Director's Note: Updates on New Website Design

Exploring religion and world affairs involves difficult choices. Faith matters across so many issues, from human rights to development and from foreign policy to international security. And the knowledge gaps remain immense. Where to focus the attention and resources?

When the Berkley Center was founded in March 2006, we made a strategic decision to invest in individuals -- to seek out leaders in the field and build programs around them. As we enter the 2009/10 academic year, seven programs are in place, including Religions, Globalization and the Secular (José Casanova), Religion and Global Development (Katherine Marshall), and Religion and US Foreign Policy (Thomas Farr).

The programs have two related purposes. Each generates and disseminates knowledge in a critical area, through an array of projects, events, and publications. On that foundation, each also maps networks of the scholars, policymakers, and practitioners engaged in a given area. The knowledge/network combination corresponds to the Berkley Center's core mission: to advance understanding of religion in world affairs and to promote collaboration in the service of peace.

The Center's new website design, launched this week, reflects this program structure. Users can explore individual programs, their leaders, and their activities. They can also visit the Center's new Knowledge Resources, where a mapping of key issues and actors at the intersection of religion and world affairs is now underway.

Tom Banchoff, September 1, 2009