The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom is grounded in Virginia Wesleyan College’s commitment to a rigorous liberal arts education and its United Methodist heritage. The Center does not advocate any particular political or religious perspective. Rather, it seeks to promote deeper understanding of religious freedom through academic research, interdisciplinary study, informal discussion with students and community members, and interfaith dialogue.
Through its program initiatives, the Center seeks to educate both the mind and the heart, and to transform individuals and communities as people discover their common human experiences, hopes and needs, while learning to live respectfully and peacefully with their profound differences.
Mission Statement
Education
to provide Virginia Wesleyan students with an informed understanding of religious freedom as a basic human right
The Center’s educational mission is grounded in Virginia Wesleyan’s identity as a liberal arts college. The study of religious freedom is inherently interdisciplinary. Faculty members from across the college’s academic divisions contribute to the Center’s work by teaching Center-affiliated courses and participating in other Center programs. Additional programs being developed include a Certificate in Religious Freedom Studies and a religious freedom interdisciplinary major.
Scholarship
to engage in sustained study of the legal, social and theological conditions of religious freedom
Scholarship has always been part of the Center’s work. Activities
have included lectures by renowned scholars and publication of scholarly
essays. The Center’s library includes nearly than 1,000 books
on religious freedom and related issues, and these 
materials
are available to students, faculty, and other interested users. The
Center was instrumental in the creation of the Encyclopedia of
Religious Freedom, published by Routledge, New York, in 2003,
and edited by the Center's former director, Dr. Catharine Cookson.
The Center’s long-term vision includes an endowed visiting scholar program, an annual named lecture series, and a scholarly journal in religious freedom studies.
Engagement
to combat religious intolerance by constructively engaging our society’s broad religious pluralism
The Center seeks not only to educate our minds, but to touch our hearts and transform our communities. Hearts are changed when we meet face to face with people whose worldviews are different from our own. We need not be afraid of our religious differences. Instead, we can choose to see them as opportunities for mutual understanding and growth. This process of committed engagement deepens our self-understanding, strengthens our communities, and reaffirms the democratic principles that support religious freedom. The Nexus Interfaith Dialogue series, among other programs, is dedicated to this kind of engagement.