Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 197

PROGRAM DES
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Religion, Spirituality and Wellbeing: Implications for Living and Learning
Marian de Souza
Dr James O'Higgins-Norman
Dr Jane Bone
Jacqueline Hodder
Philip Hughes
Dr John W Fisher
Room 101
Panel Discussion
This program will focus on religion and spirituality as an integral part of human experience. Participants will identify the different elements of religion and spirituality which relate to personal and communal identity; foster resilience, empathy and compassion; and promote meaning-making and connectedness. Ultimately, these are elements that contribute to the well-being of individuals and, therefore, their communities. It is hoped that the ensuing discussions will promote further understanding and appreciation of the dual roles of religion and spirituality in the lives of contemporary multifaith and multicultural societies. By the end of this session, participants will be inspired to seek ways to extend this understanding through various educational and community programs.
Dr Marian de Souza is Senior Lecturer at Australian Catholic University. Editor of the Journal of Religious Education and a co-founder of the Spirituality and Wellbeing in Education Research Group. Marian has published extensively on the subject of spirituality as pertaining to the relational dimension of the human person, and the role of non-conscious learning in promoting or impeding connectedness and integration.
Dr James O'Higgins-Norman is a lecturer and researcher at the School of Education Studies in Dublin City University where he is also Chair of Graduate Teacher Education. His research has been concerned with aspects of equality and well-being in schools and his work on homophobic bullying is considered to be seminal in the field of Irish education. He is co-founder of the Spirituality and Wellbeing in Education Research Group at Dublin City University.
Dr Jane Bone specialises in spiritual well-being in early childhood from a New Zealand perspective, with reference to Maori culture.
Jacqueline Hodder has been researching the area of contemporary youth spirituality for the past six years. Her PhD examined youth spirituality within the context of post-secularism and with particular emphasis on the role spirituality can play with regard to young people's well-being. Her research has found that for those for whom spirituality plays a significant role in their lives, there are richer resources from which to draw when making important life decisions.
Philip Hughes is the senior research officer of the Christian Research Association, Australia and has spent his life exploring the relationship between religious faith and cultures. The focus of his research has been on youth culture in Australia and Thailand.
Dr John Fisher is a researcher at Ballarat University.
George Hunsinger
Room 102
Lecture
Violence Finds Refuge in Falsehood: Religion and the Future of Torture
11:30am-1:00pm
INTERRELIGIOUS SESSION
This lecture will begin by establishing, through remarks by Solzhenitsyn and Orwell, the theme that violence finds refuge in falsehood. It will then demonstrate that this theme finds broad representation in the Bible, as well. The lecture will argue that the history of US involvement in torture is largely the history of exemptions for the CIA. The program will present an overview of these exemptions from 1975 to the present. In the next portion of the program, the prospects for a Truth Commission in the US will be discussed. It will suggest that, unless the utmost vigilance is exercised, CIA exemptions are likely to continue due to the CIA's power. This lecture, which is addressed primarily to religious communities throughout, will end by addressing the politics of hope and prayer. In conclusion, this program will set forth the examples of Bonhoeffer, as well as Wilberforce who in the 18th century opposed not only slavery but also torture.
George Hunsinger is the Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. In January 2006 he founded the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Married with two children and two grandchildren, he is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and president of the Karl Barth Society of North America. Among his recent books is 'Torture Is a Moral Issue: Christians, Jews, Muslims and People of Conscience Speak Out'.
Interfaith in Australia:
The Co-ordinating Work of the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations
Abd Malak
Josie Lacey OAM Gary Bouma
Therese Sussmilch Brian Ashen Room 103
Panel Discussion
Interfaith activity has mushroomed in Australia, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 and the 2002 bombings in Bali, where 89 Australians were killed. The Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (APRO) was established in 2003, partly in response to these tragedies, in order to help build interfaith harmony. In this session, participants will learn about the religious profile in Australia, the history of interfaith activity in Australia, and the work of APRO and other interfaith organisations in Australia, particularly in Tasmania. Participants will hear from representatives of various faith perspectives, including Buddhist and Jewish. The session will end with an interactive discussion on the topic 'What are the challenges and the future directions for interfaith activity in Australia?"
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