Dr. Charles Powell Change is afoot at the Ansari Institute. After a period of relative stability, the Ansari Institute will be undergoing…

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In a special way, practicing Muslims show fidelity to things like modesty, regular prayer, how to eat, what to eat, not drinking alcohol, and what to wear. Christians have our own teachings, so the way that we work through things will look different - I'm not saying we should just imitate Muslims. But Islam can be a gift for Christians just by the faithfulness that we see in Muslims and the way they manage to be religious in America.

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While many may think that the schedule is quite relaxed for academics during the summer, many of the Ansari Institute’s faculty fellows are quite busy with research, conferences, and teaching.

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Azza Karam is a longstanding advocate for interreligious cooperation. She served nearly two decades with the United Nations, where she both co-founded and…

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There is maybe a naive kind of faith that I have in the human mind or the human heart to be capacious and compassionate enough to engage different perspectives without resorting to epistemic violence, or worse. But I think that this capacity, where it is not inherent in a person’s disposition, can come about through training and acculturation. The capacity to engage differences productively is born out of experience and encounters across differences that are positive and life-giving. That's what I'm trying to teach when I do interreligious work or when I write in the field of interreligious studies.

Read More about Celene Ibrahim: Islam's Internal Diversity and the Value of a Diverse Body Politic

Sarah Shortall is an associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and a faculty fellow with the Ansari Institute. She specializes as an intellectual and cultural historian of modern Europe, with a particular interest…

Read More about Sarah Shortall: French History, Human Rights Discourse, and the Underappreciated Influence of Catholic Theology

The Institute is pleased to welcome four new faculty members into its community. Faculty “fellows” are professors at the University of Notre Dame whose academic home is within another department or school, but whose work substantially aligns with the Ansari Institute’s mission. Faculty “affiliates” are academic experts within their own field but whose employment and professional commitments are not primarily with the University of Notre Dame. Both faculty fellows and faculty affiliates contribute to building a community of like-minded scholars and to developing a “fellowship of faiths" as envisioned within the Ansari Strategic Plan.

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Liang Cai is an associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame and a faculty fellow with the Ansari Institute. She specializes in Chinese political and intellectual history, focusing on the Qin-Han dynasties (221 BCE - 23 CE). Professor Cai’s first book Witchcraft and the Rise of the First Confucian Empire contests long-standing claims that Confucianism came to prominence with the promotion of Emperor Wu in the Han dynasty. It was a witchcraft scandal in 91–87 BCE, she argues, that created a political vacuum and permitted Confucians to rise to power and transform China into a Confucian regime. Over zoom, Professor Cai sat down with Rebekah Go, the Ansari Institute’s Program and Communication Manager, to talk about her research and scholarship. The following has been edited and abridged for clarity.

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Olivia Wilkinson is an independent research consultant and sociologist, working at the intersection of the sociology of religion and humanitarian/development studies. She was also a contributor to Faith in the Story: Trialogues for Enhancing Religious Literacy, a multi-year series of workshops at the Ansari Institute that brought together media professionals, faith leaders, and scholars of religion to improve the conversation about religion in the public sphere. Wilkinson sat down with Rebekah Go, the Ansari Institute’s Program and Communication Manager, over zoom to talk about her research and scholarship. The following has been edited and abridged for clarity and length.

Read More about Olivia Wilkinson: Faith in Development, There is Still a Lot of Research to Be Done

The Institute is pleased to share three new videos added to the Conversation Series hosted on our popular YouTube Channel. It was nearly a year ago that the Ansari Institute sent a delegation to the Parliament of the World’s Religions. The Ansari Institute was a major sponsor at the Parliament, acting as the premiere sponsor of the portion of the parliament called the Global Ethic Assembly. Towards the Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration was a seminal document originally discussed and signed in 1993 at an assembly of religious and spiritual leaders meeting as part of the Parliament that year. It was expanded in 2018. During the Parliament affiliate faculty members Margaret Gower, Chad Meister, and Robert Stockman contributed to panels on the Global Ethics irrevocable directives.

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Karrie Koesel is an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and a faculty fellow with the Ansari Institute. She specializes in the study of contemporary Chinese and Russian politics, authoritarianism, and religion and politics. Professor Koesel published her first book Religion and Authoritarianism: Cooperation, Conflict, and the Consequences in 2014 and was co-editor of a second book, Citizens & the State in Authoritarian Regimes: Comparing China & Russia in 2021. She is currently working on a third book, Learning to be Loyal: Political Education and Authoritarian Regimes. Over Zoom, Professor Koesel sat down with Rebekah Go, the Ansari Institute’s Program and Communication Manager, to talk about her research and scholarship. The following has been edited and abridged for clarity.

