Princeton Religious Literacy Program  2024-25

Fall 2024 Events

November 19th 2024 | “The Role of Religious Communities in Respecting and Protecting Democracy” 

Can Religion save democracy? Interfaith America Vote is Sacred Fellows Harman Singh (Sikh Coalition), Jacob Dunlap (Council for Christian Colleges and Universities), and Darcy Hirsh (National Council of Jewish Women) discuss how faith communities can support democratic processes post-election.

Video link: The Role Of Religious Communities in Respecting and Protecting Democracy (YouTube - external)

Spring 2025 Events

February 3rd 2025 | “Truth, Religion and Democracy”

What happens when the “truths we hold self evident” - are not self evident to everyone? In this webinar, Interfaith America Vote is Sacred Fellows Amy Sullivan (Sojourners), Steven Schneck (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom), and Imam Makram El-Amin (Al-Maa’uun) discuss how religious and political identities shape our understanding of truth and how we can dialogue across fundamental differences.

Video link:  Truth, Religion, & Democracy (YouTube - external)

March 27th 12pm-1:30pm  | “Hell denizens, hungry ghosts, humans, and Buddhas: Thinking about oneself as and amongst others.” 

With  Seung-Jae Pi

Why do diverse lives and experiences matter when thinking about one’s existence and its meaning? In this workshop, students will focus on parts of Vasubandhu’s philosophical treatise (The Twenty Verses), the Japanese theatrical genre of Dream-Noh (Mugen Noh), and the Japanese illustrated handscrolls of hungry ghosts. They will reflect on the non-human, other-worldly beings and their experiences, the causes of their experiences, and the relationship between them and us, humans. This workshop will provide an opportunity to reflect on what it means to exist in the world amongst other beings who have radically different perspectives and experiences.

April 7th 2025/ 4:30 PM-6 PM | “The Politics of Monotheism in Late Antiquity” 

With John Ladouceur 

How do religious beliefs about the oneness of and universality of God affect views about the organization of public life in diverse societies? This workshop will familiarize students with contemporary debates surrounding the political implications of monotheism by introducing them to early Jewish, Christian, and Muslim philosophies of imperial governance and reflecting on the ways in which these inform modern conceptions of the relationship between truth and activism in political contexts. 

For more information about the Princeton Religious Literacy Program, please contact Rebekah Haigh.