3A publ icat ion of the Center for the Study of Rel ig ious Freedom at Vi rginia Wesleyan Univers i ty | SPRING 2019

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT | NEXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE | CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CRUCIALconversations

no more time for outrage or silence

The final scene of the 1966 Spaghetti Western “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” consists of a showdown—a prolonged, tense, three-way shootout—between the titular characters, played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach. They face each other, revolvers holstered, as each one’s eyes dart impatiently, waiting for the other to make the first move. When one hand finally slightly stirs, bullets fly.

CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONSNo More Time for Outrage or Silence

1 P RO G R A M M I N G & PA RT N E R S H I P S

February 14 | 7-8 PM

How People Use Fake News in Social Media to Fuel Divisiveness

(and What We Can Do to Stop It)LESLIE CAUGHELL Fake news always has existed. However, the use of social media in sharing that news has resulted in increased personal, social,

and political challenges. In this program, Leslie Caughell, author of the forthcoming Politics in the Era of Fake News: The Damage and Effects of Fake News and What We Can Do to Stop It (University of Toronto Press, 2019), highlights specific examples of how social media sometimes fuels divisiveness, and how we might respond.

Dr. Leslie Caughell is a political communications scholar and Associate Professor of Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies at VWU.

February 21 | 11-11:50 am

Jerusalem as a Case Study for the Challenges of Mediating Religious

Conflict JONATHAN SCHANZER Jews, Christians, and Mus-lims all claim Jerusalem as a spiritual home. Such claims result in political and religious challenges, so when President Trump

declared that the U.S. embassy would be moved to Jerusalem, the response was deeply emotional. In this lecture, Jonathan Schanzer highlights how challenges in the region can be understood by focusing on the symbolic importance of Jerusalem.

At too many homes in the United States, Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners recently provided equal suspense. Some individuals were silently steaming, with eyes nervously darting around the

table. Tongues remained holstered, but without the saftey engaged because they eventually were going to be used. There was enough of a sense of decency that nobody wanted to be the first to draw, but individuals around the table were eagerly looking for signs that they could claim were initial forays into conflict. In terms of meaningful dialogue on tense issues, we are not experi-encing America’s finest hour. Through comments at the bottom of online articles, through letters to the editor, through responses to one another on Facebook, our distance from each other—frequently through a wall of social media—has resulted in sharper comments, less empathy, and a fractured town square. Debate, derision, and outrage frequently have replaced dialogue and the desire for reconciliation. “What can I do?” is a comment we frequently hear. This semester we have two hopes. First, we hope that you come to our training sessions. We need training to listen, to be self-aware, to help others think more clearly, and to recognize how we might actually communicate and not just broadcast our thoughts. Second, we hope that you will pay attention to voices other than your own. Our programs this semester create opportunities for people on different sides of issues to better understand what informs their own and others’ perspectives. Outrage and silence are unhealthy responses to conflict. The conversations we need to have in the United States are crucial.

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT SERIES

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is a scholar in Middle Eastern Studies, senior vice president of research at the Founda-tion for Defense of Democracies, and is a frequent media commentator on issues regarding the Middle East.

Sponsored in partnership with the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater as part of the Israel Today 2018-2019 series.

We look forward to your joining us at our programs and training sessions as all of us work away from the bad and the ugly to hope for the good.

3

April 11 | 7-8 PM

Presumed Guilty: Why We Shouldn’t Ask Muslims to Condemn Terrorism TODD GREEN In this lecture, Todd Green argues that asking Muslims to condemn terrorist attacks is wrong for a variety of reasons, including that it misunderstands the role of religion in terrorism and it ignores the many instances

in which Muslims already condemn terrorism. Most important, asking Muslims to condemn terrorism functions as a distraction. Join us for a timely lecture.Dr. Todd Green is Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College. A nationally recognized expert on Islamophobia, Dr. Green served as a Franklin Fellow at the U.S. State Department in 2016-17, where he analyzed and assessed the impact of anti-Muslim prejudice in Europe on countering violent extremism initiatives, refugee policies, and human rights.

