Iwuchukwu Selected for National Seminar on Teaching Interfaith Understanding

A theologian who initiated a dialogue regarding Christians and Muslims that has gained local and international interest has been selected to participate in a faculty seminar on teaching interfaith understanding.

Dr. Marinus Iwuchukwu, associate professor of theology, teaches world religions, culture and religious pluralism, and previously taught for 12 years in Nigeria. He was one of only 26 chosen from a competitive, national pool of nominees to participate in the Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar from Sunday, July 31, through Thursday, Aug. 4, at DePaul University in Chicago. It is offered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), with support from the Henry Luce Foundation.

“Dr. Iwuchukwu is strongly committed to interreligious dialogue,” said Dr. James Swindal, dean of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts. “He singlehandedly started a dialogue at Duquesne regarding Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria that has now, through his continued efforts, become the vibrant Consortium for Christian Muslim Dialogue. He is a scholar dedicated to interfaith understanding at many levels and is receiving ever more recognition beyond Duquesne because of his contributions to this important area of research and practice.”

The seminar will be led by prominent scholars Eboo Patel, founder and president of IFYC, a Chicago-based organization building the interfaith movement on college campuses; and Laurie Patton, president of Middlebury College, former dean of Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Robert F. Durden Professor of Religion.

“Strengthening the teaching of interfaith understanding at colleges and universities is a high priority at a time when college enrollment—and American society—is becoming more diverse,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “Strengthening participation in American life with greater understanding of the distinctive contributions of different faiths is a key to America’s future success as a democracy. The number of institutions that nominated faculty members to participate in the interfaith understanding seminar is most impressive.”