Read More about Karrie Koesel: Authoritarianism, Electoral Autocracies, and Democratic Backsliding

In his book Cathonomics, Anthony Annett argues that economics should not operate in a silo. It should be informed by consistent reference to and indeed deference to the common good. As Rambachan states, “sustainable and integral development are not just technical, but also moral, and require commitment to the common good, human dignity, and the good life for all.” Cathonomics was also the starting point for a robust series of conversations marking the second multifaith symposium held at the University of Notre Dame in February 2024.

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Natalie Avalos is an assistant professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies in the Ethnic Studies department at University of Colorado Boulder. She was also a contributor to Faith in the Story: Trialogues for Enhancing Religious Literacy, a multi-year series of workshops at the Ansari Institute that brought together media professionals, faith leaders, and scholars of religion to work together and identify solutions for enhancing diversity and improve the conversation about religion in the public sphere. Professor Avalos is an ethnographer of religion whose teaching and research examines Indigenous religious life, land-based ethics, healing, and decolonization. Professor Avalos sat down over zoom with Rebekah Go, the Ansari Institute’s Program and Communication Manager, to talk about her research and scholarship. The following has been edited and abridged for clarity.

Read More about Natalie Avalos: Indigenous Religious Traditions Deserve to be Known and Valued

On Tuesday, March 25, 2024 the Ansari Institute hosted a screening and panel discussion of the recently released independent film "Three Chaplains." The film explores the experience of three Muslim Chaplains within the US Army who are tasked with caring for any and all members of their unit, even while they sometimes face questions of loyalty from both inside and outside the military. The film screening was co-sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, the Notre Dame International Security Center, the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, the Middle Eastern Law Students Association, and the Law School's Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It was held on the same evening of the Law School’s traditional Interfaith Dinner, which this year falls in observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Bahai festival of Ridvan, and in the Holy Week leading up to Easter, just a few weeks prior to the Jewish celebration of Passover.

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On Friday, March 22, staff members from the Ansari Institute and the Center for Social Concerns joined in an interactive session with faith leaders, community members, and returning citizens for an opportunity to learn how challenging it can be for individuals returning from incarceration. Instead of a presentation or a video, this event – part of the Living Matthew 25 series – was organized to present a reasonable facsimile of what an person might experience during their re-entry. Participants were invited to navigate through the first four weeks of the journey while also attempting to comply with all the requirements of supervised release.

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On Ash Wednesday, one of the most popular and important holy days in the Catholic Church, audiences were treated to an engaging conversation between two Catholic heavy hitters as they discussed the future of the Church, which has seen a significant movement from within advocating for increased democratic freedom and greater involvement of the laity in church decisions. This was a timely conversation. In what some have called The Year of Democracy, where over half of the globe’s populations will vote for their nation’s leaders and even as many worry about democratic backsliding in the United States and abroad, many are looking to their faith communities and leaders to see how they might embrace - or reject - democratic principles.

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In late October 2023, the Ansari Institute hosted over 20 scholars and practitioners from the United States and abroad to discuss political Islam in a changing world. The convening was the culmination of a multi-year project of the Hollings Center for International Dialogue funded by the Henry Luce Foundation whereby conversations were held to discuss the future of Islamism in a changing global context. With a carefully crafted agenda the two-day roundtable was developed with the intent to cover several distinct and yet related topics and included conversations around Islam in the New Geopolitics, American Islam and Culture Wars, and Reformulating Muslim Politics.

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Media - whether it is traditional or social, print, radio, television, or otherwise - has an incredible influence on the way that the general public consumes information and forms opinions. Even with the rise of social media, most individuals over the age of thirty still view national news outlets as their primary source for trusted information. But what happens when those media sources come to represent interests that are not “purely journalistic?” Is it possible to get to some “unvarnished truth” that challenges authority when that same authority influences coverage through clicks, ratings, and corporate interests? These questions become even more pressing as democracies decline, authoritarianism rises, and the demarcation between facts and alternative facts, or real news from fake news, becomes elusive. Religious news is far from immune from such challenges.

