News Archive
Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life
Islamic Civilization & Societies: Establishing a New Major with a U.S. Department of Education Grant
In March and April, colleges and universities across the world celebrated Islam Awareness Week. On Wednesday, April 25, the associate director of the Islamic Civilization and Societies Program at Boston College, Kathleen Bailey, discussed the challenges of establishing the program. Listen to the audio of her talk.
How are Catholic and Mormon presdiential candidates perceived in America today? According to the New York Times, Santorum’s Catholicism was a draw to Evangelicals (March 23, 2012). Now that Santorum has pulled out of the race, will Evangelicals support Romney? On Thursday, April 12, Historian Jill Lepore (Harvard University), writer Rebecca Traister (Salon.com) and Alan Wolfe (Boston College) discussed the role of religion in the presidential primaries and upcoming campaigns.
On March 13th, Alan Wolfe moderated the Inaugural Dean’s Colloquium on Religion and Public Culture. Panelists Kristine Haglund, editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and Stephen Prothero, Boston University professor of religion, discussed the role Mitt Romney's faith plays in the 2012 elections. Watch the video of the event here.
Mexican immigrants working at a New York carwash have turned to a coalition of community organizations for help initiating a citywide campaign for legal wages. On Tuesday, March 20, Vincent Rougeau spoke about the role of Catholic social teaching in the community organizing efforts of immigrant populations. Click here to listen to audio of his talk.
Should religious rules should end at the church door? Tensions similar to those in the United States are also erupting in England, where many Catholic adoption agencies have shut down in the wake of new judicial rulings that would have required them to accept homosexual couples as parents. On Wednesday, March 14, Miroslav Volf spoke about pluralism as a political project.
Rick Santorum recently declared his disagreement with another Catholic presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy. In contrast to Kennedy, Santorum doesn't "believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” On Thursday, March 1, German scholar Christian Polke spoke about how ancient and contemporary societies have tied together political power and religious belief. Listen to an audio recording of Polke's talk.
The Obama administration recently announced new regulations that require employers to provide employee health insurance plans that cover comprehensive reproductive care. Attempts to define appropriate exemptions for religious organizations have been controversial. In the spring 2010 panel, "A Matter of Conscience: Religious Exemptions and the Healthcare Debate," Dr. Michael F. Greene, Rev. J. Bryan Hehir and Melissa Rogers took up the question: How should churches and religious institutions balance respect for personal conscience with professional responsibility?
The House of Representatives recently passed two bills defending the use of religious symbols at military memorials. On Feb. 9, Fr. Richard Erikson and Jonathan Ebel discussed this and other issues at the crossroads of religion and the military as they asked what it means to fight for both God and country.
Citizens in the U.S. and Europe have in recent years tried to prevent many Muslim communities from building or expanding mosques. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating one recent case in California; last year Switzerland banned the construction of minarets. On Thursday, Dec. 1, Boisi Center visiting scholar Gregor Scherzinger discussed the controversy in Switzerland and examined how religious communities ground their claims to religious freedom in a pluralistic, democratic society.
Will Harry Potter, the ‘boy who lived,’ survive among those Christian audiences skeptical of dark magic and witchcraft? Recently, some conservative religious leaders have begun to praise the series' moral framework. On November 16th, Alan Jacobs discussed the impact that Western poets and novelists have had on believers and doubters alike.
Read Alan Jacobs' discussion of J.K. Rowlings' moral compass in First Things.
Is anything authentic in our present-day celebrations of Thanksgiving? In "Peace, Love and Puritanism," David Hall discusses what the Puritans hoped to gain by coming to the New World and what values they sought to practice (New York Times Op-Ed, November 23, 2010). On Tuesday, Oct. 18, David Hall spoke at the Boisi Center about social ethics and practices in Puritan New England.
This month, the Supreme Court hears the case of a Christian schoolteacher fired in a dispute over a disability and church doctrine. In a Christian Science Monitor article, the editors argue that the justices should be careful about allowing government to judge a faith's teachings. On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Denis Lacorne discussed the Puritan and the Enlightenment influences on American religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
In "Sentencing Shift Gives New Leverage to Prosecutors," Richard A. Oppel comments on the new leverage that prosecutors now possess to extract guilty pleas from defendants (New York Times, 25 September 2011). On September 22, David Skeel discussed the work and life of William Stuntz, who argued that changes in criminal justice law have resulted, perversely, in an increase in guilty pleas. Listen to the audio of Skeel's talk.
In a recent Washington Post Op-Ed, Ray Takeyh argues that Iran has added legitimacy to the Green movement in Iran, which is pushing the nation toward a post-authoritarian stage. On Sept. 27, photographer and writer Scott Peterson shared his observations on the mind of Ahmadinejad and how Iran has locked itself into a web of contradictions. Listen to the audio of his talk.
In his recent Slate article, "Simply Evil," Christopher Hitchens writes that a decade after 9/11, "simply evil" remains the best description and most essential fact about al-Qaida." On Wednesday, Sept. 21, Alan Wolfe confronted critics of his new book on political evil.
In Dick Cheney's new memoir, In My Time (2011), he writes that the C.I.A.’s interrogation techniques were “safe, legal, and effective.” On Monday, Sept. 12, a former CIA interrogator, a constitutional law professor and a theologian took a fresh look at interrogation methods after the death of bin Laden.
In A Conflict’s Acoustic Shadows Ken Burns recently reflected on the relevance of the American Civil War for us today (New York Times, 4/11/11). On April 28, David Quigley spoke about how the America Civil War framed our understanding of America and what it meant for the rest of the world. Click here to listen to audio of his talk.
How are American women doing today?
