Thursday, February 06, 2020

Campus Faith Leaders Explore Boundaries of Religious Communities


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Leaders from campus Religious Life groups are meeting this semester as part of the Interfaith Round Table to explore the topic of "chosen community."

Lutheran Campus Minister Rev. Ali Tranvik speaks at the Interfaith Round Table.

The group is discussing what different religious texts say about who is inside or outside a given religious community. They are addressing questions such as: How are community boundary lines drawn? What are the ways that people can cross those boundaries—by joining or leaving or being rejected?

The group is led by Rabbi Elana Friedman, campus rabbi for Jewish Life at Duke, and the Rev. Kathryn Lester-Bacon, the Chapel's director of Religious Life, with funding from the Chapel. Its monthly meetings are a way for campus religious leaders to better understand each other's faith traditions and to become better equipped to speak with students about religious diversity on campus.

The group is limited to Religious Life staff members at this time, but anyone interested in other forms of engagement across faiths is invited to contact Rev. Lester-Bacon.