A Hobart and William Smith Colleges professor is considering a new course on religion and civil society after attending a national seminar on interfaith teaching this summer.
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Shalahudin Kafrawi drafted a syllabus before the June 21-25 Teaching Interfaith Understanding Faculty Seminar in Chicago and worked on it with other participants, according to the college's profile. He said he would like to offer the 200-level course, but the college did not announce that it had been approved or scheduled.
The seminar at DePaul University brought together 21 faculty members from colleges and universities across the country. The Council of Independent Colleges and Interfaith America organized it to strengthen interfaith learning in classrooms and on campuses. Participants read books on the subject, prepared case studies and syllabi, and discussed campus challenges and opportunities.
Kafrawi said the proposed course would examine how religious communities contribute to civil society locally and globally. He argues that religious literacy helps students assess claims about beliefs and practices instead of leaving those definitions to politicians or commentators.
He distinguishes religious diversity, which he describes as the coexistence of faiths, from pluralism, which requires people to engage with and understand one another. Studying different traditions, he said, can also help students recognize assumptions shaping their views of work, family and civic life.
The seminar prompted Kafrawi to reconsider how directly he addresses religion's influence in his teaching. His proposed course remains an idea, not an announced addition to the HWS catalog.
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