Reclaiming the Center
Why Reclaiming the Center?
A healthy democracy is invigorated by divergent points of view. Yet the center cannot hold if citizens become so polarized and fragmented that we cannot engage one another in searching and sustained debate. The ability to listen openly and to learn from conflicting perspectives is an essential discipline for the vitality of a healthy democracy.
The foundational stories of western civilization are rooted in the religious imagination, and yet most Americans are poorly equipped to read, interpret, or critique the religious underpinnings of our social order. Without understanding the ways religion is used and abused at home and abroad, we are all susceptible to prejudice and manipulation.
Reclaiming the Center (RTC) is a new adult educational initiative that reveals and explores not only what we share, but what is distinctive or particular about our religious traditions. Through text study, lecture and small group discussion, RTC participants learn to under-stand and celebrate those distinctions.
Reclaiming the Center reframes the conversation and challenges us to engage with the wisdom of our religious traditions in light of contemporary life.
The Reclaiming the Center project is supported in part by grants from The Osprey Foundation, The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, The Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Awards Committee, First Presbyterian Church (Atlanta), The Temple/Hebrew Benevolent Congregation (Atlanta) and Union Theological Seminary-PSCE (Richmond, Va).
© 2009 Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies
Reclaiming the Center materials may not be duplicated or used without the express permission of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies.
