Prophets & Profits: The 2024–2026 Lecture & Dialogue Series will investigate the dual functions of religion as both affirming and moderating business enterprise and economic systems. Speakers will address the topic from a robust diversity of religious traditions as focused through the following questions:
- What role should moral or religious institutions play in shaping political/economic systems?
- How do different religious and philosophical traditions understand the moral purpose of economic life?
- What makes business activity (e.g., the pursuit of profit) legitimate or illegitimate within various religious worldviews?
- What are the ethical limits and social responsibilities of wealth creation and accumulation
We are very grateful to the Joel W. Peterson Trust for support of this series and its related publications.
See below for the lectures planned for the series. Click on their titles to learn details (and to access a recording after they have occurred).
Fall 2026 Programming
| TITLE | SPEAKER | DATE/TIME/LOCATION |
| Insurance Dialogue | 09/24/2026, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 | |
| Capabilities: What International Economic Development Models Explain about Health, Wealth, Religion, and Community in the Early 21st Century United States | Jill DeTemple, Professor and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at Southern Methodist University | 10/15/2026, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
| Who Owns Wealth? Gandhi’s Answer to Capitalism | Sudev Sheth, Senior Lecturer of International Studies at the Lauder Institute and the Wharton School, Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania | 11/19/2026, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
Spring 2027 Programming
| TITLE | SPEAKER | DATE/TIME/LOCATION |
| Agriculture and Food Dialogue | 02/25/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 | |
| Global Dollar and War: Trump’s Resignification of America’s Empire | Nimi Wariboko, Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University | 03/25/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
| Pave the Planet or Wear Shoes? Buddhist Reflections on Capitalism and Consumerism | David Robert Loy, professor, writer, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition of Japanese Zen Buddhism | 04/22/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
Fall 2027 Programming
| TITLE | SPEAKER | DATE/TIME/LOCATION |
| Dialogue | 09/??/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 | |
| Forthcoming | Li-Hsiang Rosenlee | 10/??/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
| “Holistic Work and Islamic Economics” | Waleed El-Ansary | 11/18/2027, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
Spring 2028 Programming
| TITLE | SPEAKER | DATE/TIME/LOCATION |
| Forthcoming | Sarah Dees | 02/??/2028, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
| Forthcoming | Geoffrey Clausen | 03/??/2028, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |
| Comparative Conclusions | Matthew Mitchell and Timothy Knepper | 04/??/2028, 6:00pm, Aliber 101 |