Religious Pluralism in North America: The Southern United States

The Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Atlanta, Georgia
November 21-22, 2003
Hilton Atlanta & Towers, Rockdale/Forsythe Room
1:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Schedule of Discussions

1:00 - 2:30
First Discussion Session:
Religious Diversity in the Southern United States

• Diana Eck, Harvard University: Opening remarks and update on the Pluralism Project and Critical Issues in the U.S.

• Grove Harris, Harvard University: Pluralism Project Pragmatics, including Online Databases and Outreach

• Kathryn McClymond, Georgia State University: Mapping the Religious Landscape of Atlanta, GA

• Corrie Norman and student researchers Heather Barclay and Holly Jordan, Converse College: Women and Religious Diversity in the South: Stories and Trajectories for Research

• Claude Stulting, Sam Britt, and student researcher Tracy Wells, Furman University: Mapping the Religious Landscape in South Carolina

 
2:30 - 3:00

Break with refreshments and continuing informal conversation. Discussion topics include the ethos surrounding religious pluralism in the South, and the Ten Commandments issue.

 
3:00 - 4:30
Second Discussion Session:
Teaching in and Through the Context of Religious Pluralism

• Marcia Beauchamp, California Institute of Integral Studies: Uses of the Building Bridges of Understanding Curriculum

• David Damrel, Arizona State University: World Religions in Arizona: Teaching Students; Teaching Teachers

• Tim Cahill, Loyola University and student researcher Arthi Devarajan, Emory University: Mapping Religious Sites in New Orleans – Lessons Learned

• Stuart Chandler, Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Scholars of Religious Diversity and Interfaith Dialogue

 
4:30 - 5:00

Break with light supper and continuing informal conversation.

• Katy Shrout, Emory University: Autumn in Atlanta: Religious Community, Festival, and Celebration

• Cindy Brown, University of Southern Mississippi: Images of Religious Diversity in Southern Mississippi – More than Southern Baptists

 
5:00 - 6:30
Third Discussion Session:
Research on Religious Communities

• Gary Laderman, Emory University: Religious Pluralism – Local and Global

• Allen Richardson and Cate Cameron, Cedar Crest College: Religious Diversity and the Re-definition of Community in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Coal Region

•  Valarie Kaur Brar, Stanford University: Targeting the Turban – Sikh Americans and the Aversion Spiral After September 11

Student Research in the South

• Ben Zeller, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: From Ashram to Congregation: An ISKCON Temple in Transition

• Jeff Wilson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Mapping the Buddhist Community of Richmond, Virginia and Buddhism in North Carolina Project – Asheville

 
6:30 - 6:45

Break for refreshment and networking.

 
6:45 - 8:00
Fourth Discussion Session:
Student Research further afield

• Kent Patten, Arizona State University: Zoroastrian Funerary Rites in Houston, Texas

• Abbas Barzegar, University of Colorado at Boulder: The Dynamics of the Colorado Muslim Community: Pluralism as Seen Through the Study of Five Organizations

• Emily Mace, Harvard University: "A Choice Between God and Something Else?" Hinduism, Land Use, and Discrimination in Small Town New Jersey

 Concluding Remarks: Diana Eck, Harvard University

 
8:00 - 8:30

For those who wish to stay, Valerie Kaur Brar will be showing her film, a 28 minute prelude to a full-length documentary: Targeting the Turban – Sikh Americans and the Aversion Spiral After September 11

Pluralism Project Affiliates and Discussants:

• Vivienne Angeles, La Salle University: Study of Filipino Communities in Philadelphia

• Celia Arch, Student Researcher, Georgia State University: Mapping the Religious Landscape of Atlanta, GA

• Linda Barnes, Boston Medical Center: The Boston Healing Landscape Project

• Swasti Bhattacharyya, Buena Vista University, School of Social Science, Philosophy and Religion

• Regina Boisclair, Alaska Pacific University: The Spiritual Environment of Greater Anchorage

• Patrice Brodeur, Connecticut College: The Pluralism Project at Connecticut College

• Karen McCarthy Brown, Drew University: The Newark Project

• Pam Buckmaster, Consultant, Museum of World Religions Project

• Emily Gaudier, Student Researcher, Converse College

• Yudit Greenberg, Rollins College: Religious Life in Orlando, Florida (1900-1999)

• Jonathan Grieser, Furman University, History of Christianity

• R. Scott Hanson, Philadelphia University

• Marlene G. Holland, Sandy Creek High School, Comparative Religions

• Bill James, Queens University, Ontario

• Jamillah Karim, Duke University

• Jay McDaniel, Hendrix College: Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism in Arkansas

• Ryan Miller, Student Researcher, Queens University, Ontario

• Viggo Mortenson, University of Aarhus: Mapping the Religious Landscape of Aarhus, Denmark

• Vijaya  Nagarajan, University of San Francisco

• Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida: Profiling Hindu Temples in Georgia, Florida, and Michigan

• David Odell-Scott, Kent State University: Buddhists along the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Mississippi

• Lauren Odell-Scott, Kent, Ohio: Buddhists along the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Mississippi

• Karen Pechilis, Drew University: Historical Religions New to the American Context in Northern and Central New Jersey

• Ajile A. Rahman, Teacher, West Lake High School; PhD, Clark Atlanta University: Researching Women's Activism – Clara Muhammad

• Arunima Sinha, Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of South Carolina

• Jeanne Matthews Sommer, Warren Wilson College: Asheville's Spiritual Odyssey

• Kristen Taylor, Student, Honors College, Kent State University

• Dolores Turner, Student Researcher, Queens University, Ontario

• George Wiley, Baker University: World Religions in Northeast Kansas

Saturday Morning Bus Tour

Saturday Bus Tour
The Pluralism Project arranged a bus tour to the Hindu Temple of Atlanta. Please go to www.pluralism.org/events/atlanta/bus for details.