Center on Religion & the Professions

MU researchers investigate cognitive functions related to spirituality

khill — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:30:11 +0000

Brick Johnstone, a professor and research facilitator at MU’s School of Health Professions, co-authored a study investigating the origin location of spirituality in the human brain. Investigating 20 subjects with severe head trauma, Johnstone and his fellow researchers found that those with damage to their right parietal lobe, an area a few inches above the right ear, display a decreased sense of self and an increased attachment to a higher power, replicating the findings of previous studies. However, other parts of the brain — specifically the frontal lobe — also fire during increased religious activity, according to the findings of Brickstone’s research.

An interview with Brickstone can be read on the MU News Bureau’s website. The article is available online with a subscription or a one-time fee of $36.

Muslim Students’ Organization at MU hosts annual spring conference

khill — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:51:44 +0000

The Muslim Students’ Organization at MU will kick off its annual spring conference, titled “Peace, Prosperity, and the Pursuit of Paradise,” on Friday, April 27. Scheduled events for the two-day conference include addresses on developing healthy relationships, interfaith marriage and introducing the Islamic faith to a Western audience. In addition, the organization will provide entertainment for conference-goers from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 28.

Time/Date: Events are schedule from 7 p.m. Friday, April 27 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28

Location: A majority of the programs events will take place in the MU Student Center, Room 2206. (map)

Cost: This event is free, but requires online registration.

For more information: Visit the Muslim Students’ Organization website for a complete list of conference activities. Contact the organization with specific questions via email.

Second Baptist Church brings community members, police officers together for meal

khill — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:25:14 +0000

Second Baptist Church in downtown Columbia will host an “informal meal” titled “Building Better Community: An eat and greet to encourage trust between residents and officers.” The event is being co-sponsored by the Bias-Free Columbia Coalition and will be held on April 27. Organizers ask that you RSVP with the church to ensure there is enough food for attendees.

Time/Date: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, April 27

Location: Second Baptist Church Annex, 407 E. Broadway (map)

Cost: This event is free and open to the public. Organizers ask that you RSVP with the church to ensure an adequate supply of food.

For more information/to RSVP: Contact Negar Rezvani, Columbia Human Rights Specialist, via phone (573-874-7488), Mary Ratliff of the NAACP via phone (573-881-0163), or Don Love of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare via phone (573-875-7918).

Ragtag Cinema to screen documentary on Baha´i in Iran

khill — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:35:48 +0000

“Education under Fire,” a documentary produced by Single Arrow Productions and co-sponsored by Amnesty International. The 30-minute film explores the history of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education in Iran, a university established in 1987 to offer adherents of the faith an opportunity in higher education, an option repeatedly denied by the ruling regime in the country. According to the film’s website, the documentary “features footage and photos spanning two decades of BIHE classes, rare video from inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, and photos and a film that bring alive a series of personal stories.”

Trailer:

The screening is being hosted by the Bahá’í Community of Columbia.

Time/Date: 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 24

Location: Ragtag Cinema, 10 Hitt St., Columbia, MO (map)

Cost: This event is free and open to the public.

For more information: Visit the event page on Ragtag Cinema’s website, or contact the Bahá’í Community of Columbia via phone (573-693-2326) or email.

Center for Health Ethics offers program on dealing with grief

khill — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:27:28 +0000

MU’s Center for Health Ethics, in conjunction with the Hospice Foundation of America, will be hosting a live video conference at 9:30 a.m. Monday, April 23 titled “End-of-Life Ethics: Dealing with Grief.” The conference will be followed by a panel discussion. Continuing medical education will be available for the event, requiring a fee and online registration with the Hospice Foundation.

Time/Date: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 23

Location: Acuff Auditorium at MU’s School of Medicine (map)

Cost: The event is free and open to the public. Continuing medical education credit is available through the Hospice Foundation of America. Visit the above link to register.

For more information: Contact Ana-Maria Fernandez, a research specialist with MU’s Center for Health Ethics, via phone (573-882-9022) or email.

Afro-Romance Institute at MU to co-sponsor genocide symposium

khill — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:51:26 +0000

The Afro-Romance Institute at MU, affiliated with the Department of Romance Languages and Literature, will be co-sponsoring a three-day symposium titled “Genocide in Rwanda: Media, Memory and Denial.” The event will feature keynote speakers Carl Wilkens, a humanitarian worker who stayed in Rwanda during its genocide and has since formed the nonprofit group World Outside My Shoes to bring global attention to issues of “the Other,” and Canadian Senator Roméo Dallaire, who served as commander of the United Nations relief effort in Rwanda during the early 1990s.

Events will take place across MU, with several speakers scheduled for a packed three days of discussion, film screenings, poetry and lectures. For a complete listing of events and their locations, view the full program flier at the Afro-Romance Institute website.

