Past Lectures
Since its inception in 1985, the Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society has hosted more than 75 lectures at UC San Diego. Here's a list of dates, speakers, and lecture subjects.
2010–present
Father James Martin: Ministering to the LGBTQ Community: A Personal Journey
Jesuit Priest / author
March 3, 2022
Watch on UCSD TV
Bishop Robert W. McElroy and Imam Taha Hassane: The Bishop and the Imam: "A Conversation on Immigration"
Bishop of San Diego and Imam/Director of the Islamic Center of San Diego
December 10, 2019
Watch on UCSD TV
Jose Cabezon: What is a Woman? What is a Man? Exploring the Buddhist Sources
Dalai Lama Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
February 7, 2019
Watch on UCSD TV
Lauria Zoloth: May We Make the World?: Religious and Ethical Questions - Gene Drives Malaria and the Duties of History
Senior Advisor of the Provost, Programs in Social Ethics, University of Chicago
November 15, 2018
Watch on UCSD TV
Rev. Traci Blackmon: Building Beloved Community: ReConnecting Church & Community
Executive Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri
April 26, 2018
Watch on UCSD TV
Father Gregory Boyle: Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship
Founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the Largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world
November 9, 2017
Watch on UCSD TV
David Murphy: Making Room for the Stranger: Refugee Realities at Home and Abroad
Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) San Diego
April 18, 2017
Watch on UCSD TV
Mary Evelyn Tucker: Journey of the Universe: A Story of Our Times
Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar, Yale University
October 20, 2016
Watch on UCSD TV
Veerabhadran "Ram" Ramanathan: In Pursuit of the Common Good: A New Alliance between Science, Religion and Policy
Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences and Director of the Center for Atmospheric Science at Scripps Institute of
February 24, 2016
Watch on UCSD TV
J. Kameron Carter: Post-Racial Blues:Religion and the 21st Century Color Line
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School
October 29, 2015
Watch on UCSD TV
Mehmet Yavuz: Zones of Islam: An Interpretative Framework, from Extremism to Turkey's Gulen Movement
Professor of Political Science, University of Utah
April 23, 2015
Watch on UCSD TV
Richard Gaillardetz: Vatican II: An Unfinished Building Site
The Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College
November 20, 2014
Watch on UCSD TV
Peter Brown: Constantine, Eusebius, and the Future of Christianity
Rollins Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton and author of influential books on late antiquity
April 24, 2014
Watch on UCSD TV
Richard Cizik: An Evangelical Rebel in the Ranks: Saving the Planet, Ecumenism, and Political Dissent
President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
November 18, 2013
James Kugel: From Text to Interpretation: How the Bible Came to Mean Some of the Strange Things It Means
Director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University
May 2, 2013
Watch on UCSD TV
Ursula King: The Evolution of Religion, Society and Consciousness: Reflections Inspired by Teilhard de Chardin
Professor Emerita and
November 13, 2012
Watch on UCSD TV
Tariq Ramadan: Interpreting Islam in Modern Context
Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies
April 16, 2012
Watch on UCSD TV
Peter C. Phan: "World Christianity": Its Implications for History, Religious Studies, and Theology
Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University
October 13, 2011
Watch on UCSD
Francisco J. Ayala: Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion
April 7, 2011
Watch on UCSD TV
Amira Hass: The Israeli Policy of Separate Development
Author and columnist for Ha'aretz
November 15, 2010
Watch on UCSD TV
Elizabeth A. Johnson: An Ecological Inquiry – Jesus and the Cosmos
Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham University
May 13, 2010
Watch on UCSD TV
Dwight Hopkins: China Rising: Religious and Ethical Core Values in the 21st Century
January 21, 2010
2000–2009
Scott Appleby: What Can Muslims and Catholics Teach Each Other?
Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and the John M. Regan Jr. Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
October 22, 2009
Ronald C. White: Abraham Lincoln's Journey of Faith
Professor Emeritus of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological
April 30, 2009
Watch on UCSD TV
David Tracy: Masks of Self: Theological and Tragic
Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies and Professor of Theology and the Philosophy of Religion in the Divinity School; University of Chicago
February 2009
Khaled Abou El Fadl: Islamic Law and the Challenge of Islamophobia
Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Professor of Law at UCLA Law School, UCLA
May 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
Lewis R. Lancaster: Buddhism in a Global Age of Technology
Professor Emeritus, East Asian Languages and Cultures
Former D.H. Chen Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies, UC Berkeley
April 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
Rosemary Radford Ruether: American Empire and the War Against Evil
Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union
February 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza: The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire
Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity, Harvard University
February 2007
Watch on UCSD TV
Rabbi Michael Lerner: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right: The Politics and Theology of Spiritual Progressives
November 2006
Watch on UCSD TV
John Haught: Evolution and Divine Providence: Are they Really Compatible
Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Georgetown University
February 2006
Diana Eck: Pluralism and the Ethics of Dialogue
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and Director of Pluralism Project, Harvard University
October 2005
Wendy Doniger: You Can't Get Here from There: The Logical Paradox of Creation Myths
Mircea Eliade Professor of Religion at the University of Chicago
February 2005
Watch on UCSD TV
John Shelby Spong: The Terrible Texts of the Bible
November 2004
Watch on UCSD TV
Stanley Martin Hauerwas: Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Truth and Politics
Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Divinity School of Duke University
February 2004
Watch on UCSD TV
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki: Looking Beyond the Mirror: The Intracultural Dialogue between Religion and Film
Claremont School of Theology, Director of the Whitehead International Film Festival
November 2003
Watch on UCSD TV
Athol Fugard: A Catholic Antigone: Hildegard of Bingen
February 2003
Watch on UCSD TV
Sohail Humayun Hashmi: September 11 and the Tradition of Jihad
Alumnae Foundation Associate Professor and Chair of the International Relations Program at Mount Holyoke College
January 2003
Ronald Cole-Turner: The Genetic Revolution and Designer Babies: Moral and Religious Implications
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
November 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
Samuel Ruiz Garcia: The Pursuit of Justice from the Perspective of the Poor
Retired Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
October 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
Margaret Miles: Short Beds and Narrow Sheets: Religion and the Common Good
Dillenberger Professor of Historical Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
April 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
Abdul Raheem Yaseer: Afghanistan, Islam, and Recent Events: An Afghan Muslim Educator's Perspective
Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska
January 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
Marcus Borg: Religious Pluralism: Seeing Religion Again
Hundere Professor of Religion and Culture, Oregon State University
January 2002
David Noel Freedman: Religious Pluralism: Seeing Religion Again
Professor of History and Endowed
October 2001
John P. Meier: Jesus the Jew: But What Sort of Jew
Author of A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Professor, Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame
October 2001
Watch on UCSD TV
Amy-Jill Levine: Reassessing Jewish-Christian Relations: Scripture, Polemic, and Salvation
April 2001
Watch on UCSD TV
John T. Noonan: The Dog and The Fish: Lord John Acton and John Cardinal Newman
November 2000
Thomas J. Reese, SJ: The Politics of Papal Elections: How Will The Next Pope Be Selected?
