Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

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

Page 320

PROGRA
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
11:30am-1:00pm INTERRELIGIOUS SESSION
(SAG) and hear about their passion for human rights. A short mocumentary with a comic twist.
elytisation and their implications for religious freedom. Panellists will analyse these aspects from the perspective of several different traditions, and from the standpoint both of the person or group that proselytises and of the recipient of the attempt to convert. The discussion will consider the obligation in some theologies to witness
invite' or 'share' one's own religion, and views on the acceptability of this in a religiously plural setting. The panel will also address historic and contemporary instances of coercion and inducement' or 'allurement' with concern for how abuses can be prevented and what should count legally as coercion . Are efforts to protect religious identity problematic if they prohibit members of a community from adopting a new religion? Finally, the panel will consider questions of double or multiple belonging and practising across boundaries. Kusumita P Pedersen is a Professor of Religious Studies at St Francis College, a co-chair at the Interfaith Center of New York, and formerly an Executive Director of the Project on Religion and Human Rights. She is also an author of several articles on proselytisation and religious freedom, and a Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions Trustee. Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Esq is the North American representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and a professor of Native American law and human rights. She is president and founder of the American Indian Law Alliance, an NGO in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. An expert on the legal aspects of Indigenous peoples' rights, she is a veteran activist and advocate with long experience of the United Nations and its systems. Dr Amir Farid Isahak, a medical consultant, is a Trustee of the Global Council of the United Religions Initiative and President for the AsiaPacific Region of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations. He is also Chairman of the Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship of Malaysia and a committee member of both the Malaysia Interfaith Network and the Research and Information Centre on Islam, and an advisor to the Persatuan Darul Fitrah Malaysia, the Muslim Converts Welfare and Propagation of Malaysia. Joseph Prabhu is a Professor of Philosophy at the California State University at Los Angeles and the President of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy. He is also the author of Human Rights in CrossCultural Perspective and Liberating Gandhi: Community. Empire and a Culture of Peace' forthcoming). He is a Program Task Force Chair and Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. Arvind Sharma is a Birks Professor of Comparative Religions at McGill University and author of two books: "Hinduism and Human Rights and Problematizing Religious Freedom' (forthcomingl. He is also a convener of two major post and pre-Parliament conferences (Montreal 2006. Delhi 2009) and a scholar of Hinduism and comparative religions.
Interfaith Marriage: A Workshop in Working with Difference Helene ljaz David Schutz Denise Lacey Room 108 Interactive Workshop Interfaith marriages are on the increase, presenting fresh theological and pastoral challenges. This workshop on interfaith marriages and families will draw on insights from experienced couples to explore the blessings and the difficulties, the strengths and the challenges presented by these arrangements. Issues that arise include conforming to religious laws, handling pressures to convert, and deciding how to educate the children. Spouses frequently find that learning about their own and their partner's faith enhances personal and spiritual growth, helps to conquer the fear of otherness, and facilitates bridge-building between faith communities. Helene ljaz, PhD, is an educator, volunteer mediator, and a consultant and writer in the areas of interfaith, intercultural and interracial relations, She has lived in a Christian-Muslim marriage for many years David Schutz is Executive Officer of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. Denise Lacey is a Marriage Educator at Centacare Catholic Family Services, Melbourne.
Presidenter of Humet Empire
'Tackling Peace' and 'SAG (it's all about human rights)' Room 107 Film Two films will be shown in this session. The first is "Tackling Peace'. This film tells the inspirational story of Israeli and Palestinian youths who unite over the game of Australian football. Overcoming difficulties in travel and differences in language and diet, the young men from different worlds form a bond under the banner of sport. The film goes behind the scenes as athletes from either side of a bloody war set aside a lifetime of prejudice and hostil - ity to compete as a team. The film was directed by Mark Radomsky. The second film is 'SAG (it's all about human rights'. Meet the members of the Student Action Group
Interreligious Regional Concerns: Europe Bruce Rigdon, Moderator Tariq Ramadan Mary Braybrooke Babaji Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Room 109 How does spirituality-and the interreligious movement in particular-express itself through the prism of geography? In this series of regional conversations, panellists hailing from varying religious traditions but similar areas of the globe engage and investigate. The Rev Dr V Bruce Rigdon is a Presbyterian minister and a professor of church history who served on the faculties of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. He served as President of Ecumenical Theological Seminary prior to his retirement in 2006. Prof Rigdon received his PhD from Yale University and has taught in the areas of Reformation studies and the history of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He is active in the ecumenical movement. Tariq Ramadan Iwww.tarigramadan.com is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. He is currently Senior Research Fellow at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He is active both at the academic and grassroots levels and lectures extensively throughout the world on theology, ethics, social justice, ecology and interfaith as well as intercultural dialogue. Through his writings and lectures, he has contributed substantially to the debate on the issues of Muslims in the West and Islamic revival in the Muslim world. Professor Ramadan is currently president of the European think tank, European Muslim Network, in Brussels
316 PWR - Parliament of the World's Religions
Jain Education Interational