The Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society and Muslim Life at ������Ƶ invite the ������Ƶ community to attend the Honoring the Legacy Symposium on Thursday, March 10, at 6 p.m. in McBride Gathering Space of Numen Lumen Pavilion.

The event will celebrate the legacy of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, a distinguished Muslim leader known for reforming the Nation of Islam (NOI) and forging ties with mainstream Muslim communities across the US.

Symposium presenters include Multifaith Scholar JoyceLyn Bentley ‘22, , the first Muslim Chaplain of Duke University, and of Raleigh’s As Salaam Islamic Center.

For more information, please contact Associate Chaplain, Imam Shane Atkinson: satkinson2@elon.edu.

Brian Pennington, Andrew Monteith and Pamela Winfield recently published “” Co-authored by Anandi Silva-Knuppel of Lawrence University, the report was produced in collaboration with a team of researchers supported by a $50,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to study public scholarship on religion. The principal investigator of the project was Sandie Gravett of Appalachian State University.

The report provides an “environmental scan” of public scholarship on religion across the digital landscape. The authors studied 34 podcasts, websites, and video channels to synthesize findings on the framework that makes the work of religion scholars available to nonacademic audiences. The grant team aims to expand the reach of religion scholars to new publics by identifying areas of growth and untapped opportunities.

The report can be found in , the online publication of the , the largest scholarly society for the academic study of religion.

At those conferences, students are able to present research and learn the skills of networking in a professional setting. Although academic meetings all around the world have been moved to online formats this year, during the weekend of March 12, ������Ƶ Department of Religious Studies faculty members Brian Pennington and Amy Allocco arranged a virtual conference experience for students from a variety of majors so they could have some opportunity for the professionalization that conference attendance can entail.

Six ������Ƶ seniors presented the results of long-term, faculty mentored research in the Undergraduate Research sessions of the AAR/SBL SE virtual meeting, sponsored by Florida State University. Eight other students attended the conference on Zoom to support the seniors and to learn conference culture in hopes of presenting there in a future year.

In a typical year, students would attend the conference’s opening reception and mingle with scholars in attendance. This year, masked and socially distanced, they dressed up, attended the conference’s opening session in McEwen’s screening room, and then took over Snow Atrium for a pandemic-inflected reception experience. Although there was no ������Ƶ van ride to a different state together, no shared hotel accommodations, and little chance to meet their peers from other universities, ������Ƶ’s student attendees nonetheless demonstrated the outstanding work they can do under the guidance of ������Ƶ faculty.

The following senior projects presented at the conference were developed in ������Ƶ’s signature undergraduate research programs, including Multifaith Scholars, ������Ƶ College Fellows and Honors Fellows:

• Annabelle Baker: “The Role of Bollywood in Cultivating Cultural Connection with Indian Diaspora” (Mentor: Brian Pennington)
• Srija Dutta:  “South Asian College-Aged Women and the Influence of Religion and Cultural Factors on Sexual Decision Making” (Mentor: Amanda Tapler)
• Madison Gray: “Cambodian American Religion in Contemporary American Diaspora” (Mentor: Brian Pennington)
• Sarah Jane Mcdonald: “‘The Church is a Piece of Home’: Religious Experiences of East and Central African Refugees” (Mentor: Mussa Idris)
• Kylee Smith: “Practices, Beliefs, and Identities: Muslim Immigrants Acculturation to the United States” (Mentor: Sandy Marshall)
• Kaitlin Theall: “Promoting Sufism as a Counter-Extremism Strategy in the Moroccan Press” (Mentor: Ariela Marcus-Sells)

In addition to undergraduate presentations, Adjunct Assistant Professors Hunter Bandy and Helen Orr presented “The Medicalization of Religious and Political Talent in 16th-century Kārkiyā Gilan” and “Dark Humor and Healing: Post-War Explorations in Trauma, Laughter, and Transgression,” respectively.

Many of these senior projects will be featured during ������Ƶ’s annual Student Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 27.

Housed at Appalachian State University under the direction of Professor Sandie Gravett and supported by ������Ƶ’s Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the project has sponsored a series of consultations bringing together 10 faculty from colleges and universities with non-sectarian undergraduate religious studies programs from across the country. Their goal is to envision a future for teaching and scholarship in the academic study of religion that prioritizes communication with public audiences about issues of public concern.

The team presented its first round of findings at the November 2020 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion meeting. Project members are now developing peer-reviewed publications mapping the media environment in which scholars with public voices work and outlining the need for non-theologically driven, publicly focused work by scholars in religious studies.

CSRCS Director Brian Pennington says the project will wrap up the current phase of its work and open discussions with the Luce Foundation about next steps. “Understanding how scholars do or don’t function currently as public intellectuals is the first step towards a set of proposals that will make the important work of those scholars more accessible and relevant to our life as a nation.”

Panels and lectures involved ������Ƶ faculty, along with 11 scholars from three countries and a range of disciplines. ������Ƶ faculty organizers included Associate Professor Evan Gatti (Art History), Assistant Professor Sandy Marshall (Geography), Associate Professor Amy Allocco (Religious Studies), Visiting Assistant Professor Shayna Mehas (History), and Professor Brian Pennington (Religious Studies), the center’s director.

The Thursday keynote address was given by Leah Sarat of Arizona State University. Her lecture was titled, “The Terror of ‘Safety’: Christianity, Immigrant Policing, and Detention at the Nation’s Edge.” It examined the experiences and perspectives of two different Christians with very different experiences of the US/Mexico border: a detention facility chaplain and a Mexican detainee. A video recording of the keynote address is available to members of the ������Ƶ community by emailing bpennington4@elon.edu.

