Annual Report 2021-2022

Georgetown University Healy Hall in Summer

Annual Report 2021-2022

Over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year, the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine dominated the landscape of religion, peace, and world affairs. The center’s research, teaching, and outreach programs kept pace with international events, bringing faculty, students, and partners together around mounting challenges in a divided world. Scroll down or use the navigation at the top of the page to discover highlights from our research, outreach, and student programming this year.

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Mission

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs seeks a more just and peaceful world by building knowledge and advancing cooperation through research, teaching, and dialogue.

Two premises guide the center’s work:

1
A comprehensive examination of religion and norms is critical to address complex global challenges.
2
The open engagement of religious and cultural traditions with one another can promote peace.

Impact at a Glance

Events

868,279

Web Visits

7,645

Twitter Followers

335

Berkley Forum Essays

226

Students Taught

REWA Minors

2021-2022 Highlights

A Quarter Century of Public Religions

The 1994 publication of Public Religions in the Modern World, by Berkley Center Senior Fellow José Casanova, marked a paradigm shift in the study and understanding of religion in the modern world. The book challenged the dominant narratives of secularization and particularly secular liberal theories of democracy that claimed that religion had become and ought to remain a private affair. Twenty-five years later, the book continues to be cited as a classic in the study of the sociology of religion and has launched a career that has taken Casanova around the world.

Learn More

Culture of Encounter and the Global Agenda

Statues line the top of the Vatican Colonnade at sunrise — The Culture of Encounter: An Imperative for a Divided World
Georgetown University and the Jesuit journal *La Civiltà Cattolica* convened a major conference at the Villa Malta in Rome on May 27-28 called “The Culture of Encounter: An Imperative for a Divided World.” The conference connected international scholars, practitioners, and religious leaders to explore ways to develop a culture of dialogue and encounter as part of a larger project to explore the theological, social, and political implications of one of the key themes of the pontificate of Pope Francis. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican secretary for relations with states, and Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, gave keynote addresses. Other participants included Irina Bokova, former director-general of UNESCO; Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, chairman of the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity; Rev. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor-in-chief of *La Civiltà Cattolica*; and Thomas Banchoff, Georgetown’s vice president for global engagement.
Watch Archbishop Gallagher's address.
Watch Rev. Sosa's address.
Read coverage of the event.

A diverse crowd watches a parade of people carrying flags pass through Brussels, Belgium — The Theologies and Practices of Religious Pluralism
In its first two years (2022-2024), the Theologies and Practices of Religious Pluralism project will examine pluralism in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Each religious tradition will be discussed in a series of workshops and other research devoted to the topics specific to the respective religion. The second phase will examine and compare results by convening seminars across religious traditions. Berkley Center Senior Fellows José Casanova and Jocelyne Cesari are co-chairs of the steering academic committee. The project is a partnership between Reset Dialogues on Civilizations; the University of Birmingham; the Foundation for Religious Sciences, John XXIII; and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.
Learn more about the project.

Participants in the twentieth Building Bridges seminar gather outside the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA — Building Bridges Seminar
For 20 years, the Building Bridges Seminar has brought together a range of internationally recognized Christian and Muslim scholars for intensive study. These annual seminars, each lasting three or four days, have explored many of the most significant themes in the interface between Islam and Christianity—among them, scripture; prophecy; the common good; justice and rights; human nature; interpretation; science and religion; tradition and modernity; prayer; death, resurrection, and human destiny; community; God’s creativity and human action; monotheism and its complexities; and divine and human power. Proceedings of most seminars have been published, with others in production. Texts from the Christian and Islamic scriptures plus theological reflections and significant documents from both traditions become the basis for discussion in a program that includes public lectures and private sessions.
Read more about the Building Bridges project.

Religious Responses to COVID-19

A masked woman in church setting with her hands upward

Faith and the COVID-19 Pandemic at Two Years: A Retrospective

The Religious Responses to COVID-19 project—a collaboration between the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI), and the World Faiths Development Dialogue—celebrated hit its two-year anniversary in March 2022. A rapidly mobilized consultation on faith dimensions of the pandemic, convened at the Berkley Center on March 11, 2020, led to the creation of the Faith and COVID-19: Resource Repository and daily email digests that archived and communicated faith-related COVID-19 news sources. Led by Senior Fellow Katherine Marshall, this project has addressed this critical question through groundbreaking research, commentary, and dialogue involving faith actors and development leaders.

