CAL Inter-religious Forum focuses on “Religion & Sexuality,” Nov. 11

HOBOKEN, N.J. ― The College of Arts and Letters at Stevens Institute of Technology will present an inter-religious forum on the topic “Religion and Sexuality.” The forum will be held Wednesday, November 11, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. on the Stevens campus in the Kidde Building Auditorium (K228). The discussion is free and open to the public.

The panel will consist of theologians from different faiths who will speak from the perspectives of their various religious views on human sexuality. The discussion will include topics such as religious views of homosexuality and issues related to sexual identity such as “transgendering.”

The panel members include Rabbi Robert Scheinberg of the United Synagogue of Hoboken, (Jewish perspectives); the Reverend Robert Kennedy, Professor of Theology at St. Peter’s College (Roman Catholic and Zen Buddhist perspectives); the Reverend Geoffrey Curtiss of All Saints Episcopal Church, Hoboken (Episcopal perspectives); Professor MG Prasad of Stevens Institute of Technology (Hindu perspectives); and Imam Bekir Aksoy (Muslim perspectives) . Professor Susan Schept of the College of Arts and Letter will moderate.

All of the panelists have previously spoken at inter-religious panels at Stevens.

For information please call Professor Schept at 201-216-5397.

The Panel:

Imam Bekir Aksoy is a Muslim theologian with an MA in Religious Studies from Temple University and a MS in Education from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee . He is Director of the Golden Generation Foundation, A nonprofit institution that promotes interfaith dialogue.

The Rev. Geoffrey B. Curtiss is Rector of All Saints Episcopal Parish, Hoboken, N.J. All Saints Episcopal Parish is the consolidation of three former Episcopal Parishes in the City of Hoboken. Father Curtiss came to Hoboken in 1980 to bring these congregations into a unified ministry and mission. All Saints is a congregation of about 300 members representing a cross-section of the city.

The Rev. Robert Kennedy, S.J. , is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, N.J. Father Kennedy has been a Zen teacher since 1991, and leads a daily meditation at Saint Peter’s College. He was given the moniker “Roshi” in 1997.

Professor M.G. Prasad is the chairperson of the education committee of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Society in Bridgewater, N.J. He is a spiritual disciple of yogi-seer Sriranga Sadguru of Ashtanga yoga Vijnana Mandiram, Mysore, India. Prasad writes and lectures on Vedic Hinduism. Prasad is professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens specializing in acoustics and vibration.

Robert Scheinberg is a graduate of the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he is pursuing his doctorate in Jewish Liturgy. He is the rabbi of the United Synagogue of Hoboken, N.J. and an adjunct professor of liturgy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and at the Academy for Jewish Religion.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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