Minor in Multifaith and Spiritual Leadership

Social justice and wellbeing are one and the same”- Dr. Sará Yafa King. How can you care for yourself while shaping change in a world that is overwhelmed with narratives, systems, and structures of oppression? In order to care for our communities, we must care for ourselves, self-regulating with the wisdom of the body. This course is designed to help you deepen your practice and share mindfulness with your community and with the world. We’ll begin with an introduction to mindfulness, examining the theory and science from its origins in wisdom traditions to the modern mindfulness movement, and move toward a meaningful practice that will allow you to better heal and serve.

Some of our greatest change-makers have been spiritual leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Dalai Lama, and Mother Teresa. What is it about faith and spirituality that motivates people to radically change their communities for the better? Join us as we explore the intersection of service, justice and spirituality through discussion, critical thinking, and on-the-ground community volunteering.​

A 2022 NPR/Ipsos poll found that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." What is our role in preventing that failure, and how can we reimagine public service and conflict negotiation in order to transform and uphold the country and the world that we want to live in? This class will explore ideas around religious and civil conflict, intergroup relations, conflict negotiation, restorative justice, belonging, and boundary drawing. Students will learn about the ever-expanding public sphere, the limits of tolerance, and the possibilities of emergent leadership while gaining crucial real-world skills for public service.

A 2022 NPR/Ipsos poll found that 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." What is our role in preventing that failure, and how can we reimagine public service and conflict negotiation in order to transform and uphold the country and the world that we want to live in? This class will explore ideas around religious and civil conflict, intergroup relations, conflict negotiation, restorative justice, belonging, and boundary drawing. Students will learn about the ever-expanding public sphere, the limits of tolerance, and the possibilities of emergent leadership while gaining crucial real-world skills for public service.

In study after study, people lying on their deathbeds overwhelmingly say they regret five things at their end of their life: 1. Not living a life of authenticity 2. Working too hard at the expense of their relationships 3. Not having the courage to express their feelings 4. Not staying in touch with friends. 5. Not letting themselves be happier. For leaders, it's not any different. This course unpacks each of these "regrets" with readings, exercises, meditation, deep listening, skill development and leadership theory, examining historical and contemporary answers to the question of what really matters in life, and providing the space for students to grapple with the question themselves.

In this course, we will study “shari’ah,” the primary legal and ethical tradition of Islam. First, we will briefly cover the historical development of shari’ah. Then we will turn to the contemporary era, and examine the articulation of shari’ah in regard to a variety of concrete issues. It is hoped that by the end of the course, the student will have a greater appreciation for the complexity of shari’ah, and its continued relevance in today's legal and ethical debates both nationally and internationally.

Spirituality & ethics is an integral segment of every religious tradition, along with sciences like that of theology and jurisprudence. In recent yearsIslamic spirituality has often been described as somehow separate from Islam itself. In this course we will investigate the historical origins of Islamic spirituality and look at a sampling of the major concepts and figures from pre-modern tradition. Finally, we will turn to the continued importance that spirituality and ethics has played in the contemporary Muslim-majority world, with a special focus on Islamic tradition in North America.

This theoretical and experiential course will examine the concept of social justice dating back to Roman Catholic teachings by St. Thomas Aquinas regarding poverty; leading up to modern day umbrella movements which include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, national origin, first language and the ways in which ideas about social justice have shifted. This will include intersections with global human rights movements, evangelicalism and intersectionality regarding identity politics. The course will also explore the ways in which religious ideology has fostered civic engagement interrogating the work of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Dalai Lama, Imam Khalid Latif, Desmond Tutu, Parker Palmer, and bell hooks. Students will participate in ethnographic community-based projects learning about how religion and/or spirituality are utilized for civic engagement.

In the midst of the divisiveness of our recent election, notions of race, immigration, environmental justice, war and peace, terrorism, patriotism, and "peace" are complicated notions. In the midst of this national and global climate of tension and uncertainty, what does it mean to engage in the work of social justice and peacemaking? In the midst of an increasingly interconnected global community, where the disparity between the "haves" and "have-nots" continues to grow and the "99%" cry out for economic justice, what does it mean to live a life committed to peace and justice? To whom can we look for wisdom and guidance? In light of these questions, we will study the words and deeds, the stories, of many considered to be social justice laborers and peacemakers. We will question their motives and actions. We will ask one another how their work contributes to global justice and peace, and what they have to teach us as engaged citizens in our contemporary society. We will explore the foundational principles and practices that guide them. We will examine what they have to say to us and to our world today.