Religion and Spirituality (Video)

Rev. Gabriel Salguero, Founder and President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), explains the religious and political diversity among Latinos. Although Latinos are an important source of support for immigration reform, it is not a top priority political issue for most Latinos. Salguero explains how NALEC has amplified the voice of Latino evangelicals on immigration and other poverty-related issues. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 36989]

David Beckmann explains the purpose of his “Poverty, God, Politics” series—to highlight spiritual and political strategies that can move us from the current crisis in a way that puts us on track to end hunger and poverty. They are drawn from a joint seminar on poverty, communities of faith, and politics cosponsored by UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. David then discusses two foundational insights from his years as president of Bread for the World—that dramatic progress against poverty is possible, and that faith communities can help change the politics of poverty. Series: "The Goldman School - Berkeley Public Policy" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 36986]

Barry Scott Wimpfheimer specializes in the Talmud and other Rabbinic Literature. His work focuses on the Babylonian Talmud as a work of law and literature. Part scripture and part commentary, it is written in a hybrid of Hebrew and Aramaic and is an unlikely bestseller. The Talmud has remained in print for centuries and is more popular today than ever. Barry Scott Wimpfheimer discusses his book, The Talmud, A Biography, which tells the remarkable story of this ancient book and explains why it has endured for almost two millennia. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35805]

Robert Alter discusses his new, complete translation of and commentary on the Hebrew Bible. For the UC Berkeley Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, it represents nearly two and a half decades of work. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35794]

The former editor of Poetry Magazine, Christian Wiman is both a poet and an essayist who teaches Literature and Religion at Yale Divinity School. In an interview he discussed what he hopes readers might take from his work: I have no illusions about adding to sophisticated theological thinking. But I think there are a ton of people out there who are what you might call unbelieving believers, people whose consciousness is completely modern and yet who have this strong spiritual hunger in them. I would like to say something helpful to those people. His most recent book is He Held Radical Light: The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art, released in 2018. Other books include My Bright Abyss, Ambition and Survival, Every Riven Thing, Hammer is the Prayer, Hard Night, and The Long Home. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33947]

The ancient Buddhist sources have a great deal to say about what it means to be a biological man or woman, what it means to be gendered male and female, what kinds of desires and sexual practices are considered normative, and what kinds deviate. But this material is scattered throughout hundreds of different texts and is found in no single source. Drawing on decades of research into the classical Indian and Tibetan Buddhist texts - and on the extensive literature on ancient theories of "queerness" - Jose Cabezon traces the life of a man and woman from conception to death, in the process laying bare Buddhist assumptions about what it means to be normal and abnormal and why these issues were so important to ancient authors. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34403]

Father Gregory Boyle, Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He shares a thought about justice in a world where kinship among all people flourishes. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34035]

Rabbi Prof. Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is an award-winning editor, author, and biblical scholar. She is the Chief Editor of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, the winner (with Dr. Andrea Weiss) of the 2008 Jewish Book of the Year Award. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33661]

What is spirituality and spiritual health? How can we effectively assess our own spirituality and identify spiritual distress in ourselves and others? Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego, discusses the link between healthy aging and spirituality. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 33227]

Father Gregory Boyle, Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. He shares what three decades of working with gang members has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32868]

Author, Tova Mirvis, discusses her book, The Book of Separation, which describes a woman who leaves her Orthodox Jewish faith and her marriage and sets out to navigate the terrifying, liberating terrain of a newly mapless world. She is the author of three novels and her essays have appeared in various anthologies and newspapers. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33053]

David Murphy is Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) San Diego office. In this lecture Murphy shares his insights into the moral and logistical challenges posed by the current world-wide refugee crisis, based on his extensive experience working with the IRC in Africa and Afghanistan. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 32144]