Watch the anniversary retrospective webinar.
Read more about the Religious Responses to COVID-19 project.

Youth and COVID-19

The theme of International Youth Day 2021, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health," sparked reflection on the tragic effects of the COVID-19 crisis today, as it has forced millions of people, including youth, into hunger and poverty. There is an urgent need to focus on how future generations can sustain the shocks of COVID-19 today and prepare well for a brighter future. An important challenge is to explore why and how youth have responded to the pandemic through religious efforts, and how, how far, and why religious initiatives involve and prioritize youth. Broad trends whether and to what extent religious communities and connections are important to young people still need robust exploration.

Watch a panel discussion on "COVID-19, Children, and Caregiver Loss."
Read more coverage of International Youth Day 2021.

Remembering Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J.

The Berkley Center and greater Georgetown community mourn the loss of scholar, colleague, and friend Rev. Andrew (Drew) Christiansen, S.J., who passed away on Wednesday, April 6. Christiansen was a senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. A dedicated Jesuit priest, scholar, advocate, and community member, he devoted his life to applying the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching to issues of human rights, interreligious dialogue, nuclear disarmament, and peace. Christiansen joined Georgetown and the Berkley Center in 2013.

Read the Berkley Center's tribute to Drew Christiansen.
Explore a digital collection of tributes, memories, and kind words.

Learn More

Nuclear Disarmament

The Legacy of George P. Schultz

In December 2021, Christiansen led a panel that explored the legacy of Secretary George P. Shultz, especially with respect to his efforts to create the conditions necessary for a world without nuclear weapons. Panelists also discussed Shultz’s approach to diplomacy and statecraft with its commitment to long-term goals and pragmatic short-term engagement with adversaries, analyzing his ideas about a global commons and the need to manage threats to humanity through international mechanisms. Finally, the panelists identified lessons we can learn from Shultz’s achievements and shared their thoughts about the future of nuclear disarmament and the abolition campaign.

Watch the event recording.

Men sit along a wall with posters for a silent vigil and the dates of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

The Church and Nuclear Issues

In response to the grave global threat the Berkley Center is exploring the policy, ethical, and moral challenges involved in moving toward a world without nuclear weapons. Berkley Center Senior Fellow Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., led the project from 2014 until his death in April 2022. Christiansen advised the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York on nuclear disarmament and other international security issues. With Carol Sargent, he edited A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference (2020) and Forbidden: Receiving Pope Francis's Condemnation of Nuclear Weapons (2023).

Events

Total Events

From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, the center hosted events that ranged from book talks and panel discussions to multi-day, international conferences.

11,699

Event Attendees

Over 11,000 people attended our virtual and in-person events over the last year, allowing center programming to engage a wider audience than ever before.

3,727,781

YouTube Views

Our library of over one thousand event videos from the last 15 years continued to garner attention.

Global Safeguarding Event Series

The clerical sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church is a global phenomenon. Decades-long patterns of abuse of children and vulnerable adults have caused enormous pain, harm, and suffering around the world. There is wide agreement that strict policies of zero-tolerance, legal compliance, and public accountability are necessary for the creation of a resilient culture of safeguarding in the Church. During the 2021-2022 academic year, the Global Culture of Safeguarding project convened a series of events to consider how a culture of safeguarding can lift up the voices of the survivors of sexual abuse, brought in female as well as male perspectives, and—in the case of religious institutions—incorporated theological and ethical reflection on the abuse of power and the problem of evil.

Watch a conversation about the "Sacred Art of Listening."

