In these discussions, we seek to offer fresh solutions to the questions that have shaped the field, from the conflict between science and religion, to the difficulties of inter-religious conflict, from the challenges of research in the field, to humanity’s elusive search for the nature of reality itself.
Theology, Religion, and the Role of Reason:
Professor Johannes Zacchuber in Discussion
Professor Johannes Zacchuber draws on his studies of theological reasoning – from the Church Fathers to nineteenth century science – to discuss the multidisciplinary nature of Religious Studies, the place of reason in religion, and the often subversive character of academic ‘theology.’
Comparing Cultures: Globalism and the Promise of Cross-cultural Understanding:
Professor Julius Lipner in discussion
Dr Donovan Schaeffer discusses Evolutionary Biology, emotions, Nietzsche’s impact on religious studies, and what his extensive studies in the science of species, mind, and emotion have taught him about ‘what we mean when we talk about religion.’
Science, Religion and Reductionism:
Dr Donovan Schaeffer in discussion
Dr Donovan Schaeffer discusses Evolutionary Biology, emotions, Nietzsche’s impact on religious studies, and what his extensive studies in the science of species, mind, and emotion have taught him about ‘what we mean when we talk about religion.’
Religious Pluralism and Conflict:
Professor Anna Sapir Abulafia in Discussion
Professor Anna Sapir Abulafia draws on her detailed knowledge of medieval Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities to discuss the nature of orthodoxy, the power of government to create pluralistic communities, and the ethics of drinking beer with heretical neighbours.
Philosophy, Science and God:
Professor Keith Ward in Discussion
Professor Keith Ward draws on a career of more than thirty books and 50 years devoted to thinking about religion, philosophy and science. Here he questions the usual distinctions between religion and science. Along the way, he discusses the fabric of reality, the possibility of other dimensions, and the silence of physicists about God.
Ritual and Resistance at the Margins: Ritual, ‘Outsiders’, and the Study of Culture:
Professor Sondra Hausner in Discussion
Dr Sondra Hausner draws on a wide anthropological experience spanning East and West to discuss approaches to cultural change, and solutions to the Insider-Outsider Debate. She meditates on the appeal of marginal communities for discerning scholars, showing how they highlight the elements of resistance and change that exist in classic Durkheimian theories of society. The conversation carries on to consider ritual, participant fieldwork, and the pendulum-like swing between sacred and profane in human life.
Expanding Religion: Studying Migration, Diaspora and Zoroastrian Community: Professor John Hinnells in Discussion
Professor John Hinnells reflects on a lifetime of research on the effects of Diaspora on religions, and the importance of making those religions better understood in their new homes. From experience of the Zoroastrian communities of India, the U.K. and further afield, Professor Hinnells explores the role of the scholar as someone who must preserve tradition, without changing it in the process. Through forty years of engagement with the Parsi community, he shares his insights into the effects of global migration on communities and their beliefs.