Understanding Religious Freedom | Spring 2020

A publication of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University | S P R I N G 2020

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LEADING FOR CHANGE

LEADING FOR GOODNESS’ Reflecting on how so many Germans abdicated responsibility and leadership during the Nazis’ rise to power in World War II, Rev. Martin Niemöller shared a prose version of this poetic confession.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Passivity, as he noted, doesn’t lend itself to progress.

The human race doesn’t simply drift toward that which is good and pure.

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” However, as former Attorney General Eric Holder also cautioned, “It only bends toward justice because people pull it toward justice. It doesn’t happen on its own.”

Sometimes specific individuals are in positions or situations – like President Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s – in which they can make a clear difference through their leadership. And when we see the divisions he helped breach, and the way in which he did so, we recognize the difference strong leadership can make.

Other acts of leadership grow out of daily life or work.

Two years ago when Siobhan O’Connor was Executive Assistant to the Bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, this faithful Catholic recognized that she had to speak out. In hundreds of pages of personnel files she had found, she discovered that the Bishop had been allowing priests accused of sexual assault to stay on the job for years. “The reality of what I saw really left me with no other option,” she said, “because at the end of my life, I’m not going to answer to Bishop Malone. I’m going to answer to God.” Leadership as a concept is abstract. But it becomes significant when it starts with ourselves, when we have a clear moral compass, and when we recognize that we need to lead ourselves, not drift. The vision statement for the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom focuses not just on “informing” and “transforming” students and community members, but also on “equipping” them to be leaders in society. In the last 23 years of the life of the Center, never has there been more need for individuals to see themselves as having the ability and the call to be change agents and leaders.

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

LEADING FOR CHANGE

SAKE

Who are we called to be and what might awaken us to action?

Join us as we look at leadership through five different lenses: poetry; the words of Lincoln; the art of comics; the failure of leadership; and entrepreneurship (the new age of discovery).

This semester, as we are guided by provocative speakers, as we engage in hard discussions, and learn new ways to lead, we invite you to be a part of this journey.

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

ON - DECK PROGRAM

Tuesday, February 11 | 11-11:50 am BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Leading Social Change through Poetry SARAH BROWNING As an activist and former community organizer – and in the spirit of Ella Jenkins, Pete Seeger, Adrienne Rich, and others – Sarah Browning uses poetry to show possibilities for political and social change. As a co-founder and Executive Director of Split This Rock, a socially conscious literary organization, she has highlighted how poets working in community can lead to social change. Learn why Browning believes that poetry is important to leaders today.

Sarah Browning is author of Killing Summer (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2017), co-founder and immediate past Executive Director of Split This Rock, and Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank dedicated to building a more equitable, ecologically sustainable, and peaceful society.

Thursday, February 13 | 11-11:50 am BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Lincoln’s Mystic Chords: Recovering Our Better Angels

Dr. Timothy G. O’Rourke, Vice President Emeritus, served as Chief Academic Officer at VWU from 2007 to 2019, first as the Kenneth R. Perry Dean of the College and Vice President for Academic Affairs and then through his 2016 appointment to Provost and Vice President.

DR. TIMOTHY O’ROURKE Abraham Lincoln’s two inaugural addresses, along with the Gettysburg Address, do much to capture his principles and politics and the challenge of adapting principles to circumstances.The two inaugural addresses are end pieces – Lincoln is trying, first, to keep the Union from coming apart, and second, to bring it back together. In all three addresses, Lincoln seeks to establish the common ground – or, indeed, the hallowed ground – that can bring Americans together.

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LEADING FOR CHANGE Tuesday, March 10 | 11-11:50 am BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Leadership through the Art of Comics The Holocaust through the Lens of 1955’s ‘Master Race’ DR. STEPHEN HOCK Whether they are called comic books or graphic novels, works like Maus or V for Vendetta use not just compelling characters and engaging plots, but also striking art to shape how readers enter the story. Reflecting on an early comic-book story about the Holocaust – Bernard Krigstein’s Master Race – Dr. Stephen Hock highlights how to effectively read comic books and shows the distinctive ways in which they make an impact.

