Religious and Humanist Leaders to Gather at Rutgers University for Interfaith Conference

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - Sept. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- The Xaverian Missionaries, the American Humanist Association and the Department of Off-Campus Living and Community Partnerships at Rutgers University, with assistance from the Humanist Community at Rutgers and the American Ethical Union, are collaborating to hold Common Ground 2015, a free interfaith conference bringing together religious believers, secular humanists, and nonbelievers for social progress and the common good. This event is free and open to the general public.

WHEN: Thursday, October 8, 2015. Registration begins at 8:00 am ET, and the conference will be held from 8:55 am-6:00 pm ET.

WHERE: Rutgers Student Center and Multipurpose Room, 126 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

WHO: Moderated by Rev. Dr. Will Storrar, Director of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton the speakers include: Rev. Dr. C Welton Gaddy, Founder and President Emeritus of the Interfaith Alliance and Senior Pastor of Northminster Church, Monroe, LA.; Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi; Nadia Hassan, program coordinator at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)’s Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances (IOICA); Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, PhD, founder of the multifaith department at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Dr. Julien Musolino, a Franco-American associate professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in the Psychology Department and the Center for Cognitive Science; Anthony Pinn, Harvard PhD, author of thirty books on religion and race; Chris Stedman, executive director of the Yale Humanist Community; Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association; and Sarah Spengeman, Ph.D. the Policy Education Manager for NETWORK, the Catholic Social Justice Lobby founded in 1971 by Catholic sisters in the spirit of Vatican II.

WHY:The 2015 Common Ground conference aims to promote interfaith dialogue by giving religious and nonreligious individuals’ perspectives on each other’s ways of seeing the world while embracing commonalities in shared human experience that can bring people together for social change. Leaders from national and local organizations representing humanist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other religious and ethical perspectives will present talks on finding meaning in life, ethics, and values, and lead a “hands on’ workshop on collaborating for social action. The vision and hope for the conference is that attendees will be spurred to continue interfaith cooperation in activism and social justice.

MORE INFORMATION: Visit http://www.commonground2015.org for a full list of speakers and presentations. Those interested in attending, including members of the press, must pre-register on the website.

The Xaverian Missionaries have been active interfaith and intercultural outreach and dialogue since their founding. Two years ago they convened an international conference in Coatbridge, Scotland to advance the cause of sacral/secular understanding and collaboration. It was a huge success and resulted in many forms of continued cooperation as seen in the Common Ground MeetUp Group, http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-Among-Humanists-and-Religious-Believers/

Fr. Carl Chudy SX, USA Provincial Superior states: “In my personal experience as a Catholic missionary priest, immersed in this secular/religious dialogue, I have come to realize more and more that my values are not so different than the values of my atheist friends. Notwithstanding our differences and disagreements, we hold much in common. Ethics, morality and concerns for our common humanity, along with the many ways we all find hope, assurance, inspiration and wonder at the mystery of life bind us together in many important ways. Pluralism isn't relativism; it isn't the erasure of differences, or even its embrace. It is the recognition that differences exist, and that the resolve to engage them is a good thing, a necessary thing.”