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Dear friends and supporters,
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As we know all too well, religion has long been a source of violent conflict in the world. There are clashes over religion in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and the Sudan, as well as the ongoing crisis in Israel and Gaza. There is related tension and backlash on
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mosques, synagogues, and churches here in the U.S. Sadly, there are many more examples of religious violence and strife worldwide. (Read the most recent letter about how the Institute continues to respond to the crisis in Israel and Gaza)
Religion has also been an important source of peacemaking. I think of the role Black church leaders played in the American civil rights movement and the influence of Jainism and Hinduism on the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi, as just a couple of examples.
And yet, we still know little about what causes religion to be a source of division or harmony. The Boniuk Institute is poised to fill this knowledge gap, bringing to bear the resources of Rice University to conduct groundbreaking research on religious violence and conflict as well as pluralism and tolerance. We will convene top minds in the field of religion in a safe and intellectually productive space to share knowledge; explore the causes and consequences of religious pluralism, violence, conflict and tolerance; and elevate understanding of these vitally important topics in the public sphere where fundamental change can be made.
The Institute has expanded opportunities to host scholars from Rice and around the world, is developing new research partnerships with international scholars from a range of backgrounds and disciplines, and is working to train the next generation of scholars and thought leaders through new and augmented programs.
We are so grateful to share this journey with you and wish you a joyous and meaningful holiday season.
Warmly,
-Elaine Howard Ecklund, Director, Boniuk Institute
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Research You Can Use
The Effects of Religious Discrimination on Mental Health vs Physical Health: Does it affect one more than the other?
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Research finds that experiences of religious discrimination are often associated with poorer health outcomes. According to a recent study by Boniuk Institute researchers published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, experiences of religious discrimination do not universally affect mental and physical health in the same ways.
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The researchers found that the context in which religious discrimination happens is important. Interpersonal forms of religious victimization are more consistently associated with reduced well-being than are experiences of discrimination that result from interactions with an organization’s representatives. Further, mental health is more negatively impacted by a wider range of experiences with religious discrimination than is physical health. Across both interpersonal and organizational types of religious discrimination, they found mental health was more likely to be negatively impacted than physical health.
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These findings demonstrate the importance of context in studies of the health impacts of religious discrimination, and have implications for how we understand the effects of religious discrimination and how we might help mitigate these effects. The Boniuk Institute’s future Center on Religion, Science, Health, and Environment (CORSHE) will further explore these issues as well as the broader connections of religion to science, medicine, and the environment.
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Strategic Plan, Part II
Convening Top Minds From Across Disciplines and Sectors
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In support of its mission to understand and promote religious tolerance, the Boniuk Institute will bring together faculty, advisors, and students from across disciplines and sectors in a variety of ways:
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"Regardless of beliefs, religion shapes individuals, communities and public lives." - Rice University Provost Amy Dittmar
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CONVENINGS
An Annual Scholarly Convening will host both emerging and established scholars to energize the intellectual climate around issues of religious pluralism.
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Each spring, the Boniuk Institute will host a Senior Scholar Awardee to recognize their outstanding scholarly contributions to the public understanding of religion broadly as well as pluralism and tolerance.
In collaboration with Rice University’s Baker Institute, the Boniuk Institute will re-institute the Bryan J. and June B. Zwan Visiting Distinguished Scholar Series, which will bring high-level scholars to Rice to speak on issues related to religion and public policy.
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SCHOLARS
The Boniuk Institute will provide Graduate and Undergraduate Research Scholars and Postdoctoral Fellows with opportunities for academic and professional growth in all aspects of the research and outreach process.
Students in the Reading Religion Graduate Salon will explore the most current and relevant literature on
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"We all have a role in addressing issues of religious pluralism, tolerance, conflict and discrimination in our world today." - Boniuk Institute Associate Director of Academic Programs Rachel Schneider
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issues related to religious pluralism, violence, and discrimination, and will receive training in communicating scholarly topics to a public audience.
A Weekly Scholars Meeting will serve junior scholars by allowing undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to present works in progress and provide opportunities for them to connect with senior scholars.
ADVISORY BOARDS
The Boniuk Institute will expand its Faculty Advisory Board and External Advisory Board, which help Institute leadership formulate the goals, direction, and objectives of the Institute.
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Institute Announcement
Inaugural Boniuk Institute Senior Scholar Award
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In the spring of 2024, the Boniuk Institute will launch its inaugural Senior Scholar Award initiative. Senior Scholar awardees are those who have made outstanding scholarship contributions to the public understanding of religion broadly as well as pluralism and tolerance. Annual award winners will be invited to the Boniuk Institute where they will participate in a variety of Institute programs as well as give a public lecture followed by a reception in their honor.
