Jay McDaniel of Hendrix College to Discuss Chinese Spirituality at Science and Religion Lecture at Chestnut Hill College
Thursday, February 26, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Shakespeare tells us that the
whole world is a stage, and the men and women are its players. If this is true,
then China is now at center stage, but also shares that stage with many other
nations. What happens in China will consequently affect the whole world.
Jay McDaniel, Ph.D., professor of religion at Hendrix
College in Conway, Kansas will discuss “
The Prophetic Witness of Chinese Spirituality for
World Christianity” on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Social Room
of Fournier Hall.
An intellectual movement is
emerging in China called “constructive postmodernism” which seeks the emergence
of sustainable communities as its guiding ideal. For constructive
postmodernists, sustainable communities can be villages, cities, provinces, or
the nation as a whole. They are communities which are creative, compassionate,
participatory, respectful of diversity, and spiritually satisfying, with no one
left behind. Constructive postmodernists in China know that most communities in
China are unsustainable. Their hope, though, is that China can undergo a
cultural transformation and take sustainability, thus defined, as its guiding
ideal. Part of living in a sustainable community they say, is to have a
“spiritual” side to one’s life but also to avoid the excesses of inordinate
religious zeal.
In his lecture, Dr. McDaniel
will describe the “constructive postmodern” movement in China and its relevance
to the wider world, including the Christian world.
He will explore the possibility that today God calls
all people, including Christians, to be less “religious” and more “spiritual” in
their approach to the world.
Since 1979, Jay McDaniel, Ph.D has been a professor of
religion at Hendrix College and since 1984, the director of the Steel Center for
the Study of Religion and Philosophy. He is the co-founder and member of the
board of directors of The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability and a
member of the board of directors of the Center for Respect of Life and
Environment in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of The Higher Education and
Sustainability Working Group, The American Academy of Religion and the Society
for Buddhist-Christian Studies. Jay McDaniel spent three summers teaching
“constructive postmodernists” in China.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more
information, please contact Kathleen Duffy, SSJ, Ph.D. at 215.248.7197 or e-mail
kduffy@chc.edu