April 18 | 7-8 PM

Public Policy and Healing Through Prayer Christian Scientists’ Practice in the 21st Century RICHARD GEIGER and THOMAS JOHNSENIn the 1880s and 1890s, the emergence of Christian Science as a new religious denomi-nation raised significant issues at the border between religious practice and public policy. Much has changed in the last 130 years, but questions about the relationship between faith, science, healing, and medicine still stand out: What is the place of serious religious, or Christian, healing in today’s high tech world? Do Christian Scien-tists recognize public health concerns such as vaccina-tion? Can common ground be found on care of children and similar deeply universal values?

Christian Science practitioners Richard Geiger and Dr. Thomas Johnsen serve in the denomi-nation’s ministry of healing through prayer.

2P RO G R A M M I N G & PA RT N E R S H I P S

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT SERIES ALL DISCUSSIONS ARE HELD ON THURSDAYS IN BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM AND ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Immediately after each of the following three presentations (April 4, 11, and 18), there is an optional twenty-minute small-group discussion and additional analysis from the speaker(s).

April 4 | 7-8 PM TWO STORIES OF IMMIGRATION‘Whosoever saves one life...’The SS Quanza and the Battle Over Jewish Refugees, 1940ERIC MAZUR One man—who lost a “turf war” against fellow government officials—is all that stood between millions of people facing internment or death and the United States of America, where they would be free of persecution and danger. The man was Breckinridge Long; the “turf war” was the Portuguese ship SS Quanza; and the year was 1940.

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

A Look into the Lives of Resettled Refugees in Coastal VirginiaRABIA JAFRI and SAHER MIRZA Since 1932, Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia has resettled thousands of refugees, from many different countries. They often arrive with very few posses-sions, having fled their home countries in fear of persecution and death. Currently, many refugees are coming from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The arduous, often years-long, journey from refugee camps to the Virginia Peninsula is daunting, but their challenges don’t stop when they arrive in the U.S. Join Rabia Jafri and Saher Mirza as they offer insights and firsthand stories into the challenges faced by resettled refugees. Dr. Rabia Jafri works as a psychiatrist in Newport News, VA and is founder of the Hampton Roads Refugee Relief organization. Saher Mirza is a community volunteer and founder of the “Coffee with a Refugee” program.

3 P RO G R A M M I N G & PA RT N E R S H I P S

Thursday, January 31 7-9 PM GESC | ROOM 155 | Registration required.

VCIC Diversity and Dialogue Facilitation Training PAULA L. BAZEMORE During two distinct training sessions, Bazemore prepares participants for more active roles as agents of change. The first session provides a framework for understanding the cycle of prejudice—how prejudice arises and builds, sometimes leading to life-threatening acts. The second session focuses on best practices in facilitation. Open dialogue about

tough issues is crucial, but it also requires proper facilitation. This training discusses the conditions for effective dialogue and equips participants with tools needed to lead conversations in a manner that is inclusive, informative, and effective. Paula L. Bazemore is the Hampton Roads Program Manager for the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, an organization that works with schools, businesses, and communities to achieve success through inclusion.

EQUIPPING AGENTS OF CHANGEConflict is a natural part of life.

It affects and influences daily

existence in minor and major ways.

At its best, it motivates and inspires

progress. Too often, however,

the ways in which we respond

to conflict and disagreement—

personally, communally, nationally,

and globally— damages relationships,

widens divides, and diminishes

prospects for finding solutions.

These sessions provide training to develop skills needed for improving contentious relationships, transforming heated debate into meaningful dialogue, and finding peaceful solutions to difficult problems. Space is limited and registration is required for these trainings. To register, please contact Kelly Jackson at kjackson@vwu.edu or 757-455-3129. Don’t miss these opportunities to learn new skills and have the tools you need to influence positive change and create a better future.

