On March 18-20, 2020, nearly two dozen global-critical philosophers of religion will participate in a NEH-supported mini-conference that explores alternative sets of topics, methods, and aims for global-critical philosophy of religion. Presentations will later be developed as essays and collected into a volume to be published with Bloomsbury. Below is a list of the papers […]

On Thursday, November 17, we welcome Ron Cole-Turner, the former H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, to Drake to give the third Fall 2022 lecture in our “Transhumanism, Immortality, and Religion” series. The lecture, entitled “Seeking Immortality: Technology, Theology, and Endless Life,” will be held in the second-floor Reading Room of Cowles

On May 13, from 2:30 – 5:30 pm, Masjid an-Noor (1117 42nd St, Des Moines) will host an Eid party and open house. Come meet the rich, multi-ethnic Muslim community at Masjid an-Noor, seeing how the community worships, learning about some of the members’ cultures, and enjoying free “ethnic” (and American) food. There will be

On April 20 at 7:00 pm, in the Reading Room of Cowles Library, Zhange Ni, Associate Professor of Religion and Literature at Virginia Tech University, will lecture on “Gender, Sexuality, and Digital Immortality: What Would Women’s Fantasy Novels from Contemporary China Contribute to Transhumanism?” Zhange Ni received her Ph.D. in Religion and Literature at University

On Sunday, April 16, we will celebrate the annual holiday of Vaisakhi from roughly 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm with the Sikh gurdwara in West Des Moines, the Iowa Sikh Association (1115 Walnut St.). The service will include many of the elements of a typical Sunday worship service: the signing of hymns (kirtan), reading from

On Thursday, February 23, from 7:00–8:30 pm, in the Reading Room of Cowles Library, we host our first scholar lecture of the semester in our “Transhumanism, Religion, and Immortality Series.” Gereon Kopf, Professor of Religion at Luther College, will speak about “Trans-humanism, AI, and Memory: Zen Buddhist Ruminations on Digital Immortalities.” Transhumanism is not a controversial topic in Japanese Buddhism. To the contrary,

On Sunday, February 19, from 3:00–5:00 pm, we kick off our Spring 2023 programming with “Roads to Religion,” a two-hour open house at which visitors can meet members of 30 local religious communities collectively representing 10 religious traditions. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on the upper floor (Parents Hall) of the Olmsted Center on

On May 11, from 7:00–8:30pm in the Reading Room of Cowles Library, we host the third lecture of the semester, “Sexbots Playing the Imitation Game: Mormonism, Transhumanism, and the Turing Test as Trolley Prize,” by Jon Bialecki, Lecturer in Anthropology, University of California-San Diego.  Jon Bialecki, J.D., 1997, Ph.D., is a continuing lecturer in the UCSD department of

On Sunday, March 19 from 11:00 am–1:00 pm (roughly), we will join the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (33916 155th Lane, Madrid) in the annual celebration of Holi. Guests will be able to tour the temple, observe the Holi fire ritual (Holika Dahan), throw colored powered at one another, and dance. (Please dress accordingly if

The site visit is to the grand opening and inauguration of the community center of the Hindu Cultural and Educational Center on 1960 East Army Post Road in Des Moines. On Saturday, October 1, from 1:30 to 6:00 pm, this Bhutanese Hindu community will offer a “cultural program” including cultural songs and dances, bhajans in which visitors can