The symposium is being co-sponsored by:

Canadian Consulate in Chicago
Embassy of Rwanda, Washington D.C.
Step UP! American Association for Rwandan Women
Office of the Vice-Provost of International Programs
Office of the Chancellor Diversity Initiatives
University Lectures Committee
Peace Studies Program
Departments of Black Studies, History, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA),
Sociology, Women and Gender Studies at MU

Time/Date: 7 p.m. April 26 to 10 p.m. April 28 (full schedule of events)

Carl Wilkens’ “Why I Chose to Stay in Rwanda” Keynote Address, 7 p.m. April 27 at Ellis Auditorium (map)
Roméo Dallaire’s “Are All Humans Human?” Keynote Address, 3:30 p.m. April 28 in Bush Auditorium at Cornell Hall (map)

Cost: The event is free and open to the public.

For more information: Contact Dr. Flore Zéphir, acting institute director and department chair, via email.

Holocaust survivor will speak at Ellis Library ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day

khill — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:30:35 +0000

Guenter Goldsmith, who escaped Nazi Germany on the last Kindertransport and arrived in St. Louis in August 1941, will speak on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day at Ellis Library at MU. The event is cosponsored by Mizzou Hillel, the MU Department of German and Russian Studies and the MU Libraries Diversity Action Committee. Goldsmith’s presentation will be followed by a Q-and-A session and a reception.

In addition to the talk on April 17, Ellis Library will be displaying winning submissions of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum’s annual Art and Writing Competition throughout the month of April.

Time/Date: 2 p.m. April 17

Location: Ellis Library at MU (map)

Cost: The event is free and open to the public.

For more information: Contact the MU Department of German and Russian Studies at MU at (573) 882-4328 or via email.

Center releases study on religious voices in the media on issues affecting gay and lesbian community

khill — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:23:36 +0000

The Center on Religion & the Professions, in partnership with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), released a three-year content analysis of news stories on Apr. 12, 2012 that shows a disproportionate number of anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues. The study examined 316 stories citing more than 1,350 sources with a religious identification, a vast majority of which had formal church policies opposing LGBT equality.

For more information, read the full press release from GLAAD, or contact GLAAD Director of Communications Rich Ferraro at (646) 871-8011 or via email; or GLAAD Director of Religion, Faith and Values Ross Murray at (646) 871-8040 or via email.

CORP Executive Director Debra Mason served as project director for the study, and was assisted by Cathy Ellen Rosenholtz, a Ph.D. candidate in Communications at MU and master’s graduate of the Divinity School at Harvard University.

For more specifics, (.pdf) read the report in its entirety from the Center on Religion and & the Professions website.

MU Difficult Dialogues program to host public forum on reproductive rights

khill — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:15:44 +0000

The MU Difficult Dialogues program, part of a nationwide effort to encourage intellectual discussion on contentious issues, will be holding a public forum on reproductive rights titled “Courageous Conversations on Contraception: Women’s Health and Religious Freedom” on April 4th.

A six-person panel of religious leaders and academics will tackle organized religions’ approach to issues of contraception, abortion and other reproductive rights. The panelists include:

John D. Baker, former senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Columbia and current executive director of The Community Foundation of Central Missouri
Joshua D. Hawley, associate professor of law at MU
JoAnn Jorgovan, assistant director of campus ministry at St. Thomas More Newman Center, a Catholic parish, at MU
Rebecca Martinez, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at MU
Rigel C. Oliveri, associate dean for faculty research and development and associate professor of law at MU
Shawna Strickland, clinical associate professor in the Department of Cardiopulmonary and Diagnostic Sciences at MU’s School of Health Professions

Time/Date: 5 to 6:30 p.m. April 4

Location: Hulston Hall Room 7 (lower level, seats approximately 175 people), corner of Conley and Missouri avenues, across the street from the Mel Carnahan Quad. Map

Cost: This event is free and open to the public.

For more information: For more biographical information on the panelists, visit the MizzouDiversity website. For specifics about the event, contact Roger L. Worthington, a professor in the departments of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology and Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, via email or by phone at (573) 882-8360.

WRIM participant to be honored with Missouri Humanities Award for Excellence in Education

khill — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:32:32 +0000

Robert Baum, associate professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at MU, will be one of five people honored by the Missouri Humanities Council on April 18 for their efforts to promote diversity in the state. Baum will be recognized for his work in promoting understanding of various faiths in Missouri, which included teaching a two-day workshop funded by World Religions in Mid-Missouri, a sister project of the Center on Religion & Professions designed to increase understanding of religious diversity in Missouri’s public schools.

Baum has also been involved in the MU Difficult Dialogues program, part of a nationwide initiative to intellectually challenge students and faculty to express opposing viewpoints in a constructive way. He has provided insight into Islam religious practices and the issues facing Muslim students at MU for that program, which began at MU in 2006.

Baum joined MU’s Religious Studies Department in 2005, and has taught courses in numerous subject areas, including his particular area of emphasis, African and Indigenous Religions. Prior to MU, Baum was a professor at Iowa State University, and published the book “Shrines of the Slave Trade: Diola Religion and Society in Precolonial Senegambia” in 1999.