3 4T R A I N I N G S E S S I O N S

Thursday, February 28 8-9:30 AM BATTEN STUDENT CENTER | PEARCE HOSPITALITY SUITE Registration required. | Continental breakfast provided.

Protecting Ourselves and Our World from Our Five God-like Technological Powers

PAUL K. CHAPPELL In this discussion geared to clergy and people of faith, Paul K. Chappell explores how technology has evolved faster than our competency in our own humanity. He looks at the challenges we face from the “world of electric light” (i.e., interactive digital mass media, virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelli-gence, and the 5g network), and shows how Peace Literacy can escalate our competency in being human and give us the skills

we need to navigate our inner world, outer world, and the world of electric light in both its current and future forms.

Thursday, February 28 7-9:15 PM BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM | Registration is not required for this session.

The Journey from Rage to Radical Empathy and Realistic HopePAUL K. CHAPPELL Peace Literacy frames peace not merely as a goal, but as a practical skill-set that allows us to increase realistic peace in our personal lives, communities, country, and world. In this workshop, Paul K. Chappell provides an empowering framework for understanding the root causes of violence and rage, and for more fully developing our human capacity for empathy, conscience, reason, and realistic hope. During an era when humanity has the technological capacity to destroy itself, Peace Literacy means survival literacy.

Paul K. Chappell is an international peace educator, author of the seven-book Road to Peace series, and serves as the Peace Leadership Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He graduated from West Point, was deployed to Iraq, and left active duty as a captain.

Thursday, April 25 7-9 PM GESC | ROOM 155 | Registration required.

From Dialogue to Action: An Interactive WorkshopSUSAN FEIT and TERESA STANLEY Practitioners in community organizing and conflict resolution, Feit and Stanley highlight important ingredients for moving from dialogue to action. Hear real-life success stories of diverse groups who have found common ground and taken action together, and participate in an interactive exercise designed to demonstrate this transformative process.

Susan Feit is a Social Justice Strategist and Teresa Stanley coordinates the Interspiritual Empowerment Project, a Joint Plan of Work Program of Virginia Organizing.

PEACE is not the absence

of conflict, but the

ability to cope with it.

—MAHATMA GANDHI

Thursday, March 14 7-8 PM | BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Religious Ways to Justify GenocideSARA SEWELL If religious ideals represent appeals to people’s best instincts, how and why do religious instincts

sometimes become distorted in ways that lead not only to hatred and murder of others, but even to systemic genocide? In the 20th and 21st centuries, examples of such genocide are not limited to places like Nazi Germany and Myanmar. Join us as Sara Sewell highlights the complicated relationship between religion and genocide, and points us to concerning trends and the need for crucial conversations. Dr. Sara Sewell is Professor of History and Executive Director of the Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery at VWU.

In the early hours of October 31, 2018, Robert “Bob” C. Nusbaum died at the age of 94. Bob was the inspiration behind the 1996 founding of the Center for the Study of

Religious Freedom. In a letter dated November 14, 1995, Bob wrote, “I venture to guess that more persons have been slaughtered in the name of religion than from any other cause… In this continuing saga of man’s inhumanity to man, the one bright light that goes beyond mere tolerance is Jef-ferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom. It laid the foundation for the First Amendment, and has served as a beacon for all enlightened constitutions ever since.” Bob’s death came on the heels of the killings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history. How tragic that, more than 200 years after the passing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, hate speech and acts of violence against minority faiths are on the rise. This semester, the annual Cookson Religious Freedom lecture, America’s First Freedom Conflicts Then and Now: Musical Theatre and the Founding Fathers, celebrates the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom and honors the visionary legacies of Bob Nusbaum and Catharine Cookson, the Center’s first director. In Sara Sewell’s presentation, Religious Ways to Justify Genocide, we are reminded of the fragility of religious freedom and warned against the devastating dangers of devaluing people of other religions and races. As we reflect on the lessons of history, and as we honor the legacies of two humble peacemakers, may we look into our own hearts to find the resolve to embrace our shared humanity and create hope for the future.

