Inside the Core: Earth Day Panel  

Dr. Amar Dev Amar, Stillman School of Business

We will be celebrating Earth Day on Thursday, April 22 at 2 p.m. with a wonderful panel of faculty, representing four religious traditions, all of them important parts of the University Core. Therefore, we will be linking together two topics central to the University Core – inter-religious dialogue (which we begin in Core I by reading Nostra Aetate) and the question of how faith connects with the environment (particularly highlighted in Core II with Pope Francis' hugely important Laudato Si).

Dr. Angela Weisl, English Department

Pope Francis says, "We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it. We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment" ―Laudato Si: On care for our common home.

Dr. Youssef Yacoubi, Dept. of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Director of Arabic Studies

This concern for the environment, as Pope Francis would strongly agree, is not limited to Catholics or Christians overall. In the Core, we read from the Hindu text The Bhagavad Gita; the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis, Exodus, Ruth, and others); several Islamic texts, including the Quran; as well as the Christian Gospels, and other New Testament texts. These faith traditions unite in the acknowledgement of the importance of Nature and human responsibility in relation to it.

Dr. Ki Joo Choi, of the Department of Religion

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Anthony Sciglitano, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Interim Executive Director of the Sister Rose Thering Fund. Panelists will be Dr. Amar Dev Amr of the Stillman School of Business, representing the Hindu faith; Dr. Angela Weisl, Department of English, representing the Jewish faith; Dr. Ki Joo Choi, of the Department of Religion, representing the Christian faith; and Dr. Youssef Yacoubi, of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and Director of Arabic Studies, representing the Muslim faith (Islam). Each will give a presentation on how the particular faith they are representing relates to Nature. There will be time, afterward, for questions and answers and more discussion.

This event is sponsored by the University Core and the Center for Catholic Studies.

To join this event, click here »

Categories: Education, Nation and World