Posted - November 8, 2011

Christian-Muslim Relations Topic of Eureka College Humbert Lecture on Religion and Culture

december 6 - 7:30 pm - cerf center

The director of the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, will present the E. Royal F. Humbert Lecture on Religion and Culture at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 in the Cerf Center at Eureka College. Scott Alexander will discuss “Which Religion Will Win?: An End to Triumphalism in Christian-Muslim Relations.” Admission is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

Alexander will discuss tensions between Christianity and Islam and whether Christians and Muslims can live peacefully together.

“The cover of the March 2008 edition of The Atlantic featured a huge question mark fashioned from a green crescent, a crucifix and a globe and the words ‘Which Religion Will Win,’” Alexander said.  “In its focus on the alleged competition between Islam and Christianity in Africa, the cover story raises larger questions about Christian-Muslim relations. Given the fact that both Islam and Christianity espouse absolute and somewhat conflicting universal truth claims, and given the fact that each embraces an ethic of spreading the faith around the world, is there any hope that Christians and Muslims can live together in peace?”

Alexander will draw from his current book project “The Race to Goodness: An End to Triumphalism in Christian-Muslim Relations” to explore from both historical and theological perspectives whether witness to conflicting universal truth claims is necessarily a recipe for disaster, or whether there is another, more positive way of framing the inherent tensions between Christianity and Islam.

Alexander is an associate professor of Islamic studies and Christian-Muslim relations at Catholic Theological Union.  In 2007, he was among five U.S. scholars to receive an Association of Theological Schools Lilly Faculty Fellowship to support his research and writing.                                                   

Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion from Harvard University and a master’s degree and doctorate, both in the history of religions with a concentration in Islamic studies, from Columbia University.

The Eureka College Humbert Lecture was established in 1975 to recognize 27 years of teaching by Royal Humbert. The aim of the lectureship is to provide a forum for dealing critically and constructively with relevant issues in the area of religion and culture.

For more information, contact Eureka College assistant professor of religion William Wright at (309) 467-6331 or wwright@eureka.edu.

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Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318