Global Christianity in Focus

Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis

The world is emerging from an historic health crisis that has exacerbated existing conflicts, poverty, inequalities, polarization, and threats to the environment. The challenge to Catholic peacebuilders is clear: we must ensure that the post-pandemic return to “normal” does not look like the pre-pandemic status quo, or worse. That will require an integral and integrated approach to peace, development, and ecology because the cry of war’s victims, the cry of the poor, and the cry of the earth rise as one (Laudato Si, no. 49). This virtual conference convened a wide range of Catholic peacebuilders—Church leaders, scholars, peacebuilding specialists, and other practitioners—from around the world. Berkley Center senior fellows José Casanova, Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., and Katherine Marshall participated as panel speakers.

Watch all the recorded sessions here.

500 Years of Christianity and the Global Filipin@

The year 2021 marked the five-hundredth anniversary of Christianity’s entry into the Philippines. With over 90% in the country identifying as Christian and with more than eight million Filipin@s all over the world, Filipin@s are a significant force reshaping global Christianity. This anniversary thus not only calls for celebration but also reflection and critique. This two-day conference gathered theologians in the Philippines, United States, Australia, and around the world to examine Christianity in the Philippines through a postcolonial theological lens. The “post” here is not used in the temporal sense, as if colonialism has ended, but rather, suggests the desire to go beyond the colonial in all its contemporary manifestations.

Watch all of the recorded sessions here.

The Call of Creation

On September 1, 2021, Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby issued “A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation,” calling on the world to address the current crisis of global climate change. The joint message asks everyone, regardless of belief or worldview, to respond simultaneously to the needs of the earth and the needs of the poor, “…examining their behaviour and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us” (from “A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation”). The message was issued at the beginning of the 2021 Season of Creation and in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference set to gather in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. This webinar featured a panel of scholars exploring the significance and implications of this message for churches and for the world.

Read more about the event here.

The Body and Religiously Motivated Social Action

Yolanda Covington-Ward and Jeanette S. Jouili have edited a compelling and groundbreaking new volume on the role of the body and social justice work for people of African descent across the African continent, the Caribbean and Latin America, the American South, and Europe. From Pentecostalism in Ghana and Brazil to Ifa divination in Trinidad to Islam in Nigeria, London, and South Carolina, the contributors explore the nuanced and often veiled intersections between the body, religious expression, and political agency within the cultural specific contexts. Embodying Black Religions in Africa and Its Diasporas (2021) further deepens and expands the public’s understanding of African-inspired religious expression as something more than resistance and struggle against white supremacy and gender bias. Berkley Center Senior Research Fellow Terrence Johnson facilitated a conversation with the editors of the volume to help the audience understand why the body matters in debates on politics and social activism.

Read more about the event here.

Christian Theology in Asia

Rev. Thomas Dabre is bishop of the Diocese of Poona, India. Active in interfaith dialogue, Bishop Dabre was previously a professor of systematic theology at the Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth. Peter C. Phan is the inaugural holder of the Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought in the Georgetown University Department of Theology and Religious Studies and a faculty fellow at the Berkley Center. His research deals with the theology of icons in Orthodox theology, patristic theology, eschatology, the history of Christian missions in Asia, and liberation, inculturation, and interreligious dialogue. This conversation focused on how theology should be done today in the sociopolitical, economic, cultural, and religious contexts of Asia, in particular India.

Read more about the event here.

The Life and Beatification of Rev. Rutilio Grande, S.J.

Rev. Rutilio Grande, S.J., of El Salvador was a confidant of Archbishop Oscar Romero, an advocate for the poor and marginalized, and a martyr. Fr. Grande organized campesinos in El Salvador and was assassinated by paramilitaries in 1977. His murder, along with the killings of two lay co-workers, played a major role in activating the archbishop of San Salvador, his friend Oscar Romero. Archbishop Romero was also martyred in 1980 and canonized in 2018. This panel discussed the life and work of Fr. Rutilio Grande, why they mattered then, and why his beatification matters now.

Read more about the event here.

Research

Op-Eds

Center senior fellows authored commentary pieces placed in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and Religion News Service, among other outlets.

Articles or Book Chapters

Senior fellows published several research articles and book chapters in edited volumes.

Books

Jocelyne Cesari, Erin Cline, and Terrence L. Johnson published works this past year. Leo Lefbure, Thomas Banchoff, and Peter Phan also collaborated on an edited volume.

