'practical' (decisio...

October 10, 2006 | Charbel Batour, S.J.

Faith and Justice: Reflections on the War in Lebanon

On October 10, 2006, Charbel Batour, S.J., presented the lecture entitled "Faith and Justice: A Lebanese Jesuit Provides Ethical Reflection on his experience of War in Lebanon". The event was sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, in collaboration with Campus Ministry, Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service, Jesuit Community, Office of the College Dean, and Office of Mission and Ministry....

October 5, 2006 | Michael Gillespie

Where Did All the Evils Go?

Michael Gillespie, Professor of Political Science at Duke University, presented the paper "Where Did All the Evils Go?" at the Georgetown Political Theory Colloquium. Gillespie pointed to the intense debate surrounding Hitler as exemplary of the broader debate surrounding humanity's ability to identify, categorize, and constrain evil - if it even exists. He argued that the modern ambiguity of evil stems from the theological and moral transformation of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth ce...

October 5, 2006 | Katherine Marshall

Religion and Global Development Faculty Seminar

October 5 was the first session of the 2006-2007 academic year of the Faculty Seminar on Religion and Development. As 2006-2007 convener, Katherine Marshall was able to build on the work of the previous year's co-conveners, Carol Lancaster and Gap Lo Biondo, SJ. The speaker was Dominque Peccoud, S.J., who led a discussion on livelihood issues and religion. Fr. Peccoud's special focus was the significance of Decent Work, a central theme of the ILO and one on which he has conducted a remarkable in...

October 4, 2006 | Thomas Stransky, C.S.P.

Nostra Aetate Lecture Series: Rev. Thomas Stransky, C.S.P. (1st Lecture)

In the inaugural lecture of the Nostra Aetate lecture series, Rev. Thomas F. Stransky, C.S.P., Rector Emeritus, Tantur Ecumenical Institute, Israel, presented a lecture entitled, "The Genesis of Nostra Aetate: How the Changes of Vatican II Included Jewish Relations and Interreligious Dialogue." Rev. Stransky's lecture is the first of four he gave in a lecture series building on the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's document on interreligious dialogue, Nostra Aetate...

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October 4, 2006

Woodstock Forum: What Makes a War Just? What Makes Peace Possible?

In the months prior to the US invasion of Iraq, when everyone was talking of war – would it happen? should it happen? – the U.S. Jesuit provincials were having a similar conversation. They were concerned, however, about clarity regarding what constitutes a just war in our time. Their desire for a deeper understanding led to a one day symposium on Catholic Traditions on Peace and War. Furthermore, they wanted the fruits of the symposium to reach a wider audience. The result is the book...

September 20, 2006 | K. Anthony Appiah

Faculty Seminar on Culture, Religion, and Globalization: Discussion of Anthony Appiah

The first meeting of the 2006-2007 academic year of the Faculty Seminar on Globalization, Culture, and Religion was Wednesday, September 20. Building upon interest in Kwame Anthony Appiah's September 12 visit to Georgetown, which was hosted by the Berkley Center, seminar participants discussed his book and lecture. Georgetown University Professor Patrick Deneen gave opening comments....

September 12, 2006 | K. Anthony Appiah

What's Special About Religious Disputes

At this event, K. Anthony Appiah analyzed moral and political disputes across and within nations complicated by religious factors. Part of the reason, Appiah argued, is the centrality of religious identities to ethical identity and the psycho-sociological difficulties of changing. This informs the Enlightenment view that, where possible, we should tolerate (not convert) those of other religions and refrain from using controversial religious claims in political argument. Here the real divides are ...

April 20, 2006 | Michael Hardt

Love in the Multitude

Can love serve as a political concept? On April 20, 2006, Michael Hardt, Associate Professor of Literature and Romance Studies at Duke University, discussed the cultural and political significance of the concept of love in the context of world politics in his lecture "Love in the Multitude." Hardt drew from sources as diverse as Freud, Augustine, Arendt, and Che Guevara to develop a political conception of love....

April 19, 2006 | Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J.

Conflict and Peace in Central Africa

In this event cosponsored with the Woodstock Theological Center and the Georgetown Jesuit Community, Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J., examined the underlying sources of conflict - actual and potential - in Central Africa's Great Lakes Region (which generally includes Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda). Those sources include social and ecological conditions, HIV/AIDS, and patterns of economic exploitation. Securing a sustainable peace in the region, Muhigirwa argued, requires a shared commitment to basic huma...

