Parliament of Worlds Religion 2004 Barcelona

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 120

Proselytization and Religious Freedom
Kusumita Pedersen
Wande Abimbola
Irfan Khan
David Little
Rev. Hans Ucko
Vrnda Chaitanya
Arvind Sharma
Auditorium (3155), Spanish/English/Catalan
A panel of internationally distinguished experts will discuss the basic human right of religious freedom in relation to the controversial issue of proselytization, the effort to convert others to one's own religion. While proselytization is often viewed negatively, religious freedom embraces the right to peacefully teach others about one's own religion. Presentations and discussions will explore the ethical, interreligious and legal aspects of this important and complex issue.
Kusumita Pedersen, Ph.D., is chair of the Department of Religious Studies at St. Francis College. She has been involved with the Global Interfaith Movement for the past twenty years.
Wande Abimbola occupies the position of Awise Awo Ni Agbaye, "spokesperson and ambassador for the Yoruba religion and culture in the world." He has devoted his life to the Ifa, the Yoruba system of divination, and has taught at Harvard, Colgate and Boston College and written extensively on the Yoruba tradition.
Irfan Ahmad Khan is President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations (WCMIR) and a Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions.
David Little, Ph.D., is professor of practice in religion, ethnicity, and international conflict at the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge Massachusetts. Previous to that he was a senior scholar at the United States Institute of Peace.
The Rev. Hans Ucko, Ph.D., is an ordained minister of the church of Sweden, and is currently responsible for Jewish-Christian relations and dialogue at the World Council of Churches.
Vrnda Chaitanya received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the recipient of several awards and honors and has published numerous works on Hindu Philosophy, International Feminism, and Ecology. Dr. Chaitanya is currently a Distinguished Professor of Vedanta and Sanskrit at Valosta State University.
Dr. Sharma gained an M.T.S. in 1974 and then a Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University in 1978. He is now Birks Chair of Comparative Religion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has published over fifty books including The Study of Hinduism (2003) and five hundred articles in the fields of comparative religion, Hinduism, Indian philosophy and ethics, and the role of women in religion.
Program Descriptions Thursday, July 8, 2004 ENGAGEMENT SESSION 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
A Buddhist-Christian Dialogue on Communal Responses to Social and Environmental Violence
Donald Mitchell
John Berthrong David Chappell
Rita M. Gross
Rosemary Ruether
Sulak Sivaraksa
Multiuse (1800), Spanish/English/Catalan Panel Discussion
This panel will present the results of a series of dialogues that have been held by the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter, known also as the Abe-Cobb Group, and have been sponsored by the Lilly Endowment. The dialogues addressed the causes of, and responses to, social and environmental violence. Presentations by Sulak Sivaraksa on "The Economic Basis of Social and Environmental Violence and the Need for Economic Justice," and Rita Gross on "Reconstructing Just Communities in Response to Social and Environmental Viiolence" will be followed by responses from Rosemary Radford Ruether and Donald Mitchell. John Berthrong will moderate and David Chappel will give a special presentation on the history and work of ICBTE in addressing economic, social and environmental issues.
Donald W. Mitchell, Professor of Comparative Philosophy and Religion at Purdue University, is active in Buddhist-Christian dialogue. He is Director of the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter, and is advisor for Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. His books include Spirituality and Emptiness, Masao Abe: A Zen Life of Dialogue, and The Gethsemani Encounter.
John H. Berthrong, Associate Dean and Professor of Comparative Theology, is director of the Institute for Dialogue Among Religious Traditions at Boston University. He has written numerous publications including All Under Heaven: Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue, and The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North American Cultural Mosaic.
David W. Chappell teaches Buddhist studies and comparative religion at Soka University of America, and is Professor Emeritus of the University of Hawaii. His publications include several edited books, among which are: Buddhist and Taoist Studies, Tien-t'ai Buddhism: An Outline of the Fourfold Teachings, and Buddhist Peacework: Creating Cultures of Peace.
Rita M. Gross, a noted scholar of Buddhism, has been involved in Buddhist-Christian dialogue for twenty-five years, representing Tibetan Buddhism in general, and the Shambhala Buddhist perspective in particular. She is the author of numerous articles and essays on women and religion, including "Buddhism after Patriarchy: A Feminist History."
Rosemary Radford Ruether has been a pioneer in Christian feminist theology for over three decades, and her books are among the most widely read of North American feminist theologians. Her
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