Notre Dame's Effort To Bring Religions Together

The University of Notre Dame, in partnership with scholars and educators from around the world, is inaugurating a major cross-cultural research project: “Contending Modernities: Catholic, Muslim, Secular.”  The project kicks off with two public launch events in New York City on November 18th and 19th.  Designed to unfold over several years, “Contending Modernities” will generate new knowledge and understanding of the ways in which religious and secular people and institutions interact, for good and ill, says Scott Appleby, professor of history, director of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and director of “Contending Modernities”.  “The problem of religious violence and tensions among religions and between the religious and secular forces are more sharply defined than ever,” Appleby says. “Our vision with this research project is to harness the power of ideas to chart a way forward across religious and secular divides to address the greatest challenges of the 21st century.  Dozens of Catholic, Muslim and secular scholars and public intellectuals will be involved in the project, which in the future will expand to engage all major world religions.  I believe it to be a wonderful thing that the University of Notre Dame is taking on this mission.