Bernard-Henri Levy visited the UCSB campus to discuss his new book The Genius of Judaism. In this provocative book he demonstrates that anti-Semitism, constitutes the greatest danger to Jews and non-Jews alike, and to liberal democracies. And, at the same time he offers a challenging argument that the nature or essence of Judaism is located in Talmud and its interpreters, not as an on-going discourse about norms of behavior and structures of belief, but of critical engagement, on-going inquiry, of intellectual, philosophical, and moral challenges, in which Judaism and Jewish identity is to be realized in an obligation to the other, to the dispossessed, to the marginalized. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31923]

How did Zionist immigrants to early 20th century Palestine conceive of their new Arab neighbors, and how did the Arab natives make sense of the Jews arriving on Palestine’s shores? Drawing on his book Defining Neighbors: Religion, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter, Jonathan Marc Gribetz argues that this fateful encounter was initially imagined very differently from the way it ultimately developed. The Late Ottoman period in Palestine was no utopia, but exploring this moment reveals that today’s hardened dividing lines are far from timeless; they have a fascinating history. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31660]

Author Zohreh Ghahremani talks with Babak Rahimi, associate professor of Communication, Culture and Religion at UC San Diego about the novel, "Sky of Red Poppies," the 2012 selection for One Book, One San Diego. Series: "Writers" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31539]

The multimedia Journey of the Universe project explores some of mankind's most persistent existential questions: What is our purpose? How have the universe, our planet and humanity evolved? Mary Evelyn Tucker proposes that cosmology is the necessary basis for an in-depth examination of the human condition and that useful tools may be found at the intersection of science, art, and humanities, where recent scientific discoveries are leavened and informed with wisdom gleaned through the ages. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31039]

Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center, was a founding member of Women of the Wall as well as a Board member of the Israel Women’s Network, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and many other Israeli organizations for social change. This talk touches on several issues that pertain to the struggle between narrow-minded Judaism and pluralistic Judaism and to the contribution of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) to advance a pluralistic living environment in Jerusalem. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30704]

Award-winning actor Michael Douglas and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky explore the role that faith, religious pluralism and human rights have played in their personal journeys. They discuss their relationship with Judaism to an audience at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 30807]

Renowned scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography describes how to find areas of agreement between governments, religious leaders and researchers on difficult issues such as the need to address climate change. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 30184]

M. Hakan Yavuz is a professor of political science at the University of Utah. His current academic work focuses on transnational Islamic networks in Central Asia and Turkey; the role of Islam in state-building and nationalism; ethnic cleansing and genocide; and ethno-religious conflict management. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 29163]

Scott Appleby, the director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, examines the roots of religious violence and the potential of religious peace-building in this talk presented by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. Religious scholars Linelle Cady and Joseph Montville follow with commentary on Appleby’s presentation Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 27748]

On the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, John Connelly, author of “From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933-1965,” and David Nirenberg, author of “Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition” explore the character of medieval anti-Judaism and the historical changes within Catholic Christianity prior to the mid-twentieth century. They also assess the significance of the Council and its impact on Catholic and Jewish relations to the present. John Connelly is professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley and David Nirenberg is distinguished professor of Medieval History and Social Thought at The University of Chicago. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 25433]

James Kugel, director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University, argues that the Hebrew Bible was, from the beginning, the Interpreted Bible. In the third and second centuries B.C.E. – well before the last books of the Bible were written – groups of interpreters were puzzling over the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau, and other ancient figures. Their interpretations were often fanciful, and sometimes wildly inventive, but their grasp of the very idea of the Bible is still with us and continues to influence today’s readers. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24917]

For Jews and for Judaism the twentieth century brought unprecedented suffering and incredible achievements – but as a new century gets going, their role in the future is up for grabs. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation of the Commonwealth, refutes the arguments for isolationism and the self-sufficiency of “people that dwell alone” that have proven so tempting through history, instead making the case that Jews and Judaism must renew their sense of hope and purpose to engage positively with the developing global culture. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24414]

The discovery of evolution implies a profound revolution in human thinking and action. Ursula King, Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol, explores the implications of this new consciousness for religion, society, and consciousness. She describes the work of the French paleontologist and religious thinker Pierre Teilhard de Chardin who sought a new spirituality for a world in evolution. His prophetic thought about “the planetization of humanity” – what is called “globalization” today – relates to global interdependence in all areas of human endeavor, and bears on contemporary discussions about ecological and evolutionary spiritualities as well as international peace and social justice. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 24413]

