Duke Chapel’s Pluralism Lecture was founded to further Duke University’s aim of “foster[ing] a lively relationship between knowledge and faith” as well as its commitment “to creating a rigorous scholarly community characterized by generous hospitality toward diverse religious and cultural traditions.”
This lectureship takes as its premise a “confident” approach to pluralism that embraces the reality of diverse faith traditions and beliefs while also recognizing the need for competing truth claims to be acknowledged, discussed, and debated.
The series is presented in collaboration with the Provost's Initiative on Pluralism, Free Inquiry, and Belonging, which creates new opportunities for student, faculty, and staff learning across the university, including programs to help students conduct constructive conversations across diverse perspectives and faculty to support student skill development.
Generous Pluralism at Duke
"To be plural does not mean uniform. It means differentiation but that doesn’t mean difference has to be demonized. That isn’t the Duke way. Difference or diversity, even religiously or faith-wise, is embraced as a reality of the world of which Duke is a part." — Duke Chapel Dean Luke Powery writing in the (Duke) Chronicle about "Generous pluralism at Duke"
Religious Life at Duke
Duke Chapel, in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs, convenes, supports, and advocates for all of the recognized Religious Life groups on campus that serve students, including Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, and Protestant organizations and groups.