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Mission
The resurgence of religion and, with it, religious and cultural intolerance and conflict are emerging as powerful forces in the new century. In order to address this unexpected and rapidly changing situation, the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life will bring together scholars and students in religion, cultural anthropology, history, political science, economics, social psychology and other allied fields to sustain multi-disciplinary analysis, reflection and response to historical and contemporary issues that are of great significance. The Institute will also engage political and economic figures and policy practitioners, as well as religious and cultural leaders, in its programs. The scope of the Institute will encompass a broad range of phenomena, but will also focus on questions relating to the role of difference, identity, and practice within larger national and international contexts. While seeking to understand the bases of conflict and unrest, it will examine traditions, practices and historical examples that demonstrate the potential for understanding, tolerance and ecumenical values within religious traditions, as well as patterns of social institutions that may facilitate coexistence and mutual support. By taking an expansive rather than a restricted view of religious thought and practice, the Institute will recast the traditional opposition between the secular and the religious in ways that promote innovative approaches to familiar problems.
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