Reports

The center released several reports, policy briefs, working papers, and white papers from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

Faculty Books

Jocelyne Cesari

Berkley Center Senior Fellow

Associate Professor of the Practice, Department of Government

Jocelyne Cesari offers a new view of religion and nationalism in her latest book, We God’s People: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in the World of Nations (Cambridge University Press, December 2021). She combines historical and quantitative analysis, identifies major patterns in the politicization of religion, and presents a framework to predict future conflicts at the intersection of religion and politics.

Terrence L. Johnson

Berkley Center Senior Fellow

Associate Professor, Department of Government

In this book, Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue (Georgetown University Press, February 2022), Terrence L. Johnson and Georgetown colleague Jacques Berlinerblau explore the roots of the Black-Jewish relationship that began long before the mid-twentieth century. This dialogue models the honest conversation needed for Blacks and Jews to forge a new understanding.

Erin Cline

Berkley Center Senior Research Fellow

Paul J. and Chandler M. Tagliabue Distinguished Professor in Interfaith Studies & Dialogue, Department of Theology and Religious Studies

In her latest book, The Analects: A Guide (Oxford University Press, Guides to Sacred Texts series, October 2021), Erin Cline argues there are good reasons to study the Analects as a sacred text, and that doing so sheds light not only on the text and the Confucian tradition, but on what the sacred is, more broadly.

Leo Lefebure and Peter Phan

Berkley Center Faculty Fellows

Matteo Ricci, S.J., Professor of Theology (Lefebure) and Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought (Phan), Department of Theology and Religious Studies

The essays in Theology without Borders: Essays in Honor of Peter Phan (Georgetown University Press, June 2022) offer a variety of perspectives across Phan's fundamental work in eschatology, world Christianity, interreligious dialogue, and much more. The volume was edited by Faculty Fellow Leo Lefebure and includes a foreword from Director Thomas Banchoff and epilogue by Peter Phan.

New Faculty Members

Berkley Center Welcomes Elisa Massimino

In November 2021, Elisa Massimino joined the Berkley Center as a senior research fellow. Massimino is a visiting professor and executive director of the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, where she recently served as the Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights. She is also part of the Berkley Center’s Rethinking Religion and Human Rights project that engages scholars, practitioners, and religious thinkers in conversations about how to reclaim the revolutionary premise at the heart of the human rights idea and use it to advance solutions to today’s most pressing rights challenges.

Read a Q&A with Massimino.

Berkley Center Welcomes Becky Yang Hsu

In June 2022, the center welcomed Becky Yang Hsu as a senior fellow. Hsu is an associate professor of sociology at Georgetown University, and she is also affiliated with the Asian Studies Program and the Graduate School’s M.S. in Health and the Public Interest Program. She is currently directing a research group on the topic of Culture and Society as part of Georgetown’s Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

Read a Q&A with Hsu.

A Ukrainian flag flies in front of a dark treeline

Berkley Center's Response to the War in Ukraine

The Berkley Center issued a statement condemning the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in the strongest terms. Since then, center faculty and scholars have contributed to debates about the complex religious, political, and ethical dimensions of the conflict. As a center committed to scholarship and action at the intersection of religion, peace, and world affairs, the Berkley Center will continue to sponsor events and programs related to the war and will work with partners inside and outside Ukraine to strengthen academic cooperation during the conflict and once national reconstruction begins.

Learn More

Jose Casanova engaging in dialogue in Kyiv, Ukraine — Professors Partake in Just Peace Mission to Kyiv

This summer, Senior Fellow José Casanova and fellow Georgetown professor Eli McCarthy traveled to Kyiv from May 24 to 25, 2022, as part of a delegation of religious leaders to advocate for peace and pray for justice in Ukraine.
Casanova is a recognized expert on the dynamics of religious pluralism in Ukraine, speaks Ukrainian fluently, and served as translator and interpreter during the delegation’s meetings with Ukrainian authorities and religious groups.
Read more about the peace delegation.