Stephen Hock, Associate Professor of English at VWU, has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching a variety of courses in American literature, he also teaches “The Art of Comic Books,” a course that focuses on formal analysis of the narratives produced by the union of words and images.

Thursday, March 12 | 11-11:50 am BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

Who Guards the Guards When Leadership Goes Bad? The Gendered Silences in the Nigerian Military Response to the Boko Haram Insurgency DR. MODUPE OSHIKOYA

In combatting the terrorist group Boko Haram, the Nigerian military used counterinsurgency tactics that resulted in widespread human-rights violations, rape, and gender-based violence against the civilian population. Dr. Modupe Oshikoya highlights the violence perpetrated by those who were supposed to be in charge of protecting the civilians, shows how leadership and oversight came to be distorted, and brings us all to ask, “Who guards the guards?”

Dr. Modupe Oshikoya, Assistant Professor of Political Science at VWU, has served as a Research Associate at the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria, and as a Senior Officer at the International Affairs and Defence Section of the House of Commons, Houses of Parliament in London. Her research on the Nigerian military led to her receiving the APCG-Lynne Rienner Best Dissertation in African Politics 2019 award.

P R O G R A M M I N G & PA RT N E R S H I P S ON - DECK PROGRAM

Thursday, April 16 | 11–11:50 am SUSAN S. GOODE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The New Age of Discovery What Do Ferdinand Magellan and Elon Musk Have in Common?

DR. PATRICK J. MURPHY

In the last 20 years, Americans increasingly have shifted their self-understanding from an industrial/organizational paradigm to one that is primarily entrepreneurial. That has happened in religion, communication media, human relationships, political paradigms, and – of course – business. Life has changed, with traditional corporate loyalties being replaced with “Shark Tank” instincts and innovation. This talk highlights how shifts today are illuminated through travelers during the Age of Discovery, the vision they had, and the mutinies they encountered. This lecture focuses on how to navigate in a society that increasingly focuses on entrepreneurship in every aspect of life.

Dr. Patrick J. Murphy, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serves as Goodrich Endowed Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Professor in the Collat School of Business at the University of Alabama (Birmingham).

Support for the On-Deck events is provided by The Lighthouse: Center for Exploration & Discovery at VWU.

BOYD INSTITUTE SEMINAR ON LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH

Monday, March 23 & Tuesday, March 24 SUSAN S. GOODE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Embracing the Church of Tomorrow Today REV. OLU BROWN

How to lead change? How to look at technology, hospitality, worship, and church systems in the 21st century?

This two-day seminar focuses on how to anticipate and embrace change, particularly in an institution – the church – that frequently is reluctant to do so.

Rev. Olu Brown is the lead pastor of Impact Church near Atlanta, GA. In 2016, Impact Church was listed as one of the top 100 fastest growing churches in America (and the fifth fastest growing United Methodist congregation). Brown is well-known as the author of Zero to 80: Innovative Ideas for Planting and Accelerating Church Growth, Leadership Directions from Moses, and 4D Impact: Smash Barriers Like a Smart Church.

Monday, March 23, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Tuesday, March 24, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Seminar Fee: $75 (includes lunch on Monday and a light breakfast on Monday and Tuesday).

This seminar is open to all and also awards one continuing education credit for clergy from the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

If you are interested in registering for the 2020 Boyd Institute with Rev. Brown, please contact Kelly Jackson (kjackson@vwu.edu) at the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom.

PROTEST MUSIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE ROBERT C. NUSBAUM ESSAY CONTEST The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom regularly creates project-based partnerships with VWU courses to help students recognize how religious freedom issues shape their daily lives. Last semester, the Center worked with Dr. Bryson Mortenson, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Music, and his WES 200 course on “Protest Music,” as his students wrote on the role specific songs played in seeking to effect social change. Megan Coffren ‘22 and Landry Moffo ‘22 wrote the winning essays.

