The University of Oklahoma and the Religious Studies Program hosted the Institute for Interfaith Dialogue's Fall conference in November 2006. The keynote speaker, a friend of the University making an encore visit, was Dr. Akbar Ahmed of American University and Ambassador to Britain from Pakistan.

"Day at the Legislature,
OK Conference of Churches"
Panelist Dr. Barbara Boyd (left)

 

Study Abroad Greece 2007
Relaxing at the Acropolis

AAR/SBL Scholarship
Awarded to a junior or senior level graduate school bound RELS major to attend the American Academy of Religion or Society of Biblical Literature conference along with RELS faculty.

Rev. Larry and Mrs. Gloria Angus Religious Vocation Scholarship
Awarded to a senior RELS major planning to pursue religious/vocational training after graduation.

LeNorman Scholarship for Religious Studies
Awarded to a junior or senior RELS major who demonstrates academic excellence and an interest in religion and ethics.

Make a Difference Scholarship
Awarded to a full-time RELS student who demonstrates a desire to make a difference with their RELS degree.

Junior Academic Excellence Scholarship
The Timothy Cole Stephenson Scholarship for academic excellence is awarded to the junior RELS major with the highest overall GPA in the program.

Senior Academic Excellence Scholarship
The Heather Nicole Stephenson Scholarship for academic excellence is offered to the senior RELS major with the highest overall GPA in the program.

The Bernita L. Thompson Endowed Scholarship in Religious Studies and News Journalism
Awarded to a junior or senior student in Journalism and Religious Studies.

Recipients of these scholarships, along with graduating seniors, are honored each spring at an annual Recognition Luncheon.

Religious Studies Club
(www.ou.edu/religiousstudiesclub)
An organization for Religious Studies majors and minors in which students participate in religious education on and off campus, host speakers' events, socialize, and dialogue with other religious student groups.

Events planned for the Fall semester will begin with a Welcome Back party at the home of Barbara and Tom Boyd.  More details to follow.

For our Campus:

Reflection Room - The Religious Studies Program sponsored, with the generous support of OU President David Boren, the establishment of a "Reflection Room" on campus to provide a space for private contemplation by individuals of all faiths. The has been open since March of 2006 in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, behind the Crossroads Restaurant.

The Red Event - The Religious Education Discussion, or RED Event, is a discussion or debate event held each fall and spring semester planned by students for the university family. The focus of the event is discussion and dialogue with speakers or panels on red hot religious topics in the news. Example events have been: war vs pacifism, homosexuality in the church, the Gibson film "Passion of the Christ."

Travel Abroad Opportunities

The Religious Studies Program offers travel abroad opportunites for our students, as well as scholarship options.

Ireland - May 2008 - Religious Studies and other participants joined in the "Landscape and Lore, Music and Myth of Western Ireland" experience for ten days in May.
Click here for more info.

Greek History, Culture and Religion in Cinema - May 2007 - The Religious Studies Program, in conjunction with the OU Film and Video Studies Program, offered this travel and study experience May 17th to May 28, 2007. Travel to the islands of Kea, Poros and Hydra, as well as to Athens, Delphi, Epidaurus, Mycenae, and other sites were designed to stimulate reflection upon religion in cinema while enjoying the landscape. Participants met Greek filmmakers, writers, and poets, while participating in lectures, discussions, and film screenings. Instructors for the course were Barbara and Tom Boyd and Andrew Horton.

Morocco - June 2006 - RELS students joined Professors Barbara and Tom Boyd on a CLAL-sponsored tour of sacred sites in Morocco during the Fez Festival of the World's Sacred Music.

Turkey - December 2005-January 2006 - The RELS Program in connection with the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue sponsored a trip to Turkey in December 2005-January 2006 for faculty and students to study a unique education model growing in this vital country, a model of ethical education using a concept of universal ethics offered by the founder of the movement, Fethullah Gulen.

Europe - Summer 2004, Summer 2005 - In the summer of 2004, sixteen students attended the Parliament of the Worlds Religions in Barcelona, Spain. During the summer of 2005, the RELS Program took 15 students to Italy for a study of monasticism through the lives of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Francis of Assisi and the sites related to them.