Constantin Sigov: A Witness in Ukraine

Constantin Sigov, a member of the Culture of Encounter and the Global Agenda Project, is a Ukrainian philosopher and director of the European Center at the University of Kyiv. When the war broke out, he chose to stay in Ukraine as a witness. Since then, the Berkley Center has been honored to feature his voice and share his reflections on the war and the heroic Ukrainian resistance.
“I can hear your trust in this project of the culture of encounter, and your expectation of courage from the people of Kyiv, the people of Ukraine, of all of Europe. I think that if this appeal, for example the prayer for peace of [Pope] Francis, may be taken in encounter, it may be the turning point for Europe, for the world. It will be the great witness, to understand that this is the real tone for the possibility of music and not cacophony in our information space. It may change something.”
Read his testimony on the culture of encounter in a time of war.
Listen to Sigov’s initial reflections on the Culture of Encounter project.

The Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church

The Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church Panel 1

Against the backdrop of the terrible war in Europe, Georgetown University convened a conference to examine the significance of a social ethos for Catholic-Orthodox relations and ecumenical collaboration more widely. A first panel compared the declaration and its core themes with Catholic social thought, exploring points of commonality and differences of emphasis.

The Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church Panel 2

The second panel in the Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church series addressed new opportunities for ecumenical and interfaith collaboration around issues of peace and social justice, building on the dynamic international witness and diplomacy exemplified by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis.

Student Programs

The Berkley Center offers a number of ways for students to get involved, including conducting research through our global fellowship programs, taking courses through our minor, working as student assistants at the center, and participating in experiential learning through the Doyle Engaging Difference Program.

Our approach to student programs at the Berkley Center is grounded in the Jesuit value of caring for the whole person (cura personalis), a central tenet of the Georgetown University education. Our programs are animated by the center’s mission of bringing together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students to seek a more just and peaceful world by building knowledge and advancing cooperation through research, teaching, and dialogue.

Our student offerings are also deeply informed by the Doyle Engaging Difference Program’s mission to equip students and faculty with the skills necessary to thoughtfully engage matters of difference in integrated spaces of teaching and learning, in and outside the classroom. As campus collaborators on the Doyle Program, the Berkley Center seeks to implement this vision through guided academic and professional mentorship and extended learning opportunities that transcend the classroom, helping students connect their Georgetown experiences to local and global communities.

Upon completing any Berkley Center student program, the participant should be able to:

Show evidence of global awareness, particularly interreligious and intercultural competencies, by engaging in discourse and practice on matters of political, religious, social, economic, and racial differences.
Demonstrate analytical skills and the ability to clearly articulate complex issues in research and digital scholarship.
Illustrate interdisciplinary knowledge integration and intellectual curiosity in traditional and experiential learning spaces.

Student Programs by the Numbers

Faculty Courses

Center faculty taught courses across the Georgetown campus, from the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Foreign Service to Georgetown Law.

Doyle Seminars

This academic year, the Berkley Center supported Doyle Seminars on a wide range of subjects—from modern philosophy to anti-colonialism and disability narratives.

Education and Social Justice Fellows

Over summer 2021, fellows conducted research on Jesuit educational initiatives in Palestine and various locations in the United States.

Doyle Global Dialogue Students

The Doyle Global Dialogue provides a platform for Georgetown students to reflect on interreligious and intercultural engagement while studying abroad.

Student Assistants

Student assistants are integral to the work of the center, where they contribute to faculty research projects and support communications and outreach efforts.

Doyle Anniversary

Now in its second decade, the Doyle Engaging Difference Program—administered jointly by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)—has touched the lives of over 5,000 Georgetown students across campus, and over 200 faculty members have taught classes in the program. The university-wide program supports curricular engagement with difference and diversity in introductory and upper-level courses through Doyle Faculty Fellowships and Doyle Seminars, respectively. Students studying internationally also have the opportunity to reflect on their encounters with diverse host societies as part of the Doyle Global Dialogue. The program also provides opportunities for both students and faculty to apply for Doyle Grants and participate in Doyle Events to further engage in critical dialogue on diversity in co-curricular spaces.