Read More about Ansari Institute hosts Final Workshop in a Series for Journalists, Faith Leaders, and Scholars

Join the Ansari Institute for Global; Engagement with Religion on Wednesday, February 14 through Friday, February 16, 2024 to celebrate the second Nasr Book Prize being awarded to Anthony Anett for Cathonomics: How Catholic Tradition Can Create a Just Economy. The award will be celebrated with a multifaith symposium representing scholars of different religious traditions. Around the symposium, the Institute will convene important conversations on the future of the Catholic Church in "a change of era," celebrate new scholarship by our faculty, and invite you to meet with guest speakers working on new paradigms for global development rooted in the great wisdom traditions of the world.

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The Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics is a two-week program for graduate students, scholars, and practitioners working at the crossroads of religion and global politics and is designed to draw on the unique religious and geopolitical resources of the city of Rome. The Ansari Instite for Global Engagement with Religion is one of the seminars' supporting institutions and Mahan Mirza, the Ansari Institute's Executive Director, is a member of the steering committee.

Read More about Applications for the 2024 Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics Are now open!

The Ansari Institute was pleased to host Sir Jeffrey Abood for the first of two lectures planned at the University of Notre Dame in honor of Fr. Drew Christiansen, SJ. Abood’s talk entitled “The Church in the Holy Land and the Quest for Human Dignity” focused on the Catholic Church’s presence in the Holy Land and the living conditions of the Catholic people, sometimes referred to as the “living stones” of the Church.

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The Ansari Institute grieves the loss of innocent life in Israel and Gaza. We invite our audience to read statements issued by the University of Notre Dame’s leadership and by prominent peacebuilding, human rights, and academic institutions. Click on the links below to view the complete statements.…

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How can we lean into a life of activism and resistance while maintaining a healthy and holistic lifestyle? This was the center of the book reading and talk by author Kaitlin B. Curtice, an indigenous author, poet, storyteller, and public speaker, as she read selections from her book Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Everyday. Throughout these readings Curtice shared her philosophy rooted in the indigenous spirituality of her people, the Potawatomi. She discussed how the trail of death and the colonization of the United States have led to the disembodiment and disconnection of many who live and work in this country. Moreover, she argued, a return to indigenous spirituality - including reconnection to the land and acknowledgement of the contributions of our ancestors - is central to restoring and supporting bodies, minds, and spirits for the important work of resistance.

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Last week, Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs hosted a panel discussion: Can Interreligious Engagement Be a Realistic Tool for Diplomacy and Peacemaking? The discussion centered around a dossier on Religion and Peacebuilding in Contemporary Global Crises published by the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. The dossier was released after the Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics convened in June 2023 and includes nine commentaries that each take a look at religion and peacebuilding from an interrelated and yet unique lens.

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Recently five women sat together and reflected on South Bend’s Women’s Interfaith Dialogue as they plan for the 20th anniversary celebration in September of 2023. It’s a diverse group: Jane Pitz is a Catholic who attends Our Lady of Loretto on the campus of Saint Mary’s College. Sarah Shaikh is a member of the Islamic Society of Michiana (ISM). She and Jane have both been involved with the Dialogue for many years. Posi Tucker is a member of Temple Beth El and Bonny Hoover a member of Sinai Synagogue. Stephanie Mirza, also a member of ISM, is the most recent member of the Dialogue. Collectively they are proud of the origins of the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue and eager to discuss its future.

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By far my favorite part of the Parliament of the World’s Religions was the langar I was able to attend on three occasions during my time there. This year the Parliament was held in Chicago during a week that felt more like October than August. The weather was temperamental and often quite wet which…

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It is fairly easy to get lost at McCormick Place. After all, the convention center - located on the south loop of Chicago, IL - is the largest in the United States. Meanderingly large, cavernous in design, and inclusive of at least four separate buildings all connected via skyway, the enormity of…

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Local faith leaders and others in South Bend, IN celebrated the dirtless groundbreaking of a new mental health facility in the community on Tuesday. This new 24 hour behavioral health center is the answer to a pressing need that members of the community have been identifying for years. In the past, mental health crises that happened in the evening, on weekends, or even in the dead of night were often scary and difficult to manage and - more often than not, police departments were often the first responders. After identifying this pressing public health emergency, leaders from a diversity of faith traditions, organized by Faith in Indiana, began to explore alternatives and to create buy-in to bring this resource to the community.

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How can engagement with religious norms help - rather than hinder - engagement with public health directives meant to promote the common good and health across all communities?…

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Interfaith Earth day: a collection of students, faculty, and staff plant flowers in pots outside of Duncan Hall Earth Day was an interfaith…

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