JULY 2018

Jeffery Long, Religious Studies, published the following:

  • a review of Hindol Sengupta’s “Being Hindu: Understanding a Peaceful Path in a Violent World,” in Reading Religion and “One Life/Many Lives: An Internal Hindu-Christian Dialogue” in the online journal Religions.
  • “Many Views, Many Truths, One Truth: A Jain-Inspired Approach to the Diversity of Worldviews” in the Berkeley Journal of Theology and Religion. This article is based on his presentation in February 2017 of the Surjit Singh Lecture at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union.
  • “Swami Vivekananda’s Address to the First Parliament of the World’s Religions,” an essay for a volume of primary sources for interfaith engagement. The volume, edited by Or N. Rose, Homayra Ziad and Soren Hessler, is titled ‘Words to Live by: Sources for Interreligious Engagement.” It was published in June 2018.

Long also was invited by the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, to participate in a conference on Hindu-Christian Dual Belonging. Long attended the conference on July 3 and 4, 2018, and presented his paper, titled “Hindu, Christian, Hindu-Christian, and Beyond: Exploring the Relations between Identity and Spirituality.” on July 3.

 

JUNE 2018

Jeffery Long, professor of religion and Asian studies, was given a Dharma Seva Award Tuesday, June 19, by the Hindu American Foundation in Washington, D.C. According to the award letter, it is “bestowed upon individuals and/or organizations who have worked tirelessly and selflessly for the greater good of Sanatana Dharma and the Dharmic community. … Your years of scholarship, that shines light on the Hindu tradition as it is lived, and your advocacy and leadership on behalf of the tradition and community to ensure accuracy and respect in the way Hinduism is taught in grades K-12 are indicative of your upholding the highest ideals of our tradition, namely, selfless service, courage and equanimity.”

He also published a review of Yiftach Fehige’s “Science and Religion: East and West” in the September 2017 issue of Isis, a journal published by the University of Chicago Press. He published “Reflections on Hinduphobia: A Perspective from a Scholar-Practitioner” in the December 2017 issue of Prabuddha Bharata, a journal of the Ramakrishna Order in India.

Long gave the following public presentations during the 2017-2018 academic year:

  • May 6, 2018 — “Mahavir’s Philosophy of Peace and Nonviolence,” Mahavir Jayanti Celebration, Consulate General of India, New York
  • April 22, 2018 — “Vedanta and Star Wars,” Bharatiya Mandir, Troy, Michigan
  • Nov. 19, 2017 — “Hindu Process Theology,” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Boston
  • Nov. 19, 2017 — “Within You, Without You: Vedanta in the Music of George Harrison,” Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston
  • Oct. 6-7, 2017 — “My Journey to Vedanta” and “Dealing with Difficult People,” Vedanta Society of Kansas City
  • Oct. 28, 2017 — Interfaith Panel: “Breaking Barriers,” Vedanta Society of New York

 

October 2017

Christina Bucher, the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, gave a presentation in the “Bible and Visual Culture” section at the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. The meeting was held this year in Berlin, Germany, in August. The title of her paper was “Contemplating Four Northern European Renaissance Paintings of The Rest on the Flight into Egypt.”

Tracy Wenger Sadd, lecturer in Religious Studies, edited a collection of essays written by members of the Elizabethtown College staff and faculty. Richard Newton, assistant professor of religion, contributed “Purposeful Life Work: Stories in Process,” and Christina Bucher, Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, contributed “Conversations Are How We Know Who We Are: Conversations and the Hospitable Classroom.” Publication of the volume was made possible by a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education and the Lilley Foundation.

September 2017

Jeffery D. Long, professor of religion and Asian studies, wrote a short article on a controversial Australian television ad, which has offended many Hindus. The article was picked up by Associated Press and has been featured on Huffington Post, Salon.com and the Los Angeles Times website.

AUGUST 2017

Michael G. Long, associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies, has contracted with City Lights Books of San Francisco to publish “WE THE RESISTANCE: DOCUMENTING OUR HISTORY OF NONVIOLENT PROTEST.” The book will be published in Winter 2018.

April 2017

Michael Long, associate professor of religion and peace and conflict studies, has co-authored and published “Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography.” Long’s next book on nonviolent protest in U.S. history is scheduled to be published by City Lights Books in San Francisco.

March 2017

Jeffery D. Long, professor of religion and Asian studies, recently completed a speaking tour in California. On Feb. 17, 2017, Long spoke at Claremont School of Theology as part of a conference called New Frontiers in Theology.  He was on a panel on the topic of ‘trans-religious theology’: that is, theology which draws upon many religious traditions rather than only one.  On the Feb. 22, he spoke at Berkeley, where he gave the prestigious Surjit Singh Lecture.  This lecture series is dedicated to inter-religious understanding.  He spoke on the relevance of Jain philosophy to greater inter-religious harmony.  Finally, on Feb. 24, he spoke at a conference at Loyola Marymount University on Jainism and Sikhism.  The theme of the conference was the idea of the ‘spiritual warrior,’ who is dedicated to peace, but also to standing firmly for spiritual values. Long’s talk connected Jain and Sikh themes to currents in American thought, mentioning early 20th-century figures such as William James and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as his fellow Missouri native, Mark Twain.

Long also recently published the two-volume “Buddhism and Jainism,” which he coedited with Dr. K.T.S. Sarao.  These two volumes are part of the Springer Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, edited by Dr. Arvind Sharma.

 

January 2017

Michael Long, associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies, was interviewed by The Huffington Post for the December 2017 article “Mister Rogers And The Bully-in-Chief.”

Summer 2016

Jeffery D. Long, professor of religion and Asian studies, presented at the Jain Vishva Bharati Center for Peace and Meditation in South Plainfield, New Jersey, Aug. 21. He spoke on the theme of Jain philosophy and inter-religious relations.

April 2016

Richard Newton, assistant professor of religious studies, was accepted into the “Bodies of Christ: Visualizing Jesus Then and Now” Summer Seminar at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, taking place June 12 through 24. This select interdisciplinary cohort will investigate the ramifications of Jesus depictions on church, state, and society. Sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship with funding by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

March 2016

Chris Bucher, the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion and Department Chair, was accepted into the Teaching Interfaith Understanding Luce-funded CIC seminar at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Bucher is one of only 26 faculty members selected for this seminar, which took place July 31 through August 4, 2016.