5 P RO G R A M M I N G & PA RT N E R S H I P S

Honoring the Legacies of Peacemakers

Thursday, March 7 7-8:15 PM | BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

COOKSON LECTURE

America’s First Freedom Conflicts Then and Now: Musical Theatre and the Founding Fathers

ROB LAUER In 2003, award-winning playwright Rob Lauer was commissioned to write “First Freedom”—a musical play depicting the events leading up to the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. In the pro-cess, Lauer became convinced that musical theatre—a highly-stylized, American-born art form—was the perfect vehicle for not only present-ing more nuanced depictions of our nation’s founders, but also for enter-tainingly exploring the philosophical concepts that animated them and for showing how those concepts are at the heart of our current political and social divide. Music videos and a reader’s theatre presentation from “First Freedom” are incorporated into this year’s Cookson lecture. Rob Lauer is an award-winning playwright, theatrical and television director, and the host of two TV shows in Coastal Virginia. He authored the comedy “Geeks & Gangsters,” the musical “My Jo,” the musical “A Southern Christmas Carol,” and the musical “First Freedom.” He currently edits “The Shopper” in Chesapeake and hosts and produces “Portsmouth Insites,” “Portsmouth Now,” and “Museum Moments.”

“ The challenge of the Center is so immense because the issue is a timeless issue. We’re dealing with public perceptions and pressures and what neighbors do to each other out of fear.

“

- DR. CATHARINE COOKSON, CSRF Director (1998 -2004)

36S T U D E N T P R E S E N TAT I O N S

Conflict and Peace inJordan From International Geopolitics to Individual Identity

The Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ (VFIC) annual Ethics Bowl competition brings together student teams from each of the 15 VFIC member institutions for lively debate and consideration of applied ethics—real-world dilemmas that affect people’s lives in increasingly complex ways. As the Virginia Wesleyan Ethics Bowl team prepares to compete at the VFIC Ethics Bowl, the CSRF hosts a debate demonstration, with the audience having the opportunity to interact, critique, and discuss. Please come to help students prepare for the VFIC competition, hosted by Roanoke College on February 10-11.

The Virginia Wesleyan 2019 VFIC Ethics Bowl team members are Brandon Foster ’19, Anitra Howard ’24, Alex Powers ’21 (team captain), Brianna Sandy ’21, and Joni Challenor ’19 (alternate), with VWU Professor of Communication Dr. Kathy Merlock Jackson as faculty coordinator.

Ethical Issues and Social Justice ETHICS BOWL DEMONSTRATION Thursday, February 77-8:30 PM | MONUMENTAL CHAPEL

STUDY-AWAY PRESENTATIONTuesday, March 26 11–11:50 AM BATTEN STUDENT CENTER PEARCE HOSPITALITY SUITE

Studying away in Jordan creates many opportunities for reflection and examination on peace as it relates to national identity and alliances within the international community. Chambers offers personal perspectives on identity, peace, and geopolitics.

VWU Senior Selena Chambers ’19 is majoring in International Relations, with minors in Business, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. During fall 2018 she studied international politics at the School for International Training in Amman, Jordan.

7 N E X U S I N T E R F A I T H D I A LO G U E

Same Sex Relationships, the Bible, and Christianity

Our NEXUS programs this

semester focus on “The Role

of Scripture in Faith.” The

purpose of the programs is

to get people to think about,

and to recognize, how

different people or branches

of a religion reflect on

scripture in different ways.

The program is not a debate in any sense of the word. Informed individuals talk for about 20 minutes each, highlighting how they read scripture (or how people within their tradition read scripture) in light of the issue. This is followed by a time of questions, and then structured discussion and dialogue.

