Spring 2017 | Upcoming Events

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan College at 757.455.3129 or csrf@vwc.edu.

Resources Related to Ambassador Saperstein's Visit to VWC


This March, Virginia Wesleyan welcomed to campus David N. Saperstein, the Immediate Past United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, as the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom's 2016 - 2017 Justine L. Nusbaum Lecturer.

During his talk, Ambassador Saperstein pointed to several key documents. The most recent annual report (2016) by the  U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a 2015 Pew Research Center report, titled " Latest Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities, "  provide information on religious freedom issues of concern, as well as highlight specific countries where religious freedom is most in jeopardy.

Saperstein mentioned the " Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities "  as a shining light in the global fight for religious freedom.

In advance of his visit, Ambassador Saperstein was a guest on WHRV's radio call-in program, "HearSay with Cathy Lewis." Click here to listen to the podcast of that program.
Race: Why Won't It Go Away?

Thursday, April 6 l 11 a.m.-Noon    
     
Clarke Hall, The Lighthouse Commons
 

Dr. Ted Vial, Professor of Theology and Modern Western Religious Thought at Iliff School of Theology, authored the recent monograph, Modern Religion, Modern Race (2016). In his talk, Vial will explore why, even though biologists tell us that race does not exist, we don't seem to be able to escape thinking in racial terms. Looking at the assumptions we have used to make sense of the world since the early 1800's, Vial will show that thinking racially is not a departure from modernity's highest ideals, but part of the foundation of modernity itself. Support provided by The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery at VWC.
Hard Things to Discuss: Jews, Christians, and Dialogue that Matters Today

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
Thursday, April 6 l 7-8:15 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium
 
Dr. Michael Panitz and Dr. Craig Wansink will discuss and lead participants through case studies that highlight ways in which well-intentioned people of different faiths may miscommunicate or speak past each other. One case study will focus on the challenges of religion in the public square (e.g. religious rules in public swimming pools). Another case study will focus on the challenges in discussing issues related to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Dr. Panitz serves as rabbi at Temple Israel in Norfolk and is an adjunct associate professor of religion at Virginia Wesleyan College.
Life Matters: Dr. Timothy O'Rourke
Thursday, April 13 l 12-12:50 p.m.
 
Boyd Dining Center, Shafer Room 

In "Life Matters," members of the Virginia Wesleyan community offer autobiographical reflections on their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual experiences.  These deeply personal reflections are meaningful opportunities for understanding and connection, and offer space for each of us to take a moment to think about what has shaped us and given our own life meaning. Dr. Timothy O'Rourke is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Virginia Wesleyan. Sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain's Office and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL).
Muslim Women and Stories of Life in America

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
Thursday, April 20 l 7-8:15 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium
 
What unusual circumstances face Muslim women in America? What do they most wish others might know about Islam and how they practice their faith? Where do these women find challenges, hope, meaning, and joy through their faith? Dr. Tahani Amer, Senior Technologist at NASA Headquarters, and a congregant at the Mosque and Islamic Center of Hampton Roads, will moderate a panel of Muslim women - a homemaker, a teacher, a psychiatrist, and a business woman - who will discuss and reflect on these questions and more.
Lynnhaven River Now Pearl Faith Community

NEXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE: FAITH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Monday, April 24 l 7-8:15 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium

 
Moderated by Lynnhaven River Now's Executive Director Karen Forget, and Pearl Home and Pearl Faith Coordinator Pam Northam, participants in the Pearl Faith Community will discuss their actions and initiatives as responsible stewards of the earth. The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom is working with the Lynnhaven River Now Pearl Faith Community both to draw attention to faith perspectives on our relationship with the environment and to consider our responsibility as stewards of the earth. The Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series is sponsored in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities.
Origins of Modern Yoga

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
Thursday, April 27 l 7-8:15 p.m.
Blocker Hall Auditorium

 
The modern yoga movement is chock full of misinformation, charlatanism, and orientalist exploitation. Sam Grimes, scholar of Sanskrit and classical Indian religion, will discuss why the origins the movement, and the traditions from which they drew their inspiration, are actually far more fascinating than the fiction most frequently sold in the West concerning the Sanskrit word "yoga." Grimes has studied South Asian religions at the University of Hawaii, classical India religions and Sanskrit at Oxford University, and most recently ritual and ritual theory with the Vajrācāryas, the tantric Buddhist priests of Kathmandu.
Center for the Study of Religious Freedom
 
Dr. Craig Wansink, Professor of Religious Studies and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom

Kelly Jackson, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom

Dr.  Eric Mazur, Gloria and David Furman Professor of Judaic Studies and Center for the Study of Religious Freedom Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics

757.455.3129 | csrf@vwc.edu | www.vwc.edu/csrf