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It is with great enthusiasm that we announce Dr. Marla F. Frederick, the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Religion and Culture at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and the incoming Dean of the Harvard Divinity School as the inaugural recipient of the Boniuk Institute Senior Scholar Award. We recognize Dr. Frederick for her excellence in scholarship, widening leadership and service role with the decanal appointment at Harvard and as past president of the American Academy of Religion. A leading ethnographer, she employs an interdisciplinary approach to examine the overlapping spheres of religion, race, gender, media, politics, and economics. Her teaching interests encompass the anthropology of religion and the African American religious experience, and her ongoing research interests include the study of religion and media, religion and economics, and the sustainability of Black institutions in a "post-racial" world.
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Outreach Overview
Latino Religious Politics in a Moment of Danger
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On November 2, the Boniuk Institute’s Religion and Public Life Program (RPLP) welcomed Felipe Hinojosa, a professor of history at Baylor University, to a Religious and Civic Leader Gathering to discuss his work on Latino religious politics.
Hinojosa provided insight into the current and historic interaction between religion and politics in U.S. Latino populations, a nuanced and complex group that spans
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the political spectrum and whose diversity also creates internal tension. He reflected on how Latino religious history has played an important role in the fight for social justice and advocacy against inequality.
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When asked about the responses of Latino communities to the border crisis and the political divides around this issue, he responded that some of the strongest immigrant rights movements are mobilized by young people and taking place in areas like Southern Texas.
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Hinojosa concluded his remarks by addressing how the Latino community will be conceptualized in the future. The Latino narrative is not one of victimization but rather one of resilience, he said, and the American narrative needs to incorporate accounts presented by marginalized groups.
Religious or civic leaders who would like more infomration in Religious and Civic Leader Gatherings, please contact Hayley Hemstreet at hjh2@rice.edu.
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Reading Religion Book Review Corner
The Women's Mosque of America: Authority & Community in U.S. Islam
New York: New York University Press, 2022
Book written by Tazeen Ali, Reviewed by Akpan Ubong-Abasi
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Tazeen Ali’s book is centered on the emergence of the Women’s Mosque of America (WMA), a female-only mosque that began in 2015 in Los Angeles. The WMA is an organization that was founded to show and promote the notion that mosques can be gender-inclusive spaces. At the WMA, women call for and lead prayers; interpret the Quran; foreground their experiences in sermons; and commit to building
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multiracial, intra-faith and interreligious community. To this end, the WMA does not adhere to any of the Islamic legal schools, as its non-sectarian inclusivity accommodates a broad spectrum. The book highlights how women in the WMA are transforming notions of Islamic religious authority while negotiating patriarchal religious communities and Islamophobia in the United States.
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When it comes to ritual authority, Ali discusses how leaders of the WMA argue for the legal validity of a women-led Jummah (Friday prayer services), stating that the legitimacy of women-led prayer is not a contemporary reformist phenomenon and that classical Islamic jurists have discussed this through the lens of the Quran, Hadiths, and Ijtihad. The WMA navigates women’s ritual authority by offering optional prayers for women (dhur) to establish validity and inclusivity, although the majority of WMA members believe in the ritual legitimacy of women-led Jummah.
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Ultimately, Ali’s work is a daring piece, promoting the notion that the WMA is not only an inclusive and alternative physical worship space for Islamic women, but also an important platform for Muslim women to speak authoritatively. However, one wonders if the WMA’s women-led community can be upheld without thinking of alternative modes of authority that decenter Arabic language expertise and formal development of Islamic credentials more broadly. Both have been central to Islamic history, philosophy, and theology, and the interpretation of the religious text in its original language helps to undergird its meaning and authenticity. Additionally, it seems at times that Ali’s sympathetic analysis of the preaching and activities of the WMA in a way silenced her critical voice on gender and Islam beyond the WMA.
Overall, however, this book is an excellent contribution to the study of religion and women in the United States. As groundbreaking research on the WMA, Ali’s work showcases the different layers of intra- and inter-religious diversity in America and how the WMA is positioned to serve as the catalyst for monumental changes across U.S. Muslim communities. I recommend this book for scholars and students as a foundational text in the study of contemporary Islam in the U.S. This book will also be beneficial for religious, policy-making and interfaith organizations.
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Support the Boniuk Institute
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If you are excited about the work of the Boniuk Institute and would like to help us continue in our mission to understand the conditions which lead to religious pluralism, tolerance, intolerance, conflict and discrimination, and then help people apply the findings in their lives and communities, please consider making a gift online.
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