STH and Hebrew College Awarded Henry Luce Foundation Grant for Journal of Interreligious Studies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kimberly Macdonald
Marketing & Communications Manager
Boston University School of Theology
617-358-1858
kmacd@bu.edu
Sharon Katz
Marketing Communications Manager
Hebrew College
617-559-8764
skatz@hebrewcollege.edu
BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND HEBREW COLLEGE
AWARDED HENRY LUCE FOUNDATION GRANT FOR
JOURNAL OF INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES
Boston, MA – August 16, 2017 – Boston University School of Theology and Hebrew College’s Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership are pleased to announce that the Henry Luce Foundation has awarded a two-year grant to support the Journal of Interreligious Studies and related projects jointly published and coordinated by the two schools.
The grant will support a collaborative and groundbreaking program in “building interreligious communication and publications.” This program encompasses two major projects and goals:
- The joint publication of the Journal of Interreligious Studies (JIRS), an academic journal (irstudies.org), and
- The joint sponsorship and publication of State of Formation (SOF), an online forum for emerging religious and ethical leaders (stateofformation.org).
The underlying purpose is to enrich higher education and to contribute to informed and collaborative culture-building in North American religious and civic life.
The projects’ approach is collaborative and multi-dimensional, including a peer-reviewed electronic journal, digital and face-to-face networks of communication, and a program to nurture young scholars and scholar-activists. “These projects fill a gap in interreligious communication, creating pathways for sharing among leaders and groups who study and seek to build significant interreligious relationships”, according to School of Theology Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore. The projects together connect seasoned and young scholars from diverse settings across North America – and increasingly from other parts of the world – building a community of scholarship and public discourse that link silos of interreligious work.
JIRS is a forum for academic, social, and timely issues affecting religious communities around the world. Published online, it is designed to increase both the quality and frequency of interchanges between religious groups and their leaders and scholars. By fostering conversation, the Journal hopes to increase religious literacy, contribute to the field of interreligious hermeneutics, and address the issues surrounding interreligious relations, dialogue, theology, and communication. The JIRS solicits articles of an interdisciplinary nature and with the aim of producing resources for interreligious education, pedagogy, and cooperation.
Founded as an offshoot of JIRS, SOF is a forum for up-and-coming religious and ethical thinkers to draw upon the learning that is occurring in their academic and community work. SOF fosters a community conversation between leaders in formation. Together, a cohort of seminarians, rabbinical students, graduate students, activists and the like – the future religious and moral leaders of tomorrow – are working to redefine the ethical discourse today.
“We are honored to receive this generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation in support of our joint publications with the BU School of Theology,” writes Rabbi Or N. Rose, Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College. “This award will allow us to build upon the foundational work we have done to date, and carefully discern how to maximize the impact of these valuable resources.”
For more information, visit http://www.hluce.org/theologyrecentgrants.aspx.
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Since 1839, Boston University School of Theology has been preparing leaders to do good.
A seminary of the United Methodist Church, Boston University School of Theology is a robustly ecumenical institution that welcomes students from diverse faith traditions who are pursuing a wide range of vocations – parish ministry, conflict transformation, chaplaincy, campus ministry, administration, non-profit management, social work, teaching, justice advocacy, peacemaking, interfaith dialogue, and more. Our world-renowned faculty and strong heritage help students nurture their academic goals and realize any ministry imaginable. For more information, please visit www.bu.edu/sth.
Founded in 1921, Hebrew College promotes excellence in Jewish learning and leadership within a pluralistic environment of open inquiry, intellectual rigor, personal engagement and spiritual creativity. The Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership provides current and future religious and ethical leaders with the knowledge and skills to serve in a religiously diverse society. The center’s work is rooted in the cultivation of authentic personal and institutional relationships across lines of difference. It is our conviction that through study, dialogue, and joint action, we can help create a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world. For more information, please visit www.hebrewcollege.edu/miller-center.
Luce Foundation joint grant 8-15-17 FINAL