Megan’s essay focused on the 1976 song Zombie, by the Nigerian band Fela Kuti’s Afrika ’70. The essay highlighted how both the lyrics of the song and the musical style of Afrobeat were used in protesting the devastation caused by Nigeria’s military. The lyrics to Zombie – words like right turn / about turn / double up / salute – mocked Nigerian soldiers

who were seen as lacking free will, blindly following orders from the ever-changing military leaders. In addition, the unstructured beats and freestyle music of Afrobeat were used as a juxtaposition to the regimented trumpet and drums of military music.

Similarly highlighting both the lyrics and the style of the music, Landry focused on the 1970s protests in Jamaica against the country’s oppressive political structure. Max Romeo’s Let the Power Fall on I wastes no time in getting to the theme of the song. Both the self-assertive title and the lyrics that evoke a Rastafarian prayer serve as words of protest, with the reggae form used as a clear example of protest music.

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J U S T I N E L. N U S B A U M L E C T U R E Tuesday, April 28 | 7 - 8:30 pm SUSAN S. GOODE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The Art of Waging Peace Why Peace Literacy Matters PAUL K. CHAPPELL

Robert C. Nusbaum

In 1995, Robert C. “Bob” Nusbaum inspired the creation of the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan. In a memorial article in 2018, Bob’s son Bill noted that his “father’s actions were animated by the Jewish idea of tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase that essentially translates to ‘perfect the world.’”

Please join us as we pay tribute to Bob’s enduring vision at the Justine L. Nusbaum Lecture to be held on Tuesday, April 28.

Born in Alabama to a Korean mother and African-American father, Paul K. Chappell is a West Point graduate, former Army captain, and Iraq War veteran. His military service taught him that people don’t simply gravitate toward peaceful behavior, in large part because they aren’t trained to do so. In an era when humanity has the technological capacity to destroy itself, and when humans frequently don’t control their own dispositions, Chappell realized the need for us to become as well-trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war. This evening he shows how peace literacy frames peace not merely as a goal but as a practical skill-set that addresses the root causes of our human problems.

Paul K. Chappell is an international peace educator, author of the seven-book Road to Peace series, and the Peace Leadership Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Peace Literacy has the capacity to repair our broken parts and create a nonviolent world anchored in dignity, meaning, purpose, and compassion for all. Given the crucial role that Peace Literacy can play, I support the recognition of education in Peace Literacy as a universal human right.

ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND TUTU

Tuesday, February 18 | 11–11:50 am BLOCKER HALL AUDITORIUM

ISRAEL, PALESTINE, VWU STUDENTS, AND THE ART OF WAGING PEACE Virginia Wesleyan Batten Honors College Students, with Dr. Craig Wansink and Kelly Jackson

How does someone work for peace in a deeply fractured part of the world? What steps can be taken?

Join 15 VWU students who – in a CSRF-sponsored travel course in January 2020 – visited kibbutzim, experienced homestays with Palestinians, had a Shabbat meal in the home of a Jewish Rabbi, talked with Lutheran farmers, met Bedouins, dined in the home of a Druze family, and talked with Jewish and Muslim parents whose children were killed in armed conflict. In addition, the students met with a variety of organizations that work toward peace in the region – with people very different from themselves. Join us as these students share their research on the challenges of this fascinating country.

STUDENT REFLECTIONS

PEACE LEADERSHIP with JACKLYN CHEELY ’19

J

acklyn Cheely ’19 laughed at herself, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “Feel free to share that I had no idea what or where Chernobyl was. I had never heard of it!”

