Center on Religion & the Professions

Improving religious literacy among professionals.

Mahmoud Buys a House

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Mahmoud al Qureshi has just arrived in the United States from Pakistan. He has an excellent job in a New Jersey company as an advisor on Middle East exports. He has found a home he wants to purchase in Jersey City but he cannot agree to the terms of the mortgage. Islam has defnite rules about taking and paying interest that prohibit Mahmoud from signing a mortgage contract with a Jersey City bank. He decides to talk to his imam about it to find a solution because Mahmoud knows that other Muslims in the U.S. have successfully bought homes without compromising their faith. When he talked with a Christian co-worker, he learned that before the middle of the 16th century Christians had the same problem.

Issues and Study Questions

  • Based on the overview above, what is the conflict?
  • What belief systems about money and debt do Muslims and early Christians have in common?
  • Why could Mahmoud not agree to the terms of the mortgages he has found?
  • What could he or the lenders do differently?
  • Why was religion an issue in this situation?
  • What is the responsibility of lenders in such a situation? What about other professions?
  • Do you think there is a “right” and “wrong” way to handle this situation? Why? Why not?
  • Have you faced similar conflicts in your own profession or personal life? If so, what were they? Were they resolved?
  • Do you think education about religious literacy would have helped/harmed in this situation? How so?

Source: Religion and the Professions (General Honors 1030) taught by Dr. Jill Raitt, University of Missouri

Enrollment open for religious literacy class

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May 28, 2009 – There are a few days left to enroll in “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions,” a new online course offered through MU Direct: Continuing and Distance Education. The course (REL ST 3100) teaches students to engage and encounter religion in day-to-day life and in the professional workplace. Its primary goal is to examine religious diversity in private and professional contexts from a practical standpoint by examining a variety of case studies. The course is open to University of Missouri students who are absent from campus for the summer or unable to attend day classes and to nontraditional students.

Five seats remain available for the course, which is offered through the University of Missouri’s Department of Religious Studies. The course was created by the department and the Center on Religion & the Professions at University of Missouri. The instructor is Justin Arft. Students can register up to June 8 for the eight-week class, which runs June 8-July 31. MU summer registration is June 3-5. A late fee is assessed if registering June 5-8.

Textbooks for the course include “Religion and the Workplace” by Douglas A. Hicks and “How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook” by Stuart M. Matlins and Arthur J. Magida.

The Center on Religion & the Professions was founded in 2003 with a mission of improving religious literacy among professionals, to help them serve a diverse public. For more information about the Center, call (573) 882-9257.

Cultural Awareness Training: Yan-Koloba

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The MU Black Culture Center, in partnership with the City of Columbia’s Commission on Human Rights, offers a cultural awareness training to Columbia residents.
Yan-Koloba is a social, educational and multicultural teambuilding and character-building activity rooted in the cultures of Africa. A brief intermission will feature authentic African cuisine. Space is limited to the first 30 participants.

May 23, 2009 – 2-4 p.m.
MU Gaines-Oldham Black Culture Center
University of Missouri

RSVP to Nathan Stephens at stephensna@missouri.edu.

CORP Newsletter – May 18, 2009

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crp-logo

News, Research, Calls for Papers and Events from the University of Missouri’s Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP)
May 18, 2009

Greetings! This will be our last edition of the newsletter before it takes a summer hiatus, but read on for current news and upcoming events, plus previews of some events coming up this summer and in early fall 2009. [Read more…]

CORP achievements featured in J-School newsletter

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May 12, 2009 – Recent accomplishments of the MU Center on Religion & the Professionsjournalismlogo are featured in the May 2009 Missouri School of Journalism Graduate Studies Newsletter. These include speaking engagements by Dr. Debra Mason, CORP director; large turnouts at recent CORP-sponosred events; and information about the new “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions” class to be taught online this summer.

Download the newsletter at the Missouri School of Journalism Graduate Program page, under Graduate Publications. The article appears on Page 11.

The Center on Religion & the Professions, which works to improve the religious literacy of professionals, including journalists, is an affiliate of the Missouri School of Journalism.