Learn More

Doyle Student and Faculty Initiatives

A professor lectures to students with a PowerPoint presentation

Conversations about Anti-Racism

The “Doyle Conversations about Anti-Racism in Higher Education” was a three-part conversation series held during the 2021 spring semester that brought together students, faculty, and staff at Georgetown University. Sponsored by the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, the series invited members of the Georgetown community to share strategies and tools related to anti-racist work across campus, building on a similar series of events held in fall 2020.

Read the full event summary.

In Your Shoes

In Your Shoes™: Georgetown Student and Faculty Dialogues is a pilot project designed to bring together Georgetown faculty and students in order to engage in dialogue about the intersection of identity and learning. This project is a collaboration between the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, the Curriculum Transformation Initiative for Racial Justice, and the Doyle Engaging Difference Program.

Learn more about the program.

Georgetown University front gates with leaves

Doyle Seminars

Part of the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, Doyle Seminars offer instructors the chance to enhance their course with experiential learning through invited guests, outings to local museums or performances, and film screenings coupled with an intensive focus on student research projects. Smaller classroom settings provide a focused learning space for exploring national, social, cultural, religious, moral, and other forms of difference, and deepen student learning about diversity and difference through enhanced research opportunities.

Learn More

A tent sits on a concrete sidewalk next to several garbage dumpsters

Doyle Seminars Spotlight

Media and Social Justice

Part of journalism’s mission is to tell the stories of those who are disenfranchised, marginalized, or oppressed, the stories of those who are most vulnerable to injustice and inequality. But is journalism really about justice? Should it be? Media and Social Justice, a Doyle Seminar taught by Ann Oldenburg (G’20) in fall 2021, explored ways to report on social justice topics through opinion writing, solutions journalism, immersive journalism, and investigative journalism.

Reflections on Doyle Seminars

“The collaboration with Street Sense gave an added purpose to the course, as students analyzed their annual News Blitz on covering the homeless population in DC for the previous five years, along with this year's blitz in October.”

Ann Oldenburg (G’20), Assistant Director and Lecturer, Journalism Program

“I have been able to report in and outside of encampments, talk to government agencies, build relationships throughout the city, and do hands-on work with the unhoused population in DC. Being able to see the impact in a clear and measurable way is awesome.”

Nate Kral (C'22)

Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs Minor

The Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs (REWA) program offers a minor for Georgetown Main Campus undergraduate students administered through the Berkley Center. The REWA minor gives students an opportunity to explore the role of faith and values across topic areas including international relations, comparative politics, and history and cultures. The Spring 2022 REWA Student Symposium ran from April 28 to 29 and culminated in in-person discussion between students, faculty, and staff.

Doyle Global Dialogue, 2021-2022

In 2021-2022, 5 students participated in the Doyle Global Dialogue (DGD), a peer-to-peer conversation among students studying internationally. This year, DGD participants explored the challenges and possibilities of intercultural exchange during the pandemic, and the global diversity of the cohort allowed for rich reflection across lines of difference. Read about their experiences by clicking on each highlighted country.

This map displays the countries of origin for members of the 2021-2022 DGD cohort, which included 2 students studying at the Qatar campus and 3 international students based at the DC campus.

DGD Student Reflections

Cameron Li (SFS'25)

Home Country: China

School: Georgetown University (Main Campus)

“I realized that as a foreigner who wanted to make friends and have a good time in a strange country, it may be slightly more complicated, but the principle of making friends never truly changes: people will like you for who you really are. Things like cultures, religions, politics, and symbols make up much of our world. But in the end, we love specific people, not abstract ones, as Dostoevsky said. In this past academic year, I’ve tried many things like not speaking up and faking a different voice. But in the end, what worked out was to speak up in my own voice. And I’m glad to have found it again in the United States.”

Read Li’s final program reflection.

Fatima Ugbede Yunusa (SFS'24)

Home Country: Nigeria

School: Georgetown University in Qatar

“Certainly, my experiences at GU-Q are impacted by my positionality—as an African Muslim student at a renowned university located in an affluent part of the country. Though I have observed clear socioeconomic divides in Qatari society, it has not personally affected my stay here. I keep this in mind in recognition of the multiplicity of experiences, both positive and negative, that can exist within the same spaces.”

Read Yunusa’s final program reflection.