Cheely, a bright, engaging, joy-filled, focused, and self-deprecating alumna, was reflecting on her summer internship with Paul K. Chappell at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). Not long after arriving at NAPF in Santa Barbara, she was in a staff meeting when Chernobyl was mentioned. Cheely, who hadn’t yet been born in 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union exploded, asked, “What is Chernobyl?” Her colleagues at NAPF, along with an engaging HBO series, quickly educated her on the disaster.

Cheely grinned with the recognition that there probably were plenty of other things that she did not yet know.

During her years at VWU, Cheely

studied sociology and religious studies, played tennis and was all-conference (ODAC) in field hockey, and consistently looked for ways to make a difference. Her engagement with the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom was strengthened when she took the course “Mediating Religious Conflict.”

Not only did she learn the difference between dialogue and debate, she acquired practical skills that continue to serve her well when discussing difficult and contentious topics.

She was introduced to Paul Chappell when she took a CSRF travel course in January 2018. Prior to leaving for Israel and Palestine, students participated in a peace literacy workshop with Chappell. The workshop provided grounding for the trip abroad, giving students a new lens for looking at conflict in the region.

After graduating in May 2019,

Cheely interned with Chappell in Santa Barbara for the summer before beginning a graduate program in peace and development studies at the University of Limerick. Cheely stopped by the Center in December while she was home for the holidays. She reflected on the power of peace literacy to change the world.

“What if all world leaders, and all people everywhere, were trained in peace literacy?” she asked. “What would the world look like?” Cheely quickly answered her rhetorical question. A peace literate world would be safer and less violent.

Leaders would focus on the root causes of many national and global problems, and we would all have concrete tools for waging peace.

At the Center, we believe that one of the best ways that we can honor Bob Nusbaum is to nurture the Jewish idea of perfecting the world – tikkun olam – in students like Jacklyn Cheely. We are grateful for her leadership.

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

Deliberation is a particular kind of talk. Effective leaders recognize that such talk goes beyond discussion or debate so as to seek the best solutions for everyone.

How Should We Prevent Mass Shootings in Our Communities?

Monday, March 9 | 7–9 pm

JANE P. BATTEN STUDENT CENTER | PEARCE SUITE

Most religious and faith-based organizations

share a deep commitment to the well-being of their communities. Yet despite their best efforts, many communities continue to struggle to make progress on pressing issues.

For the past several years, the Center for the

Study of Religious Freedom has been part of a national Kettering Foundation faith-based research exchange. Our working group has focused on strengthening the capacities of religious organizations and communities to help the broader community solve persistent problems.

This semester, the Nexus Interfaith Dialogue

series is using the deliberative dialogue format supported by the Kettering Foundation to explore two crucial issues for our country: how to prevent mass shootings; and how to handle immigration.

Each dialogue uses an issue guide that presents three options for addressing the issue, along with the drawbacks for each of the options.

Deliberative dialogue is participatory and is

best when conducted in small groups that are facilitated by trained moderators. To help us to plan for a good experience, please let us know that you’d like to participate.

Call 757-455-3129, or email the Center at csrf@vwu.edu to RSVP. Sponsored in partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) and Hands United Building Bridges (HUBB)

Coming to A MERICA

Whom Should We Welcome, What Should We Do? Monday, April 20 | 7–9 pm JANE P. BATTEN STUDENT CENTER PEARCE SUITE

CAMPUS PROGRAMS

Wednesday, February 26 | 7–8 pm

Ethics and Higher Education

SUSAN S. GOODE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

ETHICS BOWL DEMONSTRATION

ON - DECK PROGRAM

Diversity Regimes When Diversity is Everywhere, It’s Nowhere

DR. JAMES M. THOMAS In his newest book, Diversity Regimes (Rutgers University Press, 2020), Dr. Thomas draws on two years of ethnographic fieldwork at an American public university to illustrate the conflicts between core actors over how to define, organize, and implement diversity within an institution of higher education. He discusses his research during a public lecture on Wednesday evening.