The Nexus Interfaith Dialogue series is sponsored in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) and Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB), a multi-faith clergy group.

Same-sex relationships are legal in the United States, but for some people of faith, such relationships still raise questions. Rev. Brandon Nichols ’12, Pastor of Jolliff United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, and Dr. Craig Wansink, Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, discuss how they read the Bible— and how Christians in general read

the Bible—when thinking about the role scripture plays in discussions

of same sex relationships in the church.

Monday, March 47 – 8:30 PM

BATTEN STUDENT CENTER PEARCE HOSPITALITY SUITE

D I V O R C E, the Bible, and

Religious Faith Rabbi Michael Panitz, Rabbi of Temple Israel in Norfolk, Father Jim Parke Roman Catholic Priest, retired, and Rev. Christa Springstead ’07, Pastor of The Garden United Methodist Church in Norfolk, serve on a panel and lead discussion on how people within their respective traditions understand the passages in scripture that condemn divorce. With divorce affecting over 50% of marriages in the U.S., and with religious individuals not unaffected by those dynamics, how do people understand those scripture passages that seem unequivocally against divorce?

Monday, April 157 – 8:30 PM | BATTEN STUDENT CENTER | PEARCE HOSPITALITY SUITE

38CA M P U S P RO G R A M S

A liberal arts education brings students to see connections between classroom learning and

real life issues. In encouraging that, the Center regularly creates project-based partnerships with VWU courses in order to help students recognize how religious freedom issues not only run through the curriculum, but also shape their daily lives and have broad impact at local, national, and global levels. This semester the Center is working with Professor Sharon Swift and ART 204 Digital Art students who will create artistic representations of our central theme: “Crucial Conversations: No More Time for Outrage or Silence.” Judges will determine the two best artistic representations and the student winners will be recognized and receive an award at a reception in the Center on Reading Day, May 9. Please stop by the Center’s Office Suite in Clarke Hall anytime between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to congratulate the winners.

digital art

digital artIn “Life Matters,” members of the Wesleyan community offer autobiograph-

ical reflections on their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual experiences. These deeply personal talks create meaningful opportunities for greater understanding and connection, encouraging each of us to think about what has shaped us and given our own life meaning.

Tuesday, March 12Dave Garraty Professor of Management, Business, Economics

Thursday, April 4Brandon Elliott ‘03 Head Softball Coach

Thursday, April 25 Dr. Mavel Velasco Professor of Hispanic Studies

Taking Back the Bible The 19th-century abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not a religious person, but she recognized how people in her day frequently used the Bible to justify slave hunting and the suppression of women’s rights. Using scripture then as a leverage point, she wrote two visceral and provocative works: The Slave’s Appeal (1860) and The Woman’s Bible (1895, 1898). Join Craig Wansink and Jake Stokke ’19 as they examine how Stanton controversially used scripture, in ways that led to a permanent schism with Susan B. Anthony, yet also fought both slavery and the suppression of women’s rights.

12-12:50 PM BATTEN STUDENT CENTER | PEARCE HOSPITALITY SUITE

LIFEMatters

Please feel free to bring a bag lunch or purchase lunch in the Boyd Dining Center.

Dr. Craig Wansink is Professor of Religious Studies and the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University. VWU senior Jake Stokke ’19 is majoring in psychology and religious studies.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE CLASSROOM

The series is sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain’s Office and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL) at Virginia Wesleyan University.