MU professor's book on work and faith featured

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May 12, 2009 – Dr. Richard “Chip” Callahan‘s recent book, “Work and Faith in the Kentucky Coal Fields: Subject to Dust,” is this week’s Book of the Week in Books & Culture: A Christian Review, a Christianity Today publication. Callahan is an assistant professor in the callahanDepartment of Religious Studies at University of Missouri. With a primary interest in religion in America, Callahan’s research explores the sphere of work and labor, including how occupational cultures, settings and relations of exchange both inform and are informed by religion.

His latest book uses oral histories, folklore, folksongs and vernacular spirituality to tell the history of how early 20th-century coal miners and their families lived their religion in eastern Kentucky’s coal fields. It is published by University of Indiana Press.

TREE program extending outreach – UPDATED

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tree-logoApril 30, 2009 – The Teen Relationship Education and Empowerment (TREE) program has had several successful events in its first four months. These include a workshop with 10 churches represented, drama performances and others.

A faith-based initiative against teen relationship violence, TREE was founded in December 2008 with a $50,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The grant went to a coalition of local churches, community health professionals and University of Missouri to create programming to help Columbia churches address teen relationship violence. Columbia’s Broadway Christian Church submitted the grant, with project development and administrative support from University of Missouri’s Center on Religion & the Professions.

The project kicked off with a Feb. 22 workshop with about 40 people gathering to learn about teen relationship violence, resources, and how religious communities can address the issue and help teens involved in violent relationships.

Recent local events include:

  • Rock Bridge Christian Church – Parent/teen program, March 29
  • Broadway Christian Church – Integration of “Choose Respect” video/curriculum into junior high “lock-in” event, April 4-5
  • Troubling Violence Performance Project performance for TREE members and supporters, April 15
  • Unitarian Universalist Church – Troubling Violence Performance Project performance for Our Whole Lives program, April 19
  • TREE participants attended Green Dot Prevent Strategy workshop with sexual and domestic violence educator Dr. Dorothy Edwards, April 21-23
  • Calvary Episcopal Church – Four-part series for their youth, April-May
  • Steve McMullen, RAVE (Religion and Violence E-learning) team leader from New Brunswick, Canada, presented on the RAVE project to participating TREE churches and supporters, April 25
  • Calvary Episcopal Church – Troubling Violence Performance Project visit to youth group, April 26

Upcoming:

  • Calvary Episcopal Church – Troubling Violence Performance Project performance, May 3
  • TREE representative speaks to the MU Council Against Violence Against Women, May 5, noon, Library Conference Room 159, University of Missouri

TREE representatives have additionally met with several church groups to talk about their event planning. Events are intended to grow from the February workshop and TREE resources, which include a lending library housed at The Communications Center, 1905 Cherry Hill Dr., Columbia. Participating churches and TREE representatives will meet again in June to share and brainstorm.

A Web site about TREE including links to resources will be available soon. New groups continue to want to be involved with the program, TREE Project Coordinator Kendra Yoder said.

The Missouri Foundation for Health grant was part of MFH’s Health Interventions in Non-Traditional Settings funding program, which provides two-year grants to faith-based and small secular organizations that address health needs in their communities.

Groups interested in building a TREE team for next year should contact Kim Ryan at (573) 489-2729 or kkgryan@juno.com or Kendra Yoder at klyd29@mizzou.edu.

Additional information:

CORP Newsletter – March 17, 2009

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crp-logoNews, Research, Calls for Papers and Events from the University of Missouri’s Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP)
March 17, 2009

CORP EVENTS
April 2 Film Series: “Spirituality & Health” Free. “Swimming in Auschwitz: Survival Stories of Six Women,” chronicles the families, faith and spiritual stories of six women deported to the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the Holocaust. Discussion led by Dr. Brick Johnstone, MU professor of health psychology and head of CORP’s Spirituality & Health research team. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 7 p.m.

April 7 Lecture and Book Signing: “Losing My Religion” by William Lobdell, former Los Angeles Times reporter and editor. Lobdell covered religion at the Times for eight years, reporting on such stories as the Roman Catholic clergy abuse crisis. In 2007, he wrote a column revealing that his experience with religion as a journalist caused him to lose his Christian faith. His memoir, “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America – and Found Unexpected Peace,” was published in 2009. Free. Fred W. Smith Forum, Reynolds Journalism Institute, Missouri School of Journalism, 7-9 p.m.