Alero Oyinlola (C'22)

Home Country: Nigeria

School: Georgetown University (Main Campus)

“As a Nigerian, I am used to religion being brought into all aspects of public and personal life. Coming into an environment where it was even weird to talk about religion at school was definitely a novel experience. No one talked about their religious background or brought elements of it into a conversation. Even in a class discussing whether the Alsace region should become secular (currently the government still pays the salaries of the clergy and religion is taught in schools), no debate was held. It seemed normal that we would all agree public life should be secular. Coming from Georgetown, where we debate all aspects of religion and public life, this was a striking difference.”

Read Oyinlola’s final program reflection.

Pulitzer Center International Reporting Collaboration

Georgetown Student to Study Female Genital Cutting in Guinea

Madeline (Mady) Hart (SFS’23) has been selected as the Berkley Center-Pulitzer Center international reporting fellow for summer 2022. Her project will explore religious groups fighting female genital cutting and child marriage in Guinea.

Education and Social Justice Project

The Education and Social Justice Project (ESJ) provides Georgetown students summer research fellowships to explore issues at the intersection of education and society. Student participants conduct in-depth examinations of innovative initiatives, with a focus on the work of Jesuit secondary and post-secondary institutions. Under faculty supervision, students gather information through interviews, analyze best practices, and share their reports and conclusions with a wider global audience. The fellowship is administered by the Berkley Center and the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service.

Watch the recording of the 2021 Global Social Justice Research Symposium.

Learn More

2021 ESJ Fellows

Henry James

C'22

Project Location: The Bronx, New York (United States)

James conducted research at Thrive for Life’s Ignacio House in the Bronx. Thrive for Life is a Jesuit organization that conducts religious retreats in prisons throughout New York state and administers Ignacio House, a transitional home for those who are re-integrating into society and continuing their educational journeys. During his time there, he interviewed the residents about their experiences in educational programs both in and beyond prison, learning about the transformative power of college in prison.

Yazmin Munoz

NHS'23

Project Location: Richmond, Virginia (United States)

Munoz conducted research at the Sacred Heart Center in Richmond, Virginia. From volunteering in their food bank to talking with staff, families, and donors, she enjoyed immersing herself in this Jesuit nonprofit’s commitment to the Latinx community. Although the organization’s programming previously revolved around health and education, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they created an Emergency Relief Program. The program helped Yazmin understand the importance of addressing the unique needs affecting the Latinx community during times of crisis in the United States.

Tommy Teravainen

C'22

Project Location: Boston, Massachusetts (United States)

Teravainen conducted research at the Nativity Preparatory School of Boston. During his three weeks at Nativity Preparatory, a tuition-free Jesuit middle school, he conducted interviews and led focus groups with students, alumni, staff, and affiliates of the school. He also participated in several kickball games and student retreats along the way. From this research, Tommy came to find a dynamic educational community committed to living out the Ignatian values of service and social justice within their everyday lives.

Katherine Woodard

SFS'22

Project Location: Bethlehem, Palestine (Palestine)

Woodard conducted virtual research at Bethlehem University in the West Bank. Her research explored the impact of human rights education at the university. Through conducting interviews with university students, faculty, and administrators, Kat learned of the ways in which Bethlehem University celebrates the nuance of their community and asserts the inherent dignity of their community members.

IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program

In response to the call for global solidarity in Pope Francis' 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti, the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University launched the Global Citizenship Fellows Program, a year-long fellowship for students around the world to connect with and learn from one another as they examine critical aspects of what it means to be a global citizen. The fellowship culminated in their participation at the IAJU assembly at Boston College in August 2022.

Learn More

Hoya Paxa Student Programs

Students casually gather outside of White Gravenor hall

Global Ethics Dialogues

During fall 2021 the Philosophy Department and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs ran the Global Ethics Dialogues, a program for undergraduate students interested in having deeper conversations on topics in global ethics. Each dialogue lasted approximately one hour and took place every three weeks, beginning in mid-September. During each dialogue, students were invited to explore a pressing issue in international and global affairs from an ethical perspective. Topics included contemporary warfare, humanitarian intervention, climate justice, and immigration. Participants were invited to submit a piece for possible publication on the Berkley Center website and/or to present at the Berkley Center’s student research symposium in spring 2022.

