- Fall 2007 Symposium: From Jamestown to Jefferson: The Evolution of Religious Authority in Colonial Virginia
- One Love Festival - An Evening of Music, Art and the Spoken Word
- Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series: Finding Passion in Faith
- Heaven as Hell: The First Amendment as a Refuge for Religious Scoundrels
- Bubbe Got Run Over by a Reindeer: Using Hanukkah to Justify Christmas in the Public Square
- Religion and Religious Freedom in the People's Republic of China
- Religious Institutions as Agents of Social Change
From Jamestown to Jefferson: The Evolution of Authority in Colonial Virginia
A six-part symposium, September 6 - November 8, 2007.
Virginia was the first American colony to have an established church, and became the first state to adopt a statute on religious freedom. This symposium will explore a range of themes related to Virginia’s historic journey, including such questions as: How did this journey transform the relationship between church and state? What was the Church’s social and moral influence during this period? How were “heretics” and dissenting religious groups treated? What role did religion play in the daily lives of the colonists? What lessons from Virginia’s experience are relevant today? This Symposium will explore these issues from a range of perspectives.
One Love Festival
Saturday, September 8, 2007, 7-11 p.m.,
Boyd Dining Center, Virginia Wesleyan College
Demonstrating unity in diversity, opening a way toward understanding, cultivating new friendships, and fostering an experience of our shared humanity.
Co-sponsors include the Hampton Roads Network for Nonviolence, SGI-USA Buddhist Community, and Virginia Beach Friends Meeting.
Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series: Finding Passion in Faith
Mondays, September 10, 2007, October 29, 2007, February 11, 2008, and March 31, 2008
7:30 - 9:00 p.m., Boyd Dining Center
Religious faith is not simply about belief and doctrine, or even morality and ethics. Beneath these elements lies something deeper, something that can generate passion and commitment. The 2007-2008 Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series will explore how this deeper faith element touches and motivates us in the spiritual, emotional, aesthetic, and social dimensions of our shared religious lives.
The series is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, and The Virginian-Pilot.
Heaven as Hell: The First Amendment as a Refuge for Religious Scoundrels
Thursday, February 28, 2008, 11:00 a.m., repeated at 7:30 p.m.,
Boyd Dining Center
From Luther's vulgar attacks on the papacy to Larry Flynt's satire of Jerry Falwell in Hustler magazine, religious humor has played a role in defining not only what is free speech, but what is civil behavior. This presentation will look at the history of religious satire and its place in the freedom of religious expression. Public lecture by Dr. Terry Lindvall, C. S. Lewis Professor of Communications and Religious Studies at Virginia Wesleyan.
Bubbe Got Run Over by a Reindeer: Using Hanukkah to Justify Christmas in the Public Square
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 11:00 a.m., repeated at 7:30 p.m.,
Boyd Dining Center
If the traditional Christmas Assembly is no longer acceptable in public schools, how can the insertion of Hanukkah—a holiday of little theological importance in the Jewish liturgical calendar—cultivate an aura of diversity? This talk will explore the rise of Jewish cultural and religious practices in public settings, the emergence of Hanukkah as a presumed Jewish counterpart to Christmas, and the significance of its use in the so-called war on Christmas. Public lecture by Dr. Eric Mazur, Gloria and David Furman Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Virginia Wesleyan.
Religion and Religious Freedom in the People's Republic of China
Thursday,April 3, 2008, 11:00 a.m., repeated at 7:30 p.m.,
Boyd Dining Center
This presentation will look at Chinese religious traditions (including Christianity), historical conflicts between them and the government, and their resurgence and current status. Public lecture by Dr. David Lorenzo, Associate Professor of Political Science at Virginia Wesleyan.
Religious Institutions as Agents of Social Change
Thursday, May 1, 2008, 11:00 a.m.
Clarke Hall, Room 118, Virginia Wesleyan College
Social welfare responsibility has been a central issue in political arenas around the world for centuries. Most Americans enjoy the benefits of governmentally funded social welfare programs. When the government system falters, religious institutions have historically taken up this responsibility, necessarily influencing the nature of these social programs. This presentation will explore some church-state conflicts created by this activity by comparing the role of Buddhism in the East and Christianity in the West. Julie Maggioncalda ’08, Health and Human Services major, Virginia Wesleyan College.