Dr. James M. Thomas is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Mississippi, and is the author of four books, over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, invited essays, and numerous commentaries in popular press. Thomas’s research has been featured in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Pacific Standard, and Slate Magazine. His research interests are in the areas of race and racism, inequality, affect, and Empire.

Tuesday, February 4 | 7–8:30 pm MONUMENTAL CHAPEL

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 team prepares to compete at the 2020 VFIC Ethics Bowl, the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom hosts a debate demonstration that gives the audience the opportunity to interact, critique, and discuss. Please come help students prepare for the VFIC competition, which is held on February 9 and 10 at the University of Lynchburg.

The Virginia Wesleyan 2020 VFIC Ethics Bowl team members are Anitra Howard ’24, Celine Maharaj ’25, Katy Niedzwiecki ’24, Alex Powers ’21, and Criofan Shaw ’25 (alternate), with VWU Professor of Communication Dr. Kathy Merlock Jackson as faculty coordinator.

LIFEMatters

In “Life Matters,” members of the Wesleyan community offer autobiographical 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.

Thursday, February 27 | 11 am–12:30 pm

Building Coalitions for Change on College Campuses

Tuesday, February 25

Thursday, April 23

VWU Lambuth M. Clarke Professor of English

VWU Professor of Philosophy and Batten Professor

DR. JAMES M. THOMAS

Dr. Michael Hall

Virginia Wesleyan students are invited to participate in a workshop designed to teach skills for building coalitions for change on campus.

11-11:50 am

Workshop open to VWU students

Dr. Larry Hultgren

JANE P. BATTEN STUDENT CENTER | PEARCE SUITE Please feel free to bring a bag lunch or purchase lunch in the Boyd Dining Center.

The series is co-sponsored with the Chaplain’s Office and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning at Virginia Wesleyan University.

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PAGE 9F-RFROM O M TTHE H E STAFF] S TA F FPlease use both pictures of Craig and Kelly (serious and playful)

We need leaders.

When society drifts, it does not drift in meaningful or healthy ways. When we drift, we don’t drift toward healthier or more meaning-filled lives.

And so this last semester, we deliberately paused to reflect on where we have been and where we need to go in the Center.

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wo images were central to Bob Nusbaum’s vision of the necessity of a center. One image was not an attractive one. It was of genocide, of the Holocaust, of religious people hating, persecuting, and killing people of other faiths. It highlighted a world adrift.

If that was the disease or the problem, then the other image was the cure or a hope for the future. The second image – reflecting the leadership of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson – was that of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the First Amendment. Religious differences exist. However, through that statute and amendment, Americans acknowledged the reality of diversity and came to claim it as an important part of our heritage.

At its core, the Center recognizes that diversity exists, and that diversity strengthens us.

At the same time, we recognize that without dialogue, diversity feels more threatening than empowering. Diversity and dialogue are critical to issues involving faith and freedom.

Diversity and dialogue are needed more than ever in so many arenas of life in the United States.

That was what we heard repeatedly last semester when we went through a systematic selfstudy. We met with three different focus groups (students, faculty and staff, and community members) in reflecting on advancing our mission. Surprisingly, there was a lot of consensus among the three groups. Participants from each constituency appreciated the Center’s inclusive and welcoming environment for learning about diverse perspectives and beliefs. People also appreciated the relationship building opportunities that came from respectful discussion on tough topics.

Students were especially interested in creating space for cultivating deeper knowledge and understanding of topics that are relevant in daily life. They want to hear from people who are personally impacted, and they want greater opportunities for meaningful dialogue. One student described it as “teaching us how to understand the world.”

We look forward to sharing more of the feedback later this semester, as we announce some changes in our future. As the two of us finish our sixth year back at the Center, and as the CSRF finishes its 23rd year, we are humbled by, and grateful for, your support. We need leaders.

We need you. Thank you for your commitment to diversity and dialogue today.

Craig and Kelly

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).

