Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding

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ReligionWise Podcast

ReligionWise features educators, researchers, and other professionals discussing topics on religion and their relevance to the public conversation.

ReligionWise Feedback

Have you been listening to the podcast and want to share your thoughts about it? Do you have questions about the topics we’ve discussed?

If you look carefully at religious traditions in your own neighborhood or around the globe, you quickly discover that different religious communities think very differently about the way the world works.

To understand our fellow humans, we must examine these worldviews that are rooted in the religious and cultural contexts of diverse communities. Only by carefully considering and analyzing these differences can we understand how others perceive the world and act within it.

The Institute’s mission is to strive to create a community engaged in the pursuit of understanding and analyzing how religion and culture impact our neighborhoods and our world.

 

 

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    UPCOMING EVENT

    Sikh Belief and Practice in the Lehigh Valley with Hardeep Sembhi

    Seegers Union Event Space
    7:00 pm
    Image for Sikh Belief and Practice in the Lehigh Valley with Hardeep Sembhi

    Composed of both longtime residents of the Lehigh Valley and more recent arrivals, the characteristics and challenges of the Sikh community are both recognizable and unique to their own circumstances. Our conversation with Hardeep Sembhi will consider a number of different aspects of belief and practice, including the dynamics of the local community, the role of women in Sikh belief and practice, and the climate for the Sikh community in our area.

In Action

Institute Colleagues at Work

Listen, read, and watch scholars whose work aligns with the mission of the Institute.

The Case for Religious Studies

In today’s environment, an understanding of the different religions of the world is not a luxury but a necessity.

The Alternative Facts of Life

This Ancient Near East scholar’s research on two American young-Earth-creationist institutions provided fodder for timely discussions in the classroom.

A Welcoming Place for All Religious Traditions

pursuit of understanding

A new integrative learning partnership between the Department of Religion Studies and the Office of Housing & Residence Life helps resident advisors develop religious literacy.

Of Life and Death

alumni perspective

A course on Tibetan Buddhism gave Monica Arora ’15 a new perspective on humanity in medicine. Religion studies alumni Jeremy Fuchs ’14 discusses its impact on her career.

Offering Comfort in a Time of Crisis

Alumni Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the work of Rabbi Jason Kirschner ’10, who serves as a chaplain at a New York City hospital.

Contact Us

We look forward to hearing from you!
Email [email protected] Telephone 484-664-3470
Address Muhlenberg College Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding Moyer Hall, 202 2400 Chew Street Allentown, PA 18104