Projects

The Kripke Center supports projects in research, education, and service, as determined by its faculty.

Kripke Interfaith Project

The Kripke Interfaith Project is dedicated to improving the understanding between and among faith communities. The project is dedicated to both research and service.

The research component of the project is dedicated to funding serious research in the various faith traditions through research grants, symposia, and seminars, and the results of the research will be communicated through lectures, fora, and publications.

The service component of the Kripke Interfaith Project will include work outside the university, to encompass the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Native American, and other faith communities in the greater Omaha area. The project will work with local faith communities to foster dialogue and understanding, by sponsoring round-table discussion groups, reading groups, and community events such as popular talks, plays, and social mixers.

Kripke Symposia in Religion & Society

The Center periodically sponsors academic symposia on topics at the intersection of religion and society. These symposia serve to facilitate dialogue and scholarship within the Creighton and larger academic community. The work of the symposia is usually published in the supplement series of the Journal of Religion & Society. Previous symposia include:

Religion and the Family: Historical, Social, and Theological Perspectives (2002)
Exploring Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ (2004)
Religion and “Terrorism” in Context (2005)
Religion and the Environment (2007)
Faithful Citizenship: Principles and Strategies to Serve the Common Good (2008)
Women, Gender, and Religion (2008)
Religion, Health, and Healing (2010)
Religion and the Visual (2011)
Greening of the Papacy (2012)
The Bible, the Economy, and the Poor (2013)
Religion and the Sciences: Opportunities and Challenges (2014)
Religion and Identity (2015)
Religion and Politics (2016)
Augustine in Christian Thought, Life and Practice (2016)
Religion in Global Context (2017)
Religion and Secularism (2017)
Religion and Reform (2018)
Religion and Justice (2019)
Religion and the New Politics (2020)
Religion, Race, and the Other (2022)
The Anthropocene: Multidisciplinary Approaches (2022)
Religion in the Public Square (2023)

Kripke Seminars

The Kripke Seminars support the discovery and integration of knowledge in selected areas of religion and society through collaborative research and the communication of such knowledge through publications and public presentations. Seminars include:

Religion and U.S. Empire (2013–2015)

Symposia on Jewish Civilization

The Center is a co-sponsor of the annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization (along with the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha). Each year the Symposium brings together a diverse group of scholars to address a selected topic of Jewish civilization.

Lectures and Fora

The Kripke Center supports ongoing lecture series and fora to stimulate faculty and educate students and members of the Omaha community. Current lecture series and fora include:

Religion and the Environment Lecture Series
Holocaust Studies Lectures
Women in Religion Lecture Series
Science and Religion Lectures
Religion and Science Forums
Critical Issues Forums