Harold Kasimow, a prominent scholar of world religions, will discuss "How Interfaith Engagement Enriches Our Lives" in an 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. lecture Thursday, March 11, in the chapel of the St. John Vianney Seminary, located on the St. Paul campus of the University of St. Thomas.
The lecture is sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning and is free and open to the public.
A leading contributor to interfaith understanding for more than four decades, Kasimow will share stories from several spiritual odysseys, including his own, and will reflect on how interfaith engagement often enhances the lives and the specific faith commitments of those involved in it.
Kasimow is the George Drake Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa, where he has taught courses on Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and interfaith dialogue.
His scholarly articles have been published in Belgium, China, England, India, Japan, Poland and the United States. His books include The Search Will Make You Free: A Jewish Dialogue with World Religions; Beside Still Waters: Jews, Christians, and the Way of the Buddha; and John Paul II and Interreligious Dialogue.
The Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning is co-sponsored by St. John's University and St. Thomas. After many years of fostering Jewish-Christian relations, the center has expanded its mission to promote interfaith learning and friendship among people of various religions.