Holy places create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, as evidenced by the ongoing struggle over Jerusalem. Drawing on his recent book, War on Sacred Grounds, Ron Hassner argues that sacred sites are particularly prone to conflict because they cannot be divided. The management of conflicts over sacred sites requires cooperation religious leaders who can shape the meaning and value that sacred places hold for believers. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23430]

Mark Mann of Point Loma Nazarene University leads a panel of distinguished religious scholars in discussing how the various views of life, death, and the afterlife intersect with theological and ethical issues that lie at the heart of the Henrietta Lacks story. This lecture is part of the Henrietta Lacks series sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology in San Diego. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 23214]

Matthew Herbst addresses what it means to be human from an ancient Christian perspective. This lecture is part of the “To Be Human” series presented by the Making of the Modern World program at Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego. Series: "To Be Human " [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23244]

William H. C. Propp, a professor of History at UC San Diego, addresses what it means to be human with an exploration of man in Biblical times. This lecture is part of the “To Be Human” series presented by the Making of the Modern World program at Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego. Series: "To Be Human " [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23236]

Author of the bestseller, “Jerusalem: The Biography,” Simon Sebag Montefiore speaks of the world's most contested place through the lives of those who created, destroyed, conquered, wrote about and believed in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 23503]

Since the 20th century there has been a massive shift of the Christian population from the Global North (Europe and North America) to the Global South (Africa, Asia and South America). Peter Phan, professor at Georgetown University, traces the development, major features and implications of this new face of Christianity. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 22878]

Atlantic Editor James Bennet interviews Dr. Deepak Chopra and physicist Leonard Mlodinow on their upcoming book about spirituality and science as part of The Atlantic Meets The Pacific, hosted by The Atlantic and UC San Diego. Series: "The Atlantic Meets The Pacific" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 22484]

Menachem Mendel Schneerson built the Lubavitcher movement from a relatively small sect within Hasidic Judaism into the powerful force in Jewish life that it is today. Samuel Heilman, Professor of Sociology at CUNY, explores Schneerson’s beliefs and the rise of orthodox Judaism. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 22631]

Created by UCSD Music faculty member Shlomo Dubnov, Kamza and Bar Kamza tells the Talmudic story of the fall of Jerusalem in a multimedia hyper-cinema experience that includes performance, video, online chatting, hypertext and live debate. [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 22436]

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes John Witte, Jr., Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Witte explores the evolution of legal studies and the emergence of an interdisciplinary study of religion and law. He describes the nature of each realm and the dialectic that shapes their interaction. He traces religion's role in securing political and civil rights in the West exploring the implications of this for addressing the complexity of a multicultural world in which many religions seek a place in the global community including the questions raised by the introduction of Sharia law into Western courts. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 22442]

John Witte, Jr., Director, Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University, explores a new issue of religious freedom and family law that is now confronting many Western democracies: to what extent may Islamic and other religious communities have the freedom to develop their own internal religious laws to govern the sex, marriage, and family lives of their voluntary faithful. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 21039]

Darwin is deservedly given credit for the theory of biological evolution. Most important, however, is that he discovered natural selection, the process that accounts for the adaptive organization of organisms and their features; that is, their "design.” UC Irvine professor Francisco J. Ayala, explains that the design of organisms is not intelligent, as would be expected from an engineer, but imperfect and worse. Natural selection is Darwin's gift to religion, because the dysfunctions and waste of the living world need not be attributed to the Creator, but explained as an outcome of a natural process. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 21385]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes author Gurcharan Das for a discussion of his new book, “The Difficulty of Being Good.” Reflecting on his intellectual odyssey, Gurcharan Das elucidates his purpose in writing an extended commentary on the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In the conversation, he also discusses the complex nature of the characters in the epic and the dilemmas posed by their failings and the constraints of the human condition. He concludes with a discussion of the lessons he learned for his own spiritual development and for understanding the moral dilemmas confronting modern societies. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 20512]