Participants in the symposium will now collaborate to develop a set of scholarly publications based on the research presented during the event.

To further raise awareness of life at the US/Mexico border, the CSRCS has installed a photography exhibit by the Sierra Club, “Lens on the Border,” in the buildings of the Lambert Academic Village to coincide with the symposium. Twenty-four canvas prints along with ������Ƶ student photos from course experiences along the U.S.-Mexico borders are displayed in hallways and common areas of buildings in the Lambert Academic Village. Student photos are inside the sacred space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. Other photos are in Gray Pavillion, Cannon Pavillion, Spence Pavillion, and Lindner Hall. A Storymap guide to the exhibition is available .

The exhibition will remain throughout February, and the ������Ƶ community is encouraged to tour the buildings and see the photos. The display of Lens on the Border on campus is supported by the ������Ƶ College Fund for Excellence.

The conversation was based on Jones’ most recent book, . Jones is the founder and CEO of the , a nonprofit, nonpartisan research firm that uses polling and other methods to study the intersection of religion, culture and public policy in the United States.

The 2020 book explores three major sources to understand racism in American Christianity: history, public opinion data collected by his polling firm, and memoir-style writing about his own personal reckoning with white supremacy. He argued that the American Christian Church has not just been complacent or complicit regarding white supremacy, but responsible for creating and sustaining these systems.

Recognizing the jarring nature of that claim, Jones asked, “What happens if we who are white and Christian listen to such a harsh witness…look at this in the mirror, and instead of walking away, looking away, dismissing it, we hold the gaze?”

During his virtual discussion and throughout his writing today, Jones said he aims “to tell a truer and truer story of this entanglement of white supremacy in American Christianity.”

Jones writes regularly on politics, culture and religion for The Atlantic online, NBC Think, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times and The Washington Post. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the author of The End of White Christian America, which won the , one of the most prestigious awards in the Religious Studies field.

Jones’ lecture was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the Religious Studies Department, the Poverty and Social Justice Program, the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education, the African and African-American Studies program, and Bringing Theory to Practice.

A recording of Jones’ discussion is available for viewing .

Five ������Ƶ students presented at SECSOR, each mentored by Department of Religious Studies faculty. Marjorie Anne Foster ’20 won the conference award for Best Undergraduate Research Paper with her topic, “Negotiating Islamophobia: The Experiences of College-Age Muslims in North Carolina,” which she produced with her mentors, Associate Professors Amy Allocco and Glenn Scott. ������Ƶ students have taken the top honor at SECSOR in three of the last four years: Lindsay Jordan ’19 received the same award in 2019, and Brianna Birchett ‘17 in 2017.

Allocco mentored two other students’ research. Kathryn Gerry ’20 presented “There is Not a Thing Like Religion or Caste between Migrants: Navigating Multireligious Landscapes in Kerala and the Gulf.” Co-mentored by Allocco and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society Brian Pennington, Katie Hooker ’20 examined religious and cultural identities in Miami’s Haitian community.

With guidance from her mentor, Professor Rebecca Todd Peters, Lucy Jones ’20 presented “Abortion and Christianity: How the Religious Right Chipped Away at Mainline Denominations.” Finally, Hannah Thorpe ’20 studied Jewish responses to white nationalism movements with the help of mentor Associate Professor Geoffrey Claussen, chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

Peters also presented her own work at SECSOR in a paper titled “Rethinking Moral Wisdom: Listening to Women Who End Pregnancies.”

Many of these students will be presenting their research at ������Ƶ’s Student Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 28.

Support for travel was provided by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Kineke, former executive producer and writer for , came to learn that every story has a religion angle. During her 14 years at CBS, she produced weekly, half-hour on religion, culture, and public life. She discovered that religion pervades the experience and commitments of Americans, impacting our politics and our cultural life, yet we think of faith largely in terms of private and personal concerns. As a reporter, she tried to change that.

Her lecture will be held in Numen Lumen Pavilion at 5:30 pm. The event is free and all are welcome.

Kineke’s visit is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society.

Su’ad is a scholar-artist-activist, as well as the founder and Senior Editor of , an award-winning website dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the black Muslim experience in the U.S. In 2018 CNN recognized Su’ad as one of the .

CNN has said about Su’ad that “she defined ‘Muslim Cool.’ Su’ad … says perceptions of Islam don’t always fit reality.”

“Now more than ever we need to to build bridges of understanding with the Muslim world,” Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life Shane Atkinson said. “From her extensive studies at Abu Nour University in Damascus, to her PhD in cultural anthropology from Princeton, Dr. Su’ad draws upon her lived experience to educate us about the modern American muslim experience.”

Her performance will take place in LaRose Theater of Koury Business Center at 7 p.m. The event is free and all are encouraged to attend.

Su’ad’s visit is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, Muslim Life at ������Ƶ, ������Ƶ Muslim Society, and The CREDE.

Safi is a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke and he served as the director of Duke from July 2014 to June 2019. He has served on the board of the Pluralism project at . Additionally, Safi is a columnist for “,” and a leading voice among U.S. Muslims.

The lecture will take place in the McBride Gathering Space in Numen Lumen Pavilion at 4:15 p.m. The event is free and all are encouraged to come hear beautiful devotional poetry.

Safi’s visit is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, the ������Ƶ Muslim Society and Muslim Life at ������Ƶ.