April 11 Conversation: “Prayer and Your Profession.” Do you pray at work? Hear from those for whom prayer is part of daily practice, including in their professions. Find out what it means for them to be able to pray at work and how it relates to their professions. Free. Part of the “Sects and the City: Coffee and Conversation on the Intersection of Faith and Life” series. The Cherry Street Artisan, 111 S. 9th St., Columbia, 11 a.m.-noon.

CORP NEWS
Director Interviewed: CORP Director Debra L. Mason was interviewed about technology use by churches for an article, “PTL*: Praise the Lord, Local church invites prayer requests via text message,” in the Columbia Daily Tribune on March 7, 2009. Mason provided information about the role of technology in churches and faith outreach, types of technology and trends.

Research Published: Religion and health research conducted by CORP-affiliated researchers has been published in the Missouri Medicine Quarterly. The article, “Spirituality, Religion and Health Outcomes Research: Findings from the Center on Religion and the Professions,” was authored by Dr. Brick Johnstone, head of CORP’s Spirituality and Health research team. The issue comes out in March 2009.

New Resources Online: CORP has added new resources to its Web site, including links to codes of ethics and conduct for 41 disciplines taught at MU; and to more than 60 religious organizations at MU. The Web site now also includes a newly launched feature on ways to donate to the Center.

New Course: CORP and affiliates have developed a new course, “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions” (Religious Studies 3100) that will be taught online in Summer 2009 through MU Extension’s Center for Distance and Independent Learning. The course provides practical knowledge about religion as it is encountered in the professional world in a pluralistic society. For information, call 882-9257.

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
March 26 Lecture: “Matters of Life and Death,” by Thomas Lynch, funeral director, noted speaker and author of books such as “The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade.” Part of the President’s Lecture Series at William Woods University. Cutlip Auditorium, William Woods University, Fulton, 7 p.m.

April 2 Lecture: “From Transience to Transcendence: The Psychological Impact of Awareness of Mortality on Human Conflict, Aggression and Peaceful Co-Existence,” by Jamie Arndt, associate professor in MU’s Department of Psychological Sciences. Overview of how human aggression and conflict can be understood, in part, as responses to the existential predicament of the human condition. Part of the 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series in Psychological Sciences, sponsored by the MU Department of Psychological Sciences and MU College of Arts and Sciences. Ketchum Auditorium, Laferre Hall, 3:30-5 p.m.

April 3 Brownbag Lecture: “The Mystery of the Resurrection: An Eastern Perspective,” sponsored by the MU Christian Scholars’ Forum. Fellowship, presentation and discussion; bring lunch. N243 Memorial Union, noon-1 p.m.

April 3-5 Retreat: Insight Meditation, led by Gina Sharpe, New York City Insight founder and visiting teacher at Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock. Featuring meditation, inquiry and conferences with teachers, focusing on awakening of wisdom and compassion and their manifestation in everyday life. Sponsored by Show Me Dharma. Sliding scale, $55-$100. Location to be announced. The non-residential retreat runs 7-9 p.m. April 3; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 4; and 8 a.m.-noon April 5.

April 4 Training: Diversity Train the Trainers, a program to instruct participants on diversity exploration activities. Sponsored by the MU Multicultural Center. Free. For more information, call (573) 882-7152. Gaines-Oldham Black Culture Center, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

April 8 Film: “For the Bible Tells Me So,” an exploration of how people and families of faith address having a gay child. Sponsored by the MSA/GPC Films Committee. Free. Wrench Auditorium, South Memorial Union, 8 p.m.

April 14 Dinner: Social Justice Seder, an interfaith event honoring the Jewish liberation story of Passover and celebrating struggles for freedom. The meal is kosher for Passover and is vegetarian. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the MU Women’s Center, Hillel, the Jewish Student Organization, the Multicultural Center, and the LGBT Resource Center. For more information, contact Struby at strublem@missouri.edu or (573) 882-6549. Location to be announced, 6 p.m.

April 20 Lecture: “Muslims and the Secular State: Dynamics of Majority/Minority Situations” by Abdullahi An-Naim, director of the Religion and Human Rights Program of Emory University School of Law’s Law and Religion Program. An-Naim, who is from Sudan, is an internationally recognized scholar on Islam and human rights, religion and human rights, Islamic law and criminal law. Sponsored by the MU Department of Religious Studies. 114 MU Physics Building, 7 p.m.

