News

The Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion will honor Tyson Yunkaporta, an indigenous Australian scholar and the author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, as the winner of the Nasr Book Prize. Funded through the generosity of Drs. Sherif Nasr and Randa Nasr, co-founders of siParidigm Diagnostic Informatics in Pine Brook, N.J., the Nasr Book Prize highlights the work of scholars who reimagine the connection of religion and global affairs.

Read More about Ansari Institute awards Nasr Book Prize to author who explores global problems using Indigenous perspectives

“We are deeply saddened to learn that Cardinal Joseph Zen, SDB, the Catholic bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has been arrested by Chinese national security authorities for allegedly violating Hong Kong’s 2020 National Security Law. The weapon that makes a 90-year-old cleric such a threat to the Chinese Communist Party is simply this: Cardinal Zen possesses a conscience fueled by his faith."

Read More about Notre Dame officials call for release of Cardinal Zen, SDB, Catholic bishop emeritus of Hong Kong

Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak, the highest-ranking Ukrainian Catholic prelate in the United States and organizer and president of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), will be the principal speaker and receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame’s 177th University Commencement Ceremony on May 15, Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today.

Read More about Ukrainian Archbishop Borys Gudziak to deliver Notre Dame’s 2022 commencement address

Alex Hsu welcomes students to consider timely questions in his “Engaging Religions” course. The Ansari Institute faculty member designed the class, which he taught most recently this past spring, to be relevant to curious global affairs students seeking to make sense of a world they hope to change.

Read More about Inviting students to explore religion’s roles in a complicated world

For the last decade, I have immersed myself in studying and subsequently developing a better understanding of and appreciation for Islam. I have traveled to Muslim-majority…

Read More about Justice and compassion for all: Embracing multifaith inclusion in America’s heartland

Perin Gürel, a Notre Dame associate professor of American studies, has won a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Research in Turkey, in support of the completion of a book on the international history of comparisons made between Turkey and Iran. Her research will detail the history of comparisons made between Turkey and Iran, but Gürel also intends to critique the intellectual valorization of comparison itself. Sharp distinctions about areas of the world are often made, she said, despite the relatively arbitrary nature of borders between countries — not to mention the ways in which subjectively comparing one thing to another permeates other aspects of life.

Read More about American studies professor receives NEH fellowship for book on Turkey, Iran, and the history of comparisons made between the two

Faculty fellow Kraig Beyerlein, associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame and director of the University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Society, discusses how he decided to study the intersection of religion and social movements, as well as his leadership on scholarly projects exploring everything from life on the US-Mexico border to under-represented congregations in Chicago.

Read More about A Q&A with faculty fellow Kraig Beyerlein

Writing for Maydan, an online publication of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University, Ansari Institute Executive Director Mahan Mirza draws on Indian intellectual tradition to explore the Russian war in Ukraine.   

Read More about Drawing on Indian philosophy and reflecting on the Ukraine War

In this conversation, Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Karrie J. Koesel explores how Russian President Vladimir Putin has used religious rhetoric to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She also highlights research and teaching projects that focus on religion and authoritarian states.

Read More about A Q&A with faculty fellow Karrie J. Koesel

Sharon Lavigne, an environmental justice activist, will receive the University of Notre Dame’s 2022 Laetare Medal — the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics — at Notre Dame’s 177th University Commencement Ceremony on May 15 (Sunday).

Read More about Environmental activist Sharon Lavigne to receive Notre Dame’s 2022 Laetare Medal

In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, a prayer service for the people of Ukraine was held Monday evening at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The Basilica was filled to capacity for the vigil, led by Father Andrij Hlabse, S.J., a theology doctoral candidate and Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic priest. 

Read More about Ukrainian Byzantine priest leads prayer service at Basilica of the Sacred Heart in solidarity with Ukraine

In his latest published work, Gabriel Said Reynolds explores the paradox of divine mercy and divine vengeance—a puzzle with which scholars have long wrestled. The project, Allah: God in the Qur’an, (Yale University Press, 2020), is among the most recent the Ansari Institute faculty fellow has taken on in his career, which has enabled him to engage with the Bible, the Qur’an, and Muslim-Christian relations in ways that reach both fellow scholars and a broader audience.

Read More about Faculty fellow’s research provides new insights on sacred texts

A new book by Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Sarah Shortall offers a fresh look at theology's political role in a secular state.

Read More about Faculty fellow explores theology and the state in new work

Catholic Peacebuilding And Mining From cellphones to computers to life-saving medical technologies, the day-to-day lives of people…

Read More about New book explores the role of Catholic peacebuilders in addressing global mining issues

Embracing opportunities for dialogue with people from different traditions remains crucial for meaningful multifaith engagement. This approach is one that Ansari Institute faculty member Charles W. Powell emphasizes in his work, and one he articulated in a recent interview with the Michigan-based Chaldean Cultural Center, during a wide-ranging conversation that highlighted the importance of learning, travel, active listening, and narrative empathy.

Read More about Faculty member finds dialogue, empathy, key to effective multifaith engagement

The Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion has launched a five-year strategic plan to continue its work to study, learn from, and collaborate with religious communities worldwide. The plan, which was recently announced at a public gathering on the University of Notre Dame’s campus, envisions the institute as a “crossroad of religions” where voices from multiple faith traditions can engage with one another, and with secular actors and institutions, in respectful dialogue that will help to build a better world.

Read More about Ansari Institute launches 5-year strategic plan, promoting scholarship and engagement

The Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion will continue its work to change the conversation about religion with a new book prize that will recognize scholars who reimagine the connection of religion and global affairs.

Read More about Ansari Institute’s Nasr Book Prize will help reimagine religion and global affairs

In his latest work, Ansari Institute Faculty Fellow Thomas Tweed explores how religion has shaped human society thus far—and how it continues to do so in powerful and complicated ways.

Read More about Faculty fellow’s book explores religion’s powerful and complicated roles

The University of Notre Dame will host the 31st annual meeting of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium on Oct. 7-9, featuring two public lectures and an inculturated Mass led by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, D.C. 

Read More about Black Catholic Theological Symposium to convene 31st annual meeting at Notre Dame

Recently, Ansari Institute Executive Director Mahan Mirza visited Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio to present its third annual Lecture on Faith & Civic Life. In his Sept. 25 talk, “A Life of Faith Beyond Individual Worship—To Work for the Common Good,” Mirza made the case (drawing on his recent work exploring interreligious dialogue, peacebuilding, and the need for religious and scientific literacy) that Muslim scripture and tradition envisions a kind of individual faith that translates personal piety into public action.

Read More about Engaging Religion for the Common Good in a Fast-Changing World