April 11, 2006 | Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J.

Democratization in Central Africa

Ferdinand Muhigirwa, S.J., examined the political and social landscape in the run-up to this year's presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ongoing controversy surrounding the role of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the country, the reform of the national military, and the regulation of Christian sects. Central Africa, politically stable since the Rwandan genocide, is grappling with an ongoing process of democratization. The Democratic Republic of t...

March 30, 2006 | Vincent Sekhar, S.J.

Interreligious Dialogue in India: Engaging Youth

Fr. Vincent Sekhar's visit to Georgetown was built around themes of interreligious dialogue, and at this event he specifically addressed the need for youth participants in Indian interreligious dialogue. India, with its tradition of pluralism and history of sectarian violence, is a particularly challenging environment within which to pursue high levels of dialogue. Building on his experience as the Jesuit Assistant Secretary of interreligious dialogue in South East Asia, Fr. Sekhar works to contr...

March 28, 2006 | Paul Heck

Martyrdom in Islam: Does Theology Matter?

Paul Heck led the conversation on martyrdom, a significant phenomenon in the international realm and often but not always (or necessarily) associated with the religion of Islam. It is an effective tool for animating nationalist consciousness. It has been put to the services of global terrorism. It is also an act of piety. Theology thus has something to say about this critical issue in today's world. The willingness, even desire, to die is not theologically uniform; the language of martyrdom is de...

March 28, 2006 | Vincent Sekhar, S.J.

Politics in Post-Independence India

At this event, Father Vincent Sekhar explored the attitudes of various Indian religions toward democracy and secularism. Fr. Sekhar described India as a "multi-mindset nation founded on the two pillars, democracy and secularism." India also has a rich mix of religions, and these faith traditions do not always promote the values of these two pillars; interests may at times even conflict. He also questioned whether there are ways in which new approaches by religious leaders could help to ...

March 28, 2006 | Daniel Hillel

The Natural History of the Bible

Dr. Daniel Hillel spoke on campus about his new book: The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures (Columbia University Press, 2006). The event was cosponsored by the Georgetown University Center for the Environment and the School of Foreign Service.

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March 23, 2006 | Jacob Howland

Kierkegaard and Socrates

Professor Jacob Howland, McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tulsa, presented chapters drawn from his book Kierkegaard and Socrates (Cambridge University Press, 2006). The colloquium began with commentary by Eugen Nagy, Ph.D. candidate at the Catholic University of America. Howland's book represents the first book-length treatment of Kierkegaard's views on ancient Greek thought through the figure of Socrates; in particular, the relation of pre-Christian reason and Christi...

March 17, 2006 | Thomas Banchoff

Conference on the New Religious Pluralism in World Politics

The Clash of Civilizations controversy has obscured the emergence of a new transnational religious landscape marked by both interreligious cooperation and conflict. Over the past two decades, global migration patterns and modern communications technologies have spawned more active transnational religious communities. A new religious pluralism has emerged with two salient characteristics. On the one hand, global religious identities have encouraged interreligious dialogue and greater religious eng...

March 15, 2006 | James O'Donnell

How Jews and Christians Invented the Bible

At this event, James O'Donnell and Jacques Berlinerblau discussed the origins of the Hebrew and Christian Bible. O'Donnell and Berlinerblau also teach a semester-long course on the subject in which they explore issues like translation, canonical selection, exegesis, and interpretation within Judaism and Christianity....

March 2, 2006 | Eugene Goussikindey, S.J.

Small Arms Trafficking and the Culture of Violence in Africa

Rev. Eugene Goussikindey, SJ, concluded a series of presentations at Georgetown with a discussion of arms movements within Africa and their impact on the continent's widespread violent conflicts. He analyzed several competing explanations for small arms proliferation -- including financial incentives and government encouragement -- and called for greater transparency to combat the problem. Options included more intensive national border patrols and deeper international cooperation. Also discussed...

March 1, 2006 | Eugene Goussikindey, S.J.

The Impact of Culture on African Political and Economic Development

In his presentation, Rev. Eugene Goussikindey, S.J., emphasized the linguistic and national diversity in Africa as well as the challenges of life on a continent marked by high levels of cultural and religious pluralism. While acknowledging widespread famine, unparalleled levels of poverty, and endemic civil wars and government corruption, Rev. Goussikindey nevertheless underscored that Africa's problems coexist with a widespread optimism and hope for the future. As the quality of education gro...