A conversation between Hans Küng, President, Foundation for a Global Ethic; Mark Juergensmeyer, Director, UCSB Ofalea Center; and Wade Clark Roof, Director, UCSB Walter H. Capps Center. Series: "Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20074]

John Polkinghorne, an Anglican priest who became famous as a young physicist for confirming the existence of quarks and gluons, joins journalist Dean Nelson for a discussion on science and religion in this event sponsored by Point Loma Nazarene University. [Humanities] [Show ID: 19861]

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan for a discussion of his new book, "What I Believe." Reflecting on the formative experiences of his life, Professor Ramadan traces the influence of his family, his education in Western philosophy and Islamic studies, and the impact of his different careers including high school principal, philosopher, and Islamic scholar. Articulating his commitment to universal principles and resistance to inequality, He analyzes the tensions facing Muslims in an era of globalization as they strive to be fully engaged as citizens committed to Western values. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 20378]

Michael Fishbane discusses the role of spiritual practices in Judaism, through ritual and meditation, which cultivate different types of consciousness and awareness. He considers diverse examples from the full range of Jewish religious history, including related topics from his recent book “Sacred Attunement: A Jewish Theology”. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 19392]

Elizabeth Johnson, a former president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the ecumenical American Theological Society, argues that interfaith dialogue has made clear that each religious tradition has its own distinctive contribution to make. In this Burke lecture, she explores one line of thinking peculiar to the Christian tradition, namely, the meaning of Jesus Christ. Her question is whether the central, organizing figure in Christian faith also has anything intrinsic to do with the natural world. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18746]

Harry Kreisler welcomes Susumu Shimazono, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tokyo to discuss popular religious movements in Japan. Shimazono discusses the origins of his interest in religious studies; the role of religion in modernization; and the emergence of new religions as a global phenomena in the 1970’s with special reference to Japanese examples. Shimazono distinguishes these spiritual movements from salvation religions by identifying their unique features and future evolution. He analyses the implications of new religions for politics and suggests their strengths and weaknesses as an enduring phenomena. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18709]

In recent decades people in the United States, Europe, and Japan have tended to talk about spirituality rather than religion. Is it just a kind of cultural fashion or does it indicate some fundamental transformation of human civilization? Susumo Shimazono, professor of Religious Studies and the University of Tokyo, proposes that the key to understanding contemporary religions will be found by inquiring into the role of the concept of salvation in the history of religions. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18720]

Professor David Sloan Wilson looks at Darwin’s theory of evolution vs. theories of creationism and intelligent design. He considers the assault on Darwin’s theory by those who advance theories of creationism or intelligent design in this installment of the Darwin Evolving Series from UCLA. Series: "Darwin Evolving" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 16922]

The debate about the relationship of politics and religion in the United States is set on the wrong course, Ivan Strenski, distinguished professor of religious studies at UC Riverside, claims in this presentation. Professor Strenski follows the development of the theology of political leadership from Roman through Medieval to the present times to understand the sources of our dedication to republican constitutionalism. [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16933]

Paula Fredriksen, author and Aurelio Professor of Scripture, Boston University sheds new light on the origins of anti-Semitism and opens a path toward better understanding between two of the world’s great religions. She focuses in particular on the vast change from Paul to Augustine in the Christian message of Jewish redemption. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16027]

Michael Shermer, the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine, argues “Why Darwin Matters: Evolution, Intelligent Design and the Battle for Science and Religion” in this talk presented by the Division of Biological Sciences and the Helen Edison Lecture Series at the University of California, San Diego. Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 15584]

Experiences in which the senses are intermingled in usual ways are a common motif in the descriptions that mystics provide of their unordinary sensory experiences. This workshop examines the phenomenon of synaesthesia from a multi-disciplinary perspective in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between synaesthesia, metaphor, creativity, and religious and artistic practices. Series: "Humanitas" [Humanities] [Show ID: 13191]