The Department of Religion and Philosophy regularly hosts lectures, panel discussions and other events focusing on issues relating to religion and philosophy.

Some recent examples include

• Panel discussions about religious perspectives on abortion and the death penalty
• Lectures by noted theologians Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and Phyllis Trible
• Religious issues in the news, such as the Danish cartoon controversy
• Events focusing on the intersection of religion and the arts.

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Religion Department Hosts Discussion on Abortion

Meredith’s Department of Religion and Philosophy hosted its second annual Panel on Religious Ethics and Social Issues on September 26. This year’s discussion focused on the ways abortion is thought about in the Abrahamic faiths.

The event was moderated by religion faculty member Steven Benko, who said the purpose of the annual panel is to allow community members to “discuss in a civil and open manner how different religions believe and teach about social issues.”

Panelists were Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue, Presbyterian Campus Minister Allen Proctor of West Raleigh Presbyterian Church, Todd Knock, pastor of Leesville Baptist Church, and Debbie Jaunich of the Islamic Center of Raleigh.

Each panelist offered a brief overview of their religion’s perspective on abortion.

Proctor said that the Presbyterian Church is “certainly not united in its view of abortion. It is a difficult topic because abortion is a sad thing in any case, so we talk about it with sensitivity.”

Panelists were then asked what common ground was shared among the different religious beliefs.

“The emphasis on life…all traditions agree that abortion is not encouraged,” Solomon said.

Knock echoed this idea, saying that the “common ground is that we all believe that life is sacred.”

Other questions explored included how each religion’s views on abortion related to its views on birth control and war.

“Faith is guidance [to answer] how we make decisions in the real world and stay faithful,” Jaunich said.

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Special Topics Forum Examines Danish Cartoon Controversy
By Melyssa Allen

The Meredith College Department of Religion, the Office of the Campus Minister and Meredith Muslim students put together a Special Topics Forum to examine the roots of the controversy over Danish cartoons that offended Muslims and have caused protest. The event was held on February 20.

Campus Minister Sam Carothers said, "This event is an attempt to let us address the issues involved in the printing of cartoons in Denmark that have caused such a furor."

The forum included three panelists--Debbie Jaunich, a representative from Raleigh's Islamic Center, Assistant Professor of Religion Pamela Winfield, and Richard Winfield, an international media law expert who also happens to be Pamela Winfield's father.  

Meredith student Marium Ali helped to organize the event and was pleased with the standing room only attendance.

"I think it was a great success in terms of the number of people who attended, the information provided by the panelists and the questions asked by the Meredith community," Ali said.

Pamela Winfield offered an overview of the development of the controversy. In September 2005, Danish newspapers began publishing a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed. She explained that the political climate in Denmark, combined with harsh anti-immigration laws that are in place, had created a "chilling effect" for Danish Muslims.

She then introduced the varied points of view on the topic, from the viewpoint of faith and the viewpoint of freedom of expression.

Debbie Jaunich shared the reasons why Muslims were upset by the cartoons.

"Depicting [the prophets] in any form is forbidden and to depict the Prophet Muhammed in a disgraceful light is inflaming," Jaunich said. She also said the majority of the protests about the cartoon controversy had been peaceful and not depicted in the media.

"As Muslims, we are sorry and sad that some of these protests have turned violent," Jaunich said. "Peaceful protests have not gotten on the news...what is newsworthy does not always give a balanced view of what is happening."

Richard Winfield offered information on media law in Denmark, and contrasted them with the laws in the U.S. He suggested that by having vague hate speech laws on the books, Denmark opened itself up to criticism when those laws were not used in this situation.

"The hate speech law gave the [Danish] government an opportunity to respond, and for political reasons they did not. Vague laws are subject to political sensibilities," he said. "This escalated a journalistic bad decision into a political issue."

Ali acknowledged that the issue was not easily resolved in a one-hour discussion.

"People may not have come up with an answer of what is right, but they definitely got an understanding of what the issue is about and why people are reacting so strongly about it around the world," she said.