For centuries, religion has deeply shaped governance, national identities, and global institutions. Figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. used religion to appeal to the greater good in their unique fights for social justice. But while religion has served as a tool for diplomacy, authoritarian actors and terrorist groups have also used it to justify violence and deny human rights. As a central driving force for political change, if not a significant cultural backdrop amid larger conflicts, has religion helped solve international problems, or has it made them worse?
This event is co-sponsored by the Free Speech Project (Georgetown University) and the Future of the Humanities Project (Georgetown University and Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall, Oxford).
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Rev. Mark Bosco, S.J., the vice president for mission and ministry at Georgetown University, shares the Catholic and Jesuit heritage of education and spirituality with faculty, students, staff, parents, and alumni through various seminars and programs. Bosco oversees robust campus ministry programs on four campuses, as well as a dynamic pastoral care program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He also teaches undergraduate courses in the Departments of English and Theology at Georgetown.
Baroness Mary Goudie, a Labour member of the British House of Lords, advocates for women's and children's rights, gender equality, and peacebuilding. She serves as an advisor to the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, and sits on the advisory board of the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace, and Security. Additionally, she is a member of the advisory board of the Women’s Forum, a platform dedicated to amplifying women's voices on global issues.
Howard Robinson, a senior research fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, has taught philosophy at Oriel College (Oxford), Liverpool University, and Eötvös Loránd University. He is professor emeritus at Central European University, where he served as provost from 2007 to 2010. He is also a visiting professor at Rutgers University and a visiting scholar at Fordham University. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on the history of philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and other subjects.
Suhag Shukla is the executive director and co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation, a leading voice for education and human rights. She is a member of the First Amendment Center’s Committee on Religious Liberty and the United Nations Women’s Gender Equality and Religion platform. She has served on various advisory councils and subcommittees, including for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a J.D. from the University of Florida.
Michael Scott (moderator), senior dean and fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, is college adviser for postgraduate students, and a member of the Las Casas Institute. He also serves as senior adviser to the president of Georgetown University. Scott previously was the pro-vice-chancellor at De Montfort University and founding vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University.
Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), president emeritus of Goucher College, is director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, which documents challenges to free expression in American education, government, and civil society. Director of the Voice of America under President Bill Clinton, he was also dean of the American University School of Communication and is a former co-host of "All Things Considered" on NPR.