Religion and Spirituality (Audio)

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 We...

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: "U...

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 imper...

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 fa...

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. Articu...

Is the danger posed by Muslim immigrants real? If it is exaggerated, why the general hysteria? Award-winning author and journalist Ian Buruma will addresses these questions and others raised in his new book “Taming the Gods,” a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents: Europe, Asia and North America Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affai...

One of the world’s leading commentators on religious affairs, Karen Armstrong discusses the intersection of religion and secularism in contemporary life. She explores the ideas that Islam, Judaism and Christianity have in common and their effect on world events. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18580]

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: 1...

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 que...

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 th...

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 inqu...

How can Jewish ideals of the prophetic tradition be applied through tikkun olam, “perfecting the world,” to the active pursuit of peace and justice? Rabbi David Saperstein discusses the origin of the prophetic tradition in Jewish thought and its role in Jewish history. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 18190]

David Makovsky, Senior Fellow and Director of the Washington Institute’s Project on Middle East Peace and Ghaith al-Omari, previously Senior Advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and currently Advocacy Director for the American Task Force on Palestine discuss path to Middle East peace. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 17555]

Harry Kreisler welcomes Rich Cohen, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, to discuss his book “Israel is Real.” Cohen explores the changing conception of a homeland for Jews in the Diaspora, the theme of his new book, and explains how Jews turned the loss of the real Zion to a focus on an ideal Zion that would be realized in an unknown future. He traces the rise of the Zionist move...

In the period between 1150 and 1550 a number of Christians in western Europe made pilgrimage to places where material objects - among them paintings, statues, relics, pieces of wood, earth, stones, and Eucharistic wafers - allegedly erupted into life by such activities as bleeding, weeping, and walking about. Carole Walker Bynum, Professor of Western European Middle Ages at the Institute for Advan...

San Diego Deputy District Attorney Jane Via returns to Osher UCSD to recount what has happened to her in the three years since she was ordained as a Roman Catholic woman priest. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16595]

Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes the Carnegie Endowment's Karim Sadjadpour for a discussion of U.S.-Iran relations. Topics covered include: the recent Iranian elections, the divisions with the clerical power structure shaping the domestic political conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, the role of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's strategic goals, its aims in negotiations wi...

Who is most beloved by God? Monotheists have often advanced the idea that their relationship with God is unique and superior to all others. Rabbi Reuven Firestone explores the idea of "chosenness" as articulated through the scriptures of the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 16030]

Authors Robert Thurman and Pico Iyer reflect on the Dalai Lama's ideas and work as a religious leader, politician, scientist, and philosopher. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16536]

What are the most salient and significant features of the current offensive directed against the State of Israel and Jewish communities around the world? Robert Wistrich, Director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, examined key facets of the challenge and danger that emanates from the new anti-Semitism, including its conne...

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]

In this presentation at UCSB, His Holiness the Dalai Lama turns to one of his favorite themes: the importance of compassion. Far from being a uniquely Buddhist concern, the Dalai Lama explains why caring for others can be the basis for a rich and rewarding life for all people. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17091]