Berkley Center

The annual Hoya Paxa Student Symposium brings together students in the Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs (REWA) minor and other Berkley Center student programs to share their interdisciplinary and global research. At the 2026 symposium, students from REWA capstone classes taught by Professor Judd Birdsall and Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., presented on the role of religion in institutions, diplomacy, and government. Panels on “Religion and Legitimacy,” “U.S. Protestantism in Comparative Perspective,” and “Institutions, Resistance, and Morality” were moderated by REWA minor alumni: Phoebe Chambers (C'25, G'26), Chantal Li (SFS'25, G'26), and Abigail Assadi (C'26). 

The symposium started with opening remarks from Berkley Center Director Thomas Banchoff, spotlighting the impact of the center’s student programs. He recalled the words of Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., who coined the term “People for Others” that is now one of Georgetown’s core values. Arrupe’s message encouraging universities to educate students to pursue justice continues to inspire curricular and co-curricular programming across Georgetown today. As Nick Scrimenti, the Berkley Center’s director of student programs, explained in his introductory remarks, the REWA minor asks students to contemplate “What do we do with religion?” as they engage contemporary debates across politics and culture:

REWA asks students to sit with religion’s full complexity, as something that shapes politics and drives resistance. 

Hollenbach commended REWA students for portraying this complexity in their research. "The student papers and presentations showed real appreciation of the major contributions religious communities at their best can make to global justice and peace," he said, "and also how these communities can sometimes fail to do this."

Religion and Legitimacy

The symposium’s first panel, “Religion and Legitimacy,” explored the role of religion in legitimizing institutions and practices of violence and diplomacy. Ryan Qu (B’26) opened the panel with research he was inspired to conduct after studying abroad in Scotland, in which he traced the history of the parish in Scotland from serving as an administrative core to an institution open to new missions today. Qu was followed by Sarah Kidd (C'26), who explored the complex role Christianity plays in both violence and peacebuilding in the Russia-Ukraine War. 

Francesca Scovino (C'27) continued examining violence and legitimacy in her capstone, "The Theological Infrastructure of Guantánamo Bay." Scovino highlighted the ways in which portraying Islam as a civilizational threat has been used to justify the violence inflicted upon prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in the aftermath of the War on Terror. Nicole Abudayeh (SFS’26) concluded the panel with her presentation on "The Power of the Papacy: What Pope Leo XVI's Visit Meant for Lebanon." Abdayeh emphasized the role of papal diplomacy in speaking for the voiceless and “acting as a liaison for those who do not have a voice in politics.” 

Global Comparative Perspectives

The projects bringing together the second panel, “U.S. Protestantism in a Comparative Perspective,” utilized a comparative methodology to examine the societal and legal roles of Protestantism in the United States alongside other denominations worldwide. In the first presentation, ​Leah Raymond (C'26) compared everyday religiosity between Russian Orthodox and evangelical Protestant communities in the United States. Introducing her topic, Raymond asked: “What does it mean to be religious not just on Sunday or in the pews, but in the car and throughout the week?,” an important question when examining the role of religion in justice. 

She was followed by Victoria Chertorivski (SFS'26), who shared research on "Religious Moral Frameworks and Sex Work Regulation in the United States and Mexico." By comparing Protestant traditions in the United States and Catholic traditions in Mexico, Chertorivski critiqued how moral frameworks shape political debates and legal approaches to sex work in both contexts. The final presentation in the second panel was led by Jatsuka Pozo (C'26), who discussed the ideological role of Christian nationalism for Latin Americans in the United States. 

Faith and Morality in Institutions

The closing panel, “Institutions, Resistance, and Morality,” combined diverse projects utilizing ethnographic and archival research to explore the role religion has played in institutions globally. 

Stella Vance (C'26) opened the panel with her presentation "Adaptation and Resistance: Indigenous Responses to Protestant and Catholic Conversion Efforts in Guatemala," which asked why Indigenous populations in Guatemala responded more positively to early Catholic proselytization compared to later Protestant conversion efforts. Crede Janson (C'27) then explored "The Catholic Church's Complicated Relationship with Nazi Germany." Janson utilized primary sources from Pope Pius XI’s and Pope Pius XII’s papacies and their subordinates to examine how the Catholic Church both acted in complicity with and resisted the policies of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. In the final presentation of the symposium, Chloe Hornbostel (C'26) focused on "The Role of Religion and Morality in Anticorruption Efforts" in Brazil. 

Birdsall, who taught the REWA capstone course in fall 2025, closed the symposium with reflections on seeing student projects transform from ideas into the thorough research presented at this symposium:

“We’re all trying to understand the intersections between religion, ethics, and world affairs, not just by analyzing them but by also looking at them normatively. … We’re not just analyzing religion and world affairs; we’re also trying to make the world a better place.”

The REWA minor is open to all Main Campus Georgetown University undergraduates. Interested students can find out more and apply for the minor on the REWA website.