For our Wider Community:

The Religious Studies Program serves each semester as host to a major speaker event to which the wider community is invited. Speakers who have participated with us include Dr. Phillip Jenkins of Pennsylvania State University (The Coming of Global Christianity), Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Britain's Ambassador to Pakistan and Ibn Khaldun Professor of Islamic Studies at American University (Islam Under Siege: An Invitation to Interfaith Dialogue), and Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield of the Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL) in New York City (When God Goes to War) and Dr. Charles Kimball, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Wake Forest University and author of When Religion Becomes Evil.

Coming Events

The speaker event for the Fall Semester of 2008 will feature the new Director of Religious Studies, Dr. Charles Kimball, at a public lecture in the Ballroom of Oklahoma Memorial Union at 7PM on Tuesday, October 21st.  More details to follow.

Speaker Events for the 2007-2008 Academic Year

Dr. Bard Ehrman, well-known commentator and author (Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend; etc.), delivered a public lecture in Meacham Auditorium on October 25, 2007.  He spoke on the topic of one of his recent books, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why.

Joan Halifax Roshi, Abbot at Upaya Zen Center, Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author, visited campus on March 3, 2008.  She gave a public lecture in Meacham Auditorium entitled "Engaged Buddhism: Practicing Compassion and Fearlessness in an Endangered World."

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield returned to campus for a discussion and signing of his new book, You Don't Have to be Wrong for Me to be Right: Finding Faith without Fanaticism, in Beaird Lounge on April 8, 2008.

Fall 2006 Institute for Interfaith Dialogue Conference
The Institute for Interfaith Dialogue held its annual Fethullah Gulen conference at the University of Oklahoma November 2-6, 2006. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Professor of Anthropology and International Relations at American University and Ambassador from Pakistan to Britain, was the keynote speaker at the conference which included presentations of academic papers from national and international speakers and hosted 300 participants.

Speaker Events for the 2005-2006 Academic Year

Dr. George Ellis, 2004 Templeton Prize recipient, from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, presented a public lecture on October 4, 2005, in the Reynolds Performing Art Center at 7:00 p.m. OU President David Boren hosted a Presidential roundtable dinner with Dr. Ellis and invited guests on October 3. Click here to see a powerpoint presentation of his talk on Cosmology on October 3. Click here to see a powerpoint presentation of his talk on Science & Religion on October 4.

Dr. Charles Kimball, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Wake Forest University, presented a public lecture on February 28, 2005, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Ballroom. OU President David Boren hosted a Presidential roundtable with Dr. Kimball and invited guests on February 27. This event was held in conjunction with the campus-wide Renaisance Project.

Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, Director of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, D. C., was the speaker for the student Renaissance Project event. On April 17, 2006, in Meacham auditorium, Dr. Gaddy discussed issues of Religion & Democracy.

Speaker Events - 2004-2005 Academic Year

In February of 2005, CLAL and the University of Oklahoma, along with many generous donors, premiered a documentary film called Freaks Like Me, produced by CLAL, underwritten by the Religious Studies Program and the University of Oklahoma. The film featured OU students and Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield and others, filmed at the Parliament of the World Religions in Barcelona Spain.

Co-Sponsorhips
The RELS program co-sponsors several events each semester for faculty, students and the wider community. These have included Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Bahai and Jewish speakers.

Outreach for the Religious Studies Program seeks to build bridges among various religious traditions through personal and community encounters. This is the setting where diversity is dynamic rather than dangerous. Watch this site for progress on the proposed Heartland Institute for Religion and Public Life being developed as a collaborative effort with major organizations and individuals involved in interfaith dialogue.

Dr. Barbara S. Boyd is available to speak to your group about the Religious Studies Program or other topics related to her work in this field.

Barbara S. Boyd
barbaraboyd@ou.edu
405-325-5615

Dialogue is the key to understanding and appreciating diversity among the world's various religions. In the Religious Studies Program we encourage dialogue, education and service as a way to participate in this incredible phenomenon called religion. We trust that students in our program will make a difference in the world with what they take from their classes and experiences in this field of study.

Dr. Barbara S. Boyd, Director of Outreach

For Dr. Boyd's faculty page, click here.