Editor in chief of
Spring 2000
1990–1999
Avery Cardinal Dulles: Christ, The Church and Social Order
McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University
Fall 1999
James Carroll: The Cross at Auschwitz
Writer, winner of the National Book Award for An American Requiem
Winter 1999
Watch on UCSD TV
Joan Chittister, OSB: Ecology, Theology and Feminism: In Conjunction or in Conflict
Benedictine author and lecturer
Spring 1998
Robert Bellah: Max Weber and World-denying Love: A Look at the Sociology of Religion
University of California, Berkeley
Fall 1997
Tu Wei-ming: Confucian Spirituality: The Idea of Immanent Transcendence
Confucian Humanist and Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy at Harvard University
Spring 1997
Watch on UCSD TV
Alice B. Hayes: The Growth of a Leaf and a Life
President, University of San Diego
Fall 1996
Elliot N. Dorf: Balancing Self Defense with the Need for Peace
Rector, University of Judaism Los Angeles
May 18, 1995
Thomas Stransky, CSP: The Crisis of Religion in the Holy Land
Director, Tantur Institute for Ecumenical Research Jerusalem
April 27, 1995
Seyyed Hossein Nasr: Islam and the Dialogue Between the Abrahamic Faiths
University Professor of Islamic Studies George Washington University
May 4, 1995
Michael Himes: A Theological Foundation for an Environmental Ethic
Professor of Theology, Boston College
February 17, 1994
Richard Louv: Children at Risk: Voice of Hope
Jounalist
A symposium co-chaired by Teresa and Neil Coopes
October 23, 1993
Ines M. Talamantez: Apache Female Initiation: The Practice of a Native American Religious Tradition
Associate Professor of Theology, UC Santa Barbara
April 22, 1993
Richard A. McCormick, SJ: Bioethics: What to Look For in the 90s
Professor of Christian Ethics, University of Notre Dame
April 30, 1992
Gertrud Mueller-Nelson: The Healing Journey of the Feminine
Author, Lecturer
February 20, 1992
Daniel J. Sullivan: Putting God on Stage: From Aeschylus to Woody Allen
Journalist and Theater Critic
April 25, 1991
Hans Küng: No Peace Among Nations Without Peace Among the Religions
Director, Tubingen, Institute of Ecumenical Research Tubingen, Germany
March 15, 1991
Martin E. Marty: The Fundamentalist Across the Globe, Down the Block or In the Heart
Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor University of Chicago
October 29, 1990
Elizabeth A. Johnson: Women in the Image of God, God in the Image of Women
Professor of Theology, Catholic University of America
May 2, 1990
Ted Peters: Discerning the Spirit of the New Age
Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, UC Berkeley
February 15, 1990
1985–1989
James Cone: Martin and Malcolm: A Dream or a Nightmare
Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology Union Theological Seminary
October 19, 1989
Elie Weisel: A World at Peace (cosponsored)
Mellon Professor of Humanities, 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate, Boston University
February 21, 1989
Charles Curran: Economic Justice for All
Visiting Brooks Professor of Theology, University of Southern California
October 13, 1988
Daniel Berrigan, SJ: Disarming the Heart, Disarming the World
Poet, peace and justice advocate
October 20, 1988
Karen Lebacqz: Jubilee Justice
October 6, 1988
Raymond E. Brown: The Star, the Magi and the Wicked Herod: Matthew's Gospel Story of Jesus' Birth
Auburn Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies, Union Theological Seminary, New York
November 23, 1987
Abigail McCarthy: From the 30s to the 80s: The Education of a Twentieth Century Woman
Author and journalistApril 29, 1987
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin: The Church in the Third Millennium: Age Old Values and New Challenges
Archbishop, Diocese of Chicago
October 28, 1986
Robert McAfee Brown: Religion and the Role of Dissent
Professor Emeritus, Pacific School of Religion
May 1, 1986
J. Robert Nelson: Human Life as a Criterion of Science
November 7, 1985