Gail Collins discusses the Obama administration's first report on the status of women in America in a recent op-ed: "Girls and Boys Together" (New York Times, 3/2/11). On April 26, scholars from Harvard and Boston College took up the same question.
The Risk of Civil Society: Voluntary Associations and Political Stability in Ancient and Modern Thought -Yonder Gillihan
Everyone agrees that Qaddafi must go, Curt Weldon writes, but no one has a plan and there is no foundation for civil society in Libya (Op-Ed "Time’s Up, Qaddafi" 4/5/11, New York Times). Why is civil society important and why is building it a risk? On April 14, Prof. Yonder Gillihan turned to ancient and medieval sources to explore these questions. Click here to listen to his talk.
Recent research has found that 45% of students show "no significant improvement in the key measures of critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing by the end of their sophomore years" ("45% Of Students Don't Learn Much In College" Huffington Post, 01/18/11). W. Robert Connor spoke on Tuesday, April 5 about the crisis that threatens higher education and what can be done about it.
Traumatic Brain Injury has been labeled the "signature injury" of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a recent 3 part article, Barbara Mannino explores the science, personal, and policy aspects of this injury ("Growing Threat to Soldiers: Traumatic Brain Injury," March 09, 2011, FOXBusiness). On Wed., March 30, Andrea Vicini, S.J., M.D., discussed the ethical questions surrounding the detection of consciousness in vegetative patients. Click here to listen to an audio recording of his talk.
"The approach of elections next month in Nigeria has raised hopes and apprehension in almost equal measure," writes Peter M. Lewis of Johns Hopkins University ("Nigeria: Politics at a Pivotal Moment," AllAfrica.com, 14 March 2011). On Wednesday, March 23, Hauwa Ibrahim spoke about the practical and theoretical challenges to protecting women's rights under Shariah Law in Northern Nigeria. Click here to listen to an audio recording of her talk.
The Reverend Peter J. Gomes, our 6th Annual Prophetic Voices Lecturer, died on March 1 due to complications from a stroke. A Harvard minister, theologian, and author, the Reverend Gomes was "one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices against intolerance" (The New York Times, 3/1/11). Visit the Harvard Memorial Church website to see the memorial service program and listen to the service.
Does casino gambling generate new jobs and state tax revenue? In a 2010 interview on NPR, Boston College Professor Richard McGowan outlined why states are increasingly turning to gambling to make up for budget shortfalls. To learn more about the moral impact of gambling, check out Gambling: Mapping the American Moral Landscape, edited by Alan Wolfe and Erik Owens.
Do we have a "responsibility to protect" the Libyan protesters? In "Act. Now." (Foreign Policy, 2/24/11), Hussein Ibish argues that the world does have a responsibility to protect the Libyans. In the fall of 2010, David Hollenbach, S.J., Mahmood Mamdani, and Alan Wolfe debated the value of this emerging paradigm. Click here for audio, written remarks, and other resources relating to R2P.
A recent article in the New York Times, "Cold Jumps Arctic 'Fence,' Stoking Winter's Fury" (24 January 2011), explores the historic blizzards in the Northeast U.S. and the surprisingly warm weather in northeastern Canada and Greenland. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Willis Jenkins, professor of social ethics at Yale Divinity School, spoke about the ways in which a Christian ethic can address climate change.
Following Oklahoma's lead, Wyoming and Texas are attempting to ban Sharia law from being considered in their state legal systems, the Huffington Post recently reported. On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Hiroshi Nakazato discussed a similar question: the role of international law in the U.S. legal system.
The University in the 21st Century: Thinking about Ethics, Persons, and Discourse - Fr. James F. Keenan
"Impasse and Solidarity in Theological Ethics"
by Fr. James F. Keenan, 2009
Speech given to the Catholic Theological Society of America
Fr. Keenan argues that, in order for the academy and the church to answer the call to solidarity and justice, these institutions must reverse the current trend towards individualism and isolationism.
Author Meets Critics: Damon Linker's The Religious Test
"Religion in a Centerless Society"
by Damon Linker 9.30.10
The New Republic
In this recent article Linker writes, "as long as the United States remains a liberal nation with a centerless society, traditionalist religion at its peak will fail to harmonize with politics at its peak."
Presidential Roulette - Richard Albert
"Why The President Wins If The Democrats Lose"
by Richard Albert 9.29.10
The Huffington Post Op-Ed
In an Op-ed entitled: "Why The President Wins If The Democrats Lose" in The Huffington Post, Richard Albert predicts the a loss for the Democratic party will strengthen President Obama. Albert spoke at the Boisi Center on Nov. 10, 2010.
The Rising Power of the American Dead - Ray D. Madoff
"America Builds an Aristocracy"
by Ray D. Madoff, 7.10.2010
The New York Times Op-Ed
Madoff discusses the problem of dynasty trusts and Congress' inactivity toward the zero tax on inherited wealth. She spoke about her new book Immortality and the Law at the Boisi Center on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010.
"Inherited wealth shouldn't get a free pass on taxes"
by Ray D. Madoff, 7.6.2010
Los Angeles Times Op-Ed
According to Ray Madoff, professor at Boston College Law School, "Repeal of the estate tax imposes significant costs on the taxpaying public and promotes concentrations of wealth that harm our democracy." Madoff is author of Immortality and the Law. She discussed her new book at the Boisi Center on Tuesday, Oct. 5. You can listen to an audio recording of the talk here.
Humanitarian Intervention and the "Responsibility to Protect"
"Mass Rapes in Congo Reveals U.N. Weakness"
by Jeffrey Gettleman, 10.3.10
The New York Times
The rapes of nearly 500 women in Africa by an ethnic Hutu rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo raises the question of the role of the US in humanitarian intervention. You can listen to an audio recording of a debate about the "Responsibility to Protect," hosted by the Boisi Center in September 2010.