NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ A three-year collaborative research project
exploring the relationship between religion and the economy will be
outlined by members of an interdisciplinary faculty research team
commissioned by the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture at
Vanderbilt University.
The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is set for 4:10
p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Renaissance Room of Vanderbilt
University Law School.
"For much of history, economics was at the very heart of Christian and
Jewish theology," said M. Douglas Meeks, Cal Turner Chancellor’s
Professor of Wesleyan Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and a
principal investigator of the religion and economics study group along
with James Foster, professor of economics and director of the Graduate
Program in Economic Development.
"Today it seems that pastors, priests and rabbis can preach on anything
but economics, and there’s a ‘leave the economics to the economists’
attitude in churches and synagogues. But for a long time, God was seen
as immediately related to the conditions that allow us to survive.
Religion is largely about human livelihood ñ relationships that ensure
survival and the fullness of life. So, for example, Christians pray
‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ The excitement of our project is
that we are learning once again that religion and economy and the
academic disciplines associated with them do not have to be opposed but
can cooperate for the flourishing of human beings. We are discovering
this especially around the questions of poverty and the poor," said
Meeks.
Researchers working on the project come from diverse fields, including
economics, theology, political science, sociology, anthropology and
education.
The religion and economy study project is the first faculty research
proposal to be funded by the Center for the Study of Religion and
Culture, a transinstitutional center founded in 2003 to foster research
and innovation at the intersections of religion and culture. The
project has been awarded $175,000 to conduct research, host academic
conferences and public lectures, and produce publications in the area
of religion and economy.
The center is funded by a $3.1 million grant from the University’s
Academic Venture Capital Fund. It is overseen by directors Douglas
Knight, professor of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and
Volney Gay, professor and chair of religious studies in the College of
Arts and Science.
Knight will begin the meeting with a short update on the activities of
the center. In addition to the religion and economy project, a
three-year interdisciplinary project on ecology and spirituality
directed by professors Beth Conklin and David Wood has been awarded
major funding. Other research topics in development include music,
religion and the South; religion and science; religion and world
literatures; violence, terror and religion; and perspectives on
suffering.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu