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Past News and Events:
Fall 2009: Talking, Eating, & Growing: An Interfaith Dinner & Discussion
Shifts in the Landscape of American Religion
Sponsored by: The Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership in the Professions and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Cole Lecture Series Thursday, October 15, 7PM Friday, October 16, 10 AM The return of the Reverend James Lawson to Vanderbilt University as Distinguished University Professor marks the latest chapter in a life dedicated to the principles of non-violence and reconciliation. Lawson, once dubbed by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. as “the leading nonviolence theorist in the world,” studied the Gandhian movement in India before becoming a leader in the civil rights movement. His life – including his student years at Vanderbilt – has been marked by an abiding faith in Christianity and non-violence, and a willingness to pay the price for those beliefs. He served 13 months of a three-year prison sentence for refusing the draft during the Korean War, and was expelled from Vanderbilt in 1960 because of his work helping to desegregate lunch counters in downtown Nashville. After a national press uproar and threats of mass faculty resignations, a compromise allowed Lawson to complete his graduate studies at Vanderbilt. He opted instead to complete his degree at Boston University. Lawson went on to a career in the ministry, serving for 25 years as pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, before becoming pastor emeritus in 1999. He returned to Vanderbilt Divinity School in 1970-71 during a sabbatical and was recognized in 1996 as the first Distinguished Alumnus. The Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni named Lawson the 2002 Walter R. Murray Distinguished Alumnus, and he was named Vanderbilt’s 2005 Distinguished Alumnus. Interfaith Soccer Tournament & BBQ!
Rosh Hashanah Dinner and Evening Services
Join Vanderbilt Hillel for dinner and Rosh Hashanah services: Dinner - 5 PM Whitewater Rafting/Lake Trip
Join the Presbyterian Student Fellowship for a weekend of rafting, relaxing and worship! Mindfulness: What does it mean, and how can it help me?
Michelle C. Foote Pearce from the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health will present “Mindfulness: What does it mean, and how can it help me?” Fast-A-Thon
Tuesday, September 8, 6:45 PM You are invited to the Vanderbilt Muslim Student Association's annual Fast-a-thon fundraiser dinner! For every person who pledges to fast from dawn to dusk, Second Harvest will receive a monetary donation to help fight hunger, right here in Nashville! Please come out to support a fantastic cause-and to enjoy exquisite, FREE Mediterranean cuisine in the bargain. Religious Organizations Fair
Come see first-hand the diversity of religious life on Vanderbilt's campus. Many of our religious organizations will have members present to answer questions you may have about their group and faith tradition. Late-Night Multifaith Religious Services
Jewish, Protestant and Catholic religious communities will host individual services to welcome the Class of 2013 to our spiritually diverse campus. All are encouraged to participate or watch from from the side as these informal services take place under the dim light of tiki lamps. Following the services, food (with Kosher alternatives) will be available to share in fellowship and conversation. For more information: religiouslife@vanderbilt.edu Move-In Shabbat Services Please join Vanderbilt Hillel for Shabbat services and/or dinner. Student led Reform and Conservative services begin at 5:30, Shabbat dinner begins at 6:30. Families are more than welcome! Religious Life
2417 West End Avenue Nashville, TN 3724 Phone: 615-322-2457
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 Detail of North American petroglyph. Photo courtesy of Doak Heyser. |
Barry Kosmin is a sociologist, and is research professor in public policy and law at Trinity College, in Hartford CT. He is co-author of One Nation Under God and author of Religion in a Free Market. Kosmin was also the Principal investigator of the 2001 and 2008 American Religious Identification Surveys, the groundbreaking studies on religion in America that showed the number of seculars (nones) in America has doubled over 18 years.