Thursday, March1411– 11:50 AM | BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Scriptural Battle On Behalf of Slaves and Women

9

Craig and Kelly

Our mission statement at the Center emphasizes the importance of our equipping individuals to be engaged leaders and citizens. We say that we want to help students and community participants be

more informed about issues that matter. That is true. We also say that we want to help them recognize why it is good to be transformed, to have hearts that are not impervious, but that are open to challenges and inequalities in the world. That also is true. But knowledge and good hearts are not enough to make change. Well-intentioned people on multiple sides of any issue may know well and mean well, and still not make a difference. We all know too many individuals who invest hours making comments on Facebook in ways that have very marginal influence at best. To mix metaphors, the world is full of people who can describe symptoms of a problem but can offer no diagnosis, prognosis, or prescription. We know that we have a prescription that makes a difference. Again, as our mission statement says, we want to equip individuals to be engaged leaders and citizens. Our training sessions this semester point to our movement in that direction. We want to increase capacity for our work by creating more opportunities for students and community members to develop skills. We are doing this locally and we are doing this nationally, by developing case studies in Dayton, Ohio, as part of a Faith-Based Research Exchange through the Kettering Foundation. Thank you for your support of our common effort. We are very grateful for your involvement, attendance, and engagement in the life and mission of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom. If you are able to support us financially, please use the information below. We know that we are making a difference in the world during an important time. We appreciate your partnership and support.

F RO M T H E S TA F F

AN EXTENDED QUOTE

ATTRIBUTED TO A

MONK AROUND 1100

ILLUSTRATES OUR

CHALLENGES WELL:

“When I was a young man,

I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change

the world, so I tried to change

my nation. When I found I

couldn’t change the nation,

I began to focus on my town.

I couldn’t change the town

and as an older man, I tried to

change my family. Now, as an

old man, I realize the only thing

I can change is myself, and

suddenly I realize that if long

ago I had changed myself, I

could have made an impact on

my family. My family and I could

have made an impact on our

town. Their impact could have

changed the nation and I could

indeed have changed the world.”

We appreciate your trust and support in our common mission. If you are able, please visit www.vwu.edu/giveonline and make a donation. Designate your gift to the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom (CSRF).

Kelly and Craig with Hanoch Piven in fall 2018 Creativity Workshop on Identity.

310

ALL CSRF EVENTS ARE FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND ARE HELD ON THE VWU CAMPUS *Registration required for training sessions. Contact Kelly Jackson at 757-455-3129 or kjackson@vwu.edu.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS7 America’s First Freedom Conflicts

Then and Now: Musical Theatre and the Founding Fathers

COOKSON LECTURE Rob Lauer, Award-winning Playwright

Thursday, 7–8:15 PM Blocker Hall Auditorium

12 LIFE MATTERS: Dave Garraty Professor of Management/Business/Economics Tuesday, 12-12:50 PM Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite Sponsored in partnership with VWU Chaplain’s Office and INTEL

14 Taking Back the Bible: Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Scriptural Battle On Behalf of Slaves and Women Dr. Craig Wansink, CSRF Director and VWU Professor of Religious Studies, and VWU senior Jake Stokke ’19 Thursday, 11-11:50 AM

Blocker Hall Auditorium

Religious Ways to Justify Genocide Dr. Sara Sewell

VWU Professor of History and Executive Director of the Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery Thursday, 7-8 PM | Blocker Hall Auditorium

26 Conflict and Peace in Jordan From International Geopolitics to Individual Identity STUDY-AWAY PRESENTATION Selena Chambers ’19 Tuesday, 11-11:50 AM

Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite

APRIL4 LIFE MATTERS: Brandon Elliott ‘03

Head Softball Coach Thursday, 12–12:50 PM

Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite Sponsored in partnership with VWU

Chaplain’s Office and INTEL

TWO STORIES OF IMMIGRATION MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

“Whosoever saves one life…” The SS Quanza and the Battle Over Jewish Refugees, 1940 Dr. Eric Mazur Professor of Judaic Studies and CSRF Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics, VWU

Challenges of Refugees A Look into the Lives of Resettled Refugees in Coastal Virginia

Dr. Rabia Jafri, Founder of Hampton Roads Refugee Relief organization, and Saher Mirza Founder of “Coffee with a Refugee” program

