Sabattical lecture with Dr. June McDaniel on Why Many Gods Become One God:  Indonesia’s Strategy For Avoiding Jihad

3:30-5:00 pm Arnold Hall, Jewish Studies Center

In Indonesia, the government has supported peace between the religions by  rewriting all of major religions as forms of monotheism.  This has created a   single common definition of religion, and a set of understandings and values shared by all accepted religions.  This paper will examine how interpretations of religion have been changed by this process, and how the government has used interfaith dialogue to combat the pressures of more militant forms of Islam. 

On Friday Jan. 27, Professor Margaret Cormack held a lecture on “Maðurinn, kirkjan og íslenskt umhverfi” (“Man, church, and the Icelandic environment”) and demonstrated her database of Icelandic churches at the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í Íslenskum fræðum in Reykjavík, Iceland. She is doing sabbatical research at the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, and thanks the College of Charleston’s Research and Development committee for support.