University President Michael Schill announced the creation of a new religious literacy program through the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion last month — but so far the program hasn’t implemented any concrete plans.
Schill wrote in an Aug. 20 email to the Northwestern community that the program is part of the University’s “new integration of antisemitism and Islamophobia” into the work of the OIDI office.
Currently, the new OIDI webpage states that the initiative is designed to “foster understanding, empathy and inclusivity across religious differences and educate our campus community on the role of religion in social, political and cultural life.” The program will also include speakers and moderated reading and discussion groups, according to its page on the OIDI website.
However, notably missing are any specific details on when these plans will roll out.
OIDI Interim Chief Diversity Officer Michelle Manno told The Daily in a statement that the program officially launched last academic year but had been in discussion since 2022.
“The program is intended for a much broader examination of the role of religion in social, political and cultural life beyond our current geopolitical moment,” Manno said.
The program’s page so far only displays information about Jewish holidays and resources on antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Manno said the current resources about Islam and Judaism are “just the starting point” and that, as the program develops, information about other faith traditions and religious holidays will become available.
Weinberg Prof. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, who is the chair of the Religious Studies department, said she was “really surprised” that she had not known about the program before it was announced to the NU community.
She said based on the available information, she thinks the resources on Judaism and Islam point toward an attempt to address tensions on campus due to the Israel-Hamas war. However, Shakman Hurd said religious literacy, while important, is not what is driving disagreements on campus and thinks it would be more helpful to be transparent about the issues at hand.
“I’d like to see a space developed in which all these voices could really be heard, you know, and people could work through this, rather than acting as if the problem is religious literacy,” she said. “That’s not the problem. The problem here is violence.”
Manno said OIDI has spoken to people with “content-area expertise” at NU and other institutions while developing the program and will continue reaching out to students, faculty and staff.
History Prof. David Shyovitz said he spoke with Student Affairs and OIDI over the summer about the program and is aware that OIDI had some limited discussions with other faculty members in the History and Religious Studies departments.
Shyovitz said he wants students to talk to their peers about the Israel-Hamas war, but he also thinks it’s important to learn from faculty who have thought about these issues for decades and possess a wealth of knowledge.
“People have very passionate views, and sometimes those views create sparks when they come into contact with one another,” Shyovitz said. “For the most part, that’s okay, we shouldn’t be afraid of that. But what I think we should be afraid of is if people are yelling at each other on the basis of, ‘I don’t know very much about my cause, but we’re going to really get into the thick of it.’”
Shyovitz said what he has seen about the initiative so far has been vague, but hopes it will provide an opportunity for “better understanding the viewpoints that you profoundly disagree with.”
The program has a newsletter available on its website for those who wish to keep up with events and programming. Manno also said that OIDI welcomes community feedback and wants to include diverse voices and perspectives.
“Our hope is that our community will see this program as an opportunity to learn about religion as one piece in the much bigger puzzle of creating a more inclusive campus environment for everyone,” Manno said.
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