Welcome
For almost forty years, the Institute for Philosophy and Religion has been a unique interdisciplinary forum for the exploration of issues at the intersection of philosophy, religion and public life. Its origins lie in a group of Boston University philosophers (the Personalists) who were among the teachers of Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University, and over the years the Institute's programs have reflected broad concerns such as the promotion of social justice, the foundation of pluralistic societies and the deepest questions about life as reflected in theological and philosophical discourse.
Founded in 1970 with the cooperation of three academic units of Boston University—the Department of Philosophy, Department of Religion, and School of Theology—the Institute was envisioned as a home for serious philosophical and religious reflection. Under the successive directorships of Professor Lee Rouner and Professor David Eckel, the Institute has become one of the premier locations on the American academic landscape for interdisciplinary conversation about perennial and pressing intellectual concerns. Past lecturers and participants have included Karen Armstrong, Robert Bellah, Wendy Doniger, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Charles Hartshorne, Bernard Lonergan, Jürgen Moltmann, W.V. Quine, Christopher Ricks, Paul Ricoeur, Ninian Smart, Huston Smith, Robert Thurman, and Elie Wiesel.
Each year the Institute sponsors a lecture series on issues that cross the boundaries between different academic disciplines and between scholars and the educated public. Past topics have included "Courage," "Loneliness," "Civility," "Life, Death, and Immortality," "Responsibility," and "Evil." In 2008-2009, the series will address the issue of "Justice in Conflict—Justice in Peace."
In addition, the Institute is the curricular home in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for courses that offer BU undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to explore issues in tandem with each year's lecture series and conferences. This year the Institute's course, PH 456/656, will involve an in-depth exploration of issues related to justice in war and peace, and the possibilities of moral renewal and reconstruction in the wake of conflict.
Although the Institute, as its name suggests, has always hosted a range of programming that reflects the rather wide intersection of concerns implied in the conjunction in its title (philosophy and religion), it has also been since its founding a prominent national forum for important academic work in the specific sub-discipline of the philosophy of religion. In taking seriously the concerns of this academic field, the Institute offers leading scholars the regular opportunity of presenting cutting-edge work in the philosophy of religion in the context of an annual symposium each spring.
In addition to the annual lecture series, conferences, symposia, the Institute publishes the Boston University Studies in Philosophy and Religion in partnership with Continuum Publishers. We invite you to join us for our programs this year and to stay in touch with us about the issues that are at the forefront of our interdisciplinary endeavor. If you'd like updated information on our public programs or would like to register for courses or other events, please contact us.