CONFERENCES
April 29 Seminar: “Living with Grief: Diversity and End-of-life Care,” a teleconference seminar focusing on understanding diversity and how cultural histories, traditions and beliefs can affect end-of-life care. Moderated by Frank Sesno, CNN special correspondent and professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. Hosted by the MU Center for Health Ethics. Continuing education credit available. Deadline to register is April 3. For more information, contact Allison Farris at (573) 882-2738. $30 ($20 for students). MU Old Alumni Center, 1105 Carrie Francke Drive, Columbia, noon-4 p.m.

CALLS FOR PAPERS
March 31 Deadline: Nida School for Translation Studies, a program of the E.A. Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society, aimed at supporting advanced training and research into translation studies. Theme is “Translation and Culture.” Conference to be held Sept. 7-9, 2009, in Rimini, Italy. For details, visit http://www.nidainstitute.org/TheNidaSchool/NidaSchool2009.dsp .

RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Read what’s in the news about religion this week on CORP’s home page.

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Lecture: "Embracing the Other: Foundation of Interfaith & Intercultural Dialogue"

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Lecture by Rihab Sawah, associate professor, Moberly Area Community College

This event is organized by the University of Missouri Dialogue Club (MUDC). MUDC is an MU-recognized student organization established with the goal of promoting dialogue, tolerance, and understanding among students of diverse faiths and cultures. For more information, see http://students.missouri.edu/~mudc/.

March 11, 2009 – 6:30 PM
S016 South Memorial Union
University of Missouri

Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

The presentation will highlight, through examples, the importance of interfaith and intercultural dialogue in bridging the gap that exists when we focus on differences. It will demonstrate how our actions could translate into an embracing of each other on the day-to-day level, regardless of those apparent differences.

Lecturer’s bio:
Sawah is associate professor of physics at Moberly Area Community College and she chairs its Global Education Committee. In the summer of 2007, she was the coordinator for a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad to Syria, which was to provide the participants with an experiential exposure to religious pluralism in Syria. The program included meeting the world’s first Syriac Patriarch, the Grand Mufti of Syria, the leaders of the Syrian-Jewish community in Damascus, and visits to several ancient Muslim, Christian, and Jewish holy sites.

Sawah has been presenting on Religious Pluralism in Syria, as well as other topics, at national conferences such as the MidWest Institute for International and Intercultural Education, in addition to many college campuses and civic institutions around the country.

Lecture: Kenneth W. Stein on "American Foreign Policy and Arab-Israeli Negotiations: Peace-Seeking, Peace-Making, Peace-Keeping"

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steinmugEmory University professor Dr. Kenneth W. Stein, former Middle East adviser to President Jimmy Carter, speaks on the current situation between Israel and the Arab Palestinians in a lecture, “American Foreign Policy and Arab-Israeli Negotiations: Peace-Seeking, Peace-Making, Peace-Keeping.”

Sponsored by: Local community members, the MU Center on Religion & the Professions, Truman School of Public Affairs, Peace Studies Program and Jewish Student Organization.

April 30, 2009 – 7 p.m.
Neff Auditorium, Neff Hall
University of Missouri

About Dr. Stein:

  • William E. Schatten Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History and Israeli Studies at Emory University
  • Director, Institute for the Study of Modern Israel at Emory University
  • President of the Center for Israel Education at Emory University
  • Former Middle East Fellow of the Carter Center (1983-2006)
  • Instrumental in President Jimmy Carter’s post-presidential engagements in Middle Eastern policy matters

For more information about Dr. Stein, see www.ismi.emory.edu or contact Yossi Feintuch, rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Columbia at (573) 499-4855 or feintuchy@missouri.edu. Professor Stein was Feintuch’s doctoral adviser in U.S. Middle Eastern policy at Emory and guided him toward publishing his dissertation, “U.S. Policy on Jerusalem,” a copy of which is available at the University of Missouri Ellis Library. Feintuch is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at University of Missouri.

UPDATE: Read article in the Columbia Missourian, May 1, 2009