Learn more about the Global Ethics Dialogue.

Theology and Culture Community Dinner Group

The Theology and Culture Community Dinner Group serves as an informal community-building space for law students and graduate students from different disciplines to exchange ideas about topics of interest. Students take turns choosing (brief) readings, sparking the discussion, and also providing an entry point for those who may not have had time to read that week. The group meets every other week at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Learn more about the Theology and Culture Community Dinner Group.

Theology in Arabic

The Berkley Center and Georgetown’s Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies partnered during the 2021-2022 academic year to pilot a series of seminars on theology in Arabic. Georgetown students and faculty are invited to participate in reading Arabic theological texts in translation through these seminars, which will function as reading groups with an emphasis on exposure to theological reasoning and the personal voice of the authors from original Arabic texts. As familiarity with key topics develops, so too will familiarity with Arabic in its shared theological vernaculars across world religions: i.e., on the basis of terminology and overarching themes, and as a vehicle of personal expression.

Learn more about the Theology in Arabic series.

Students working in the Berkley Center office

Berkley Center Student Assistants

Student assistants are integral to the work of the center, helping us achieve our mission through their contributions to faculty research projects, as well as their support of communications and outreach efforts. Some work directly with faculty members to provide book editing assistance; conduct research that informs reports, blogs, or policy briefs; or support classroom instruction. Others support our staff in day-to-day center operations. In all cases, student assistants are given meaningful, content-rich work that develops knowledge and skills that make them strong candidates as they seek internships and enter the job market.

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Student Spotlight

Beyza Yazici (SFS'22)

REWA Minor

"The impact religion plays within my major of international politics cannot be understated, and I believe it helped me steer my major into a more ethical and humanity focused IPOL major. The minor also allowed me to make a relationship with the incredible Dr. Craig, which led to me getting recommendations from her to get my Capitol Hill internship as well as my Fulbright grant. Having a professor to be able to ask questions and share news with is something I was missing in my college career, so I am incredibly grateful I ended up in the REWA minor and got to meet Dr. Craig and the other incredible professors that teach REWA classes."

Beyza will be completing her English Teaching Assistant Fulbright in Azerbaijan. She will provide native language help and promote cultural diplomacy with Azerbaijani higher education students while also conducting her own research. Beyza's interest is predominantly in the geopolitical relationship between Azerbaijan and Iran. She will also be learning the most used languages in the country: Azerbaijani and Russian.

Daanyal Ebrahim (SFS'25)

DGD Student

"[The Doyle Global Dialogue Program] made me subliminally reflect much more on my place at Georgetown, and what it means to be an international student at a global institution learning the things that I do."

Originally from Hong Kong, Daanyal participated in the fall 2021 cohort of the Doyle Global Dialogue. While attending classes at Georgetown and visiting monuments, he reflected on the intersections of religion, culture, politics, and society in Washington, DC.

Katherine Woodard presents her ESJ research at symposium

Katherine Woodard (SFS'22)

2021 ESJ Fellow

REWA Minor

"Only now being away from the Berkley Center do I realize just how significant the Center's impact has been on my career trajectory. The Berkley Center employs many of the world's foremost scholars of religion. However, it was easy to forget this as a Georgetown student, given how accessible these individuals were to me as professors, advisors, and close personal mentors. Now, I'm a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, and many of my peers at HDS are seeking out ways to get involved with the Berkley Center as master's students. I feel so fortunate to already have an established relationship with the Berkley Center from my days as a Georgetown undergraduate. I carry lessons from the Berkley Center with me in all I do now within the realm of religious studies: the Education and Social Justice project taught me how to conduct research with human subjects and how to interpret qualitative data; the myriad of classes I took as a REWA minor provided me with several lenses for interpreting religious movements; and the syllabus for my REWA capstone class exposed me to many of the authors that now serve as the basis for my learning in my master’s degree. Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded of something I’ve learned because of my involvement with the Berkley Center!"

Katherine received an impressive scholarship to Harvard Divinity School, where she is now pursuing her master’s degree.