February 28, 2006 | Eugene Goussikindey, S.J.

Peace as a Matrix of Convergence between Religion and Politics

In his talk, Rev. Eugene Goussikindey, S.J., explored constructions of both politics and religion that might enable a convergence between both realms. If politics is viewed not simply as a struggle for advantage but also as a search for the common good, it must have peace as its object. And religion, while often exploited for violent and destructive ends, has peace as an underlying value. In Africa and elsewhere, leaders in both spheres must learn to appreciate the constraints and opportunities f...

January 30, 2006 | Jeffrey Peck

Being Jewish in the New Germany

At this event, Jeffrey Peck argued that we must now begin considering how Jews live in Germany rather than merely asking why they would choose to do so. Germany today boasts the fastest growing population of Jews in Europe. The streets of Berlin abound with signs of a revival of Jewish culture, ranging from bagel shops to the sight of worshipers leaving synagogue on Saturday. This revival is spurred by the new energy infused by Jewish immigration from Russia and changes in immigration and natural...

November 11, 2005 | John Ricard, S.S.J.

Colloquium on the Ethics of War after 9/11

Georgetown University held an all-day event that brought scholars and practitioners together to discuss the ethics of war in the context of September 11, 2001 and the Iraq conflict. The colloquium featured academic leaders in war and peace studies, policy analysts, representatives of the U.S. Department of State, and several U.S. Catholic bishops. Speakers discussed and debated a variety of issues, including the Vatican’s stance on nuclear deterrence and whether the U.S. attack on Iraq was...

November 7, 2005 | Maurizio Viroli

Machiavelli's God

At this event, Maurizio Viroli challenged popular opinion labelling Nicolo Machiavelli, the author of The Prince (a primer in Realpolitik), as an anti-Christian writer and argued that Machiavelli's approach to religion was much more complex than we realize. While Machiavelli's works have been criticized by Church authorities through the ages as immoral and heretical and he was a critic of the Roman Catholic Church, Machiavelli was not an atheist. Evidence suggests that he believed in the...

November 4, 2005 | Kenneth Wald

The Determinants of Middle East Salience among American Jews

Kenneth Wald's presentation focused on what is often regarded as the exemplar of a mobilized diaspora, American Jewry; such work reduces the current dearth of knowledge about when and how diasporas are politically mobilized around issues in the homeland. Other ethnic groups frequently define their ambitions by pointing to the apparent success of American Jewry in building domestic support for Israel. Interestingly, survey data suggest that the image of a policy juggernaut that draws on a mobilize...

October 11, 2005 | Nancy Sherman

Stoic Warriors and the Bible

In her lecture, Nancy Sherman explored questions about the motivation behind the choice to engage in war and combat. In the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many Americans enlisted out of a sense of anger and revenge. But should a soldier fight with anger and war raging in his heart? The Stoics insisted that justice, not vengeance, should motivate combat. What does the Old Testament teach here? Anger is no stranger to the Hebrew Bible, both in the voice of God and humans. Sherman highl...

September 28, 2005 | Jacques Berlinerblau

On Philo-Semitism

Jacques Berlinerblau's lecture distinguished different types of philo-Semitism, mindful that admiration for Jews may be based on motivations that run the gamut from sinister to pragmatic to altruistic. The subject of anti-Semitism is, quite possibly, one of the most thoroughly canvassed avenues of inquiry in the entire scholarly discipline of Jewish Studies. Philo-Semitism, by contrast, remains relatively unexplored and virtually untheorized. What does it mean, it was asked, to be a philo-Semite?...

September 26, 2005 | Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Muslim Women in Europe

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch MP, and author of the controversial film Submission, addressed the Georgetown community on the challenges facing Muslim women in Europe. Hirsi Ali, a Member of the Dutch Parliament, is outspoken on issues such as the role of women, immigration, development and democracy. In her talk, Hirsi Ali combined political and policy analysis with personal anecdote. She related how she avoided an arranged marriage by deplaning in Germany when her Canada-bound airplane stopped t...

April 21, 2005 | Martha Nussbaum

Conference on New Religious Pluralism and Democracy

The conference, sponsored by the University's Initiative on Religion, Politics, and Peace, explored the changing relationship between politics and religion on both sides of the Atlantic. Participants included leading US and European scholars from the disciplines of philosophy, political science, religious studies, sociology, and theology. The conference gave rise to a book, Democracy and the New Religious Pluralism, ed. Thomas Banchoff (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). Cosponsors ...