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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CALENDAR PAGE 10

FEBRUARY Ethics and Higher Education 4 ETHICS BOWL DEMONSTRATION Tuesday, 7-8:30 PM Monumental Chapel

Leading Social Change through Poetry 11 LEADING FOR CHANGE SERIES Sarah Browning Co-founder, Split This Rock Tuesday, 11-11:50 AM Blocker Hall Auditorium

Lincoln’s Mystic Chords: 13 Recovering Our Better Angels LEADING FOR CHANGE SERIES

Dr. Timothy O’Rourke Vice President Emeritus, VWU Thursday, 11-11:50 AM Blocker Hall Auditorium

srael, Palestine, VWU Students, 18 Iand the Art of Waging Peace

Virginia Wesleyan Batten Honors College students, with Dr. Craig Wansink and Kelly Jackson

Tuesday, 11-11:50 AM

Blocker Hall Auditorium IFE MATTERS: Dr. Michael Hall 25 LLambuth M. Clarke Professor of English, VWU Tuesday, 11-11:50 AM Batten Center, Pearce Suite

Regimes: When Diversity 26 Disiversity Everywhere, It’s Nowhere

MARCH How Should We Prevent Mass 9 Shootings in Our Communities?* N EXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE Monday, 7–9 PM Batten Center, Pearce Suite

eadership through the Art of Comics 10 LThe Holocaust through the Lens of 1955’s ‘Master Race’

L EADING FOR CHANGE SERIES

Dr. Stephen Hock

Associate Professor of English, VWU

Tuesday, 11-11:50 AM

Blocker Hall Auditorium

Who Guards the Guards When 12 Leadership Goes Bad? The Gendered Silences in the Nigerian Military Response to the Boko Haram Insurgency

L EADING FOR CHANGE SERIES

Dr. Modupe Oshikoya

Assistant Professor of Political Science, VWU Thursday, 11-11:50 AM Blocker Hall Auditorium

mbracing the Church of Tomorrow 23 EToday OYD INSTITUTE 24 BRev. Olu Brown

Lead Pastor of Impact Church, Atlanta GA 2-Day Seminar on Leadership in the Church Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center (Registration required. Fee $75)

Dr. James Thomas Associate Professor of Sociology University of Mississippi Wednesday, 7-8 PM Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center

APRIL he New Age of Discovery 16 TWhat Do Ferdinand Magellan and Elon Musk Have in Common?

L EADING FOR CHANGE SERIES Dr. Patrick J. Murphy Goodrich Endowed Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Univ. of Alabama Thursday, 11-11:50 AM Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center

to America: Whom Should 20 CWeoming Welcome, What Should We Do?* NEXUS INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

Monday, 7–9 PM Batten Center, Pearce Suite

IFE MATTERS: Dr. Larry Hultgren 23 LProfessor of Philosophy and Batten Professor, VWU

Thursday, 11-11:50 AM Batten Center, Pearce Suite

he Art of Waging Peace: Why Peace 28 TLiteracy Matters JUSTINE L. NUSBAUM LECTURE

Paul K. Chappell Peace Leadership Director, NAPF Tuesday, 7-8:30 PM Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center

ALL CSRF EVENTS ARE FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AND HELD ON THE VWU CAMPUS *Registration is requested for Nexus Interfaith Dialogue events. Please contact the Center at 757-455-3129 or csrf@vwu.edu to register.

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 EDITOR Craig Wansink, Ph.D. MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Jackson ART DIRECTOR Christine Hall PRODUCTION MANAGER Janice Marshall-Pittman Understanding RELIGIOUS FREEDOM is published twice a year by the Center for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University

Virginia Wesleyan Batten Honors College Students, with Dr. Craig Wansink and Kelly Jackson at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (January 2020).

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

5817 Wesleyan Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Norfolk, VA Permit 27

Pictures taken during a CSRF travel course to Israel and Palestine in January 2020 (see article on page 5).