Blog

Welcome to the new Yale Forum Blog!

We will be sharing a variety of original content including interviews, reviews, reports from the field, new and enhanced resources on the Forum website, content from our new video podcast series, FORE Spotlights, and much more. 

Check back every Tuesday and Thursday for new content. 

October 25, 2021

This week's episode of Spotlights is a clip from our interview with Norman Wirzba, PhD, the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Theology at Duke University, and Senior Fellow at Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics. He talks about a life of rootedness and the limits of what is “enough,” reflecting on his new book, This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

Details for the full episode are here.

Watch this episode below, or listen to it here.

An...

October 21, 2021

On October 25 - November 2, Stanford University will be holding the Contemplation by Design Summit, an interactive online event encompassing talks, live meditations, workshops, and more. 

From the event website:
Contemplation By Design is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, campus-wide program cultivating resilience, well-being, wisdom, compassion, and sustainable, ethical, purposeful service. Summit participants will have the opportunity to cultivate perspective, meaningful purpose, and contemplative practices that refresh...

October 18, 2021

This week's episode of Spotlights features Norman Wirzba, PhD, the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Theology at Duke University, and Senior Fellow at Duke's Kenan Institute for Ethics. He discusses his new book, This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which gives a deep philosophical and religious articulation of humanity's identity and vocation by rooting people in a symbiotic, meshwork world that is saturated with sacred gifts. We reflect on numerous topics...

October 14, 2021

In honor of the celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day this week, we wanted to highlight some of the Indigenous resources available around the Forum site. 

Our Indigenous section can be found here. We provide two overview essays: one by our co-founder and co-director, John Grim, and one by University of Michigan professor, Kyle White, who is Potawatomi and a member of the Citizen...

October 11, 2021

Enjoy this clip from the episode of Spotlights  featuring Matthew David Segall, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Reflecting on his new book, Physics of the World-Soul: Alfred North Whitehead’s Adventure in Cosmology (SacraSage Press, 2021), he describes the creative and alluring power of worldly divinity in Whitehead's cosmology. You can find details about the full episode here.

Watch...

October 7, 2021

This week, the Faith Plans for People and Planet site was launched, an exciting project organized by WWF and FaithInvest. The project involves faith groups around the world creating step by step plans on how they will take concrete action to help the planet.

From the Faith Plans site:
Faith groups are developing Plans looking at how they can use their assets, resources and influence to drive practical action on the environment over the next seven to 10 years. This initiative is inspired by the success...

October 4, 2021

This episode of Spotlights features Matthew David Segall, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He discusses his new book, Physics of the World-Soul: Alfred North Whitehead’s Adventure in Cosmology (SacraSage Press, 2021), describing the context and key concepts of Whitehead's process philosophy. We reflect on Whiteheadian contributions to debates on a variety of topics, including panpsychism,...

September 30, 2021

On October 17-18, GreenFaith is organizing “Faiths 4 Climate Justice: A Global, Multi-Religious Action.” Individuals and organizations around the globe are participating in this effort to have their voices heard on issues of climate justice.

From the event site: Two weeks before global climate negotiations, people of diverse religions will rise to send a message: destroying the planet is against our religions.

SUNDAY, 17 OCTOBER
At temples, mosques, and churches around the globe, we’ll call for...

September 27, 2021

Welcome to a new season of Spotlights. This podcast began around a year ago, and since we’re starting our second year, this episode features our host, Sam Mickey, reflecting on the year and looking ahead toward the year to come. He talks about the aim, scope, and themes of the podcast, while also inviting suggestions for any new developments or potential interviewees. He also mentions the Religion and Ecology Early-Career Scholar reading group (REECS), which was launched on episode 17, featuring Russell Powell and Timothy...

September 23, 2021

This shmita year (5782), the Deep Water Initiative is launching Project Hakhel – an open invitation for people to creatively reflect upon how religion and ecological engagement can intersect. They are asking that individuals submit creative projects that demonstrate how they are being inspired to take ecological action during the shmita year.

From the project site:
We have [also] just entered a shmita year (5782), otherwise known as a Sabbatical Year, which occurs just once every seven years.  Shmita quite literally means...