Thursday, 7-8 PM Blocker Hall Auditorium

JANUARY

31 VCIC Diversity and Dialogue Facilitation Training* TRAINING SESSION Paula L. Bazemore Hampton Roads Program Manager, VCIC Thursday, 7–9 PM | GESC Room 155

FEBRUARY

7 Ethics and Social Justice ETHICS BOWL DEMONSTRATION Thursday, 7-8:30 PM | Monumental Chapel

14 How People Use Fake News in Social Media to Fuel Divisiveness (and What We Can Do to Stop It) MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Dr. Leslie Caughell Associate Professor of Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies, VWU Thursday, 7-8 PM | Blocker Hall Auditorium

21 Jerusalem as a Case Study for Challenges of Mediating Religious Conflict MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Dr. Jonathan Schanzer Senior Vice President of Research, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Thursday, 11-11:50 AM | Blocker Hall Auditorium Sponsored in partnership with the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

28 Protecting Ourselves and Our World from Our Five God-like Technological Powers* TRAINING SESSION

Paul K. Chappell, Peace Leadership Director, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Thursday, 8-9:30 AM Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite

The Journey from Rage to Radical Empathy and Realistic Hope TRAINING SESSION

Paul K. Chappell Thursday, 7–9:15 PM | Blocker Hall Auditorium

MARCH

4 Divorce, the Bible, and Religious Faith NEXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE Rabbi Michael Panitz, Rabbi at Temple Israel, Father Jim Parke, Roman Catholic Priest, retired, and Rev. Christa Springstead ‘07, Pastor at The Garden United Methodist Church Monday, 7–8:30 PM Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite Sponsored in partnership with VCIC and HUBB

11 Presumed Guilty: Why We Shouldn’t Ask Muslims to Condemn Terrorism MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Dr. Todd Green Professor of Religion, Luther College Thursday, 7-8 PM Blocker Hall Auditorium

15 Same Sex Relationships, the Bible, and Christianity NEXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE Rev. Brandon Nichols ’12, Pastor of Joliff United Methodist Church, and Rev. Craig Wansink, Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church Monday, 7–8:30 PM Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite Sponsored in partnership with VCIC and HUBB

18 Public Policy and Healing Through Prayer: Christian Scientists’ Practice in the 21st Century

MEDIATING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT Richard Geiger and Dr. Thomas Johnsen Christian Science Practitioners Thursday, 7–8 PM Blocker Hall Auditorium

25 LIFE MATTERS: Dr. Mavel Velasco Professor of Hispanic Studies, VWU Thursday, 12–12:50 PM Batten Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite Sponsored in partnership with the Chaplain’s Office and INTEL, VWU From Dialogue to Action An Interactive Workshop* TRAINING SESSION Susan Feit, Social Justice Strategist, and Teresa Stanley, Coordinator of Interspiritual Empowerment Project, Virginia Organizing Thursday, 7–9 PM GESC Room 155

Understanding RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

CRAIG WANSINK, PH.D. Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director

KELLY JACKSON, Associate Director

ERIC MAZUR, PH.D. Center Fellow for Religion, Law, and Politics

EDITORCraig Wansink, Ph.D.

MANAGING EDITORKelly Jackson

ART DIRECTORChristine Hall

PRODUCTION MANAGERJanice Marshall-Pittman

VISIT US ONLINE ATwww.vwu.edu/csrfnewsletter

Understanding RELIGIOUS FREEDOM is published twice a year by the

Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University

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

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDNorfolk, VA Permit 275817 Wesleyan Drive

Virginia Beach, VA 23455

LEFT: TaShawn Sanders ʼ20TOP RIGHT: C.D. Hylton ʼ22BOTTOM RIGHT: Lexi Holley ʼ19

In fall 2018, through a partnership with the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Hanoch Piven led VWU students to create collages with common objects. In this workshop on identity, participants responded to the question, “what are we made of?” as they considered the different values, experiences, and emotions that make us the individuals that we are.