Religion and spirituality power annual lecture series from new VCU hub

By Sian Wilkerson

A four-part lecture series that kicks off this month highlights how a new Virginia Commonwealth University initiative is using religion and spirituality as a lens for exploring world culture, history and identity.

Launched in fall 2024, VCU’s Center for the Study of Global Religions and Spiritualities is a platform from which its four endowed chairs, fellow faculty and student researchers can examine developments in the field and drive new areas of inquiry.

The center’s four leaders, all based in the College of Humanities and Sciences, are R. Andrew Chesnut, Ph.D., Bishop Walter Sullivan Chair of Catholic Studies; Andrew Crislip, Ph.D., Blake Chair in the History of Christianity; Samuel J. Kessler, Ph.D., Lyons Chair in Judaic Studies; and Mimi Winick, Ph.D., Powell-Edwards Distinguished Professor for Religion and the Arts.

For the lecture series, which is held annually, each endowed chair organized an installment within their area of expertise. Each of the lectures have been held independently of each other over the years, but through the center, “the idea is that we can bring us all together and coordinate our public lectures and perhaps look at thematic unities that we can build on,” Crislip said.

The hope is to “[bring] the university and our areas of inquiry into the community and [respond] to community desires,” Winick said.

The event schedule includes:

• Thursday, Feb. 19 (6 p.m. at The Jefferson Hotel): The Lyons Lecture in Judaic Studies presents “The God of Judaism is a God of Love,” with speaker Rabbi Shai Held, president and dean at the Hadar Institute. Held, a philosopher, theologian and Bible scholar, will discuss the perception of the God of the Old Testament as a God of vengeance.
• Monday, March 2 (5:30 p.m. at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU): The Powell-Edwards Lecture Series for Religion and the Arts presents “Art, Research and Afro-diasporic Spirituality,” featuring a conversation between Marina Magloire, Ph.D., of Emory University and E. Gaynell Sherrod, Ph.D., of VCU’s School of the Arts. They will address how artistic, spiritual and scholarly practices influence their own work and the work of scholar-artists including Katherine Dunham and Zora Neale Hurston.
• Thursday, April 9 (5 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture): The Blake Lecture in the History of Christianity presents “Constructing the Jewish Other,” with Eric Vanden Eykel, Ph.D., an associate professor of religious studies at Ferrum College. Vanden Eykel will explore how early Christian literature and its readers shaped lasting constructions of the “Jewish other.”
• Fall semester (details TBA): The Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Lecture Series in Catholic Studies will be held.

All events are free and open to the public. The center’s full schedule is available online.

Overall, the center’s interdisciplinary approach will “equip our students with the knowledge and empathy needed to navigate cross-cultural interactions and address nuanced societal challenges in our increasingly interconnected global community,” said Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences. “The Center for the Study of Global Religions and Spiritualities offers insights into human history, culture and values, fostering a deeper appreciation for the diversity of beliefs and practices that shape us.”

In addition to its event lineup, the center offers scholarly opportunities through the Spirituality, Care and Culture Lab, co-sponsored by the Humanities Research Center and run by Crislip, Winick and Adin E. Lears, Ph.D., associate professor in VCU’s Department of English.

The lab looks at the current health care and wellness landscape through a humanities lens. Last fall, VCU received a two-year, $60,000 grant from the nonprofit organization Interfaith America to support two projects that emerged through the lab.

Also through the lab, students are pursuing research that ranges from medieval mysticism to claims of spiritual encounters with artificial intelligence, which Winick called a response to “longstanding questions of interest at the intersection of humanities and religion and newer questions emerging with new technologies.”

The lab’s student researchers are also organizing a Witch Studies Symposium, which will be hosted by the center in the fall.

As the center continues to grow, its leaders hope to help expand VCU’s related offerings, from microcredentials to new curriculums that can help establish new minors related to religion and spirituality.

“We’re really excited to keep highlighting and supporting the work of the faculty at VCU … and making sure we have a place where we can celebrate that work and bring it to more people,” Winick said.