Sustenance, Symbols, and Souls: Religions' Tangled Threads

Class - In Person & Zoom | Available (Membership Required)

1700 College Crescent Virginia Beach, VA 23453 United States
Pungo Auditorium - F133
n/a
Monday, May 12, 2025 (one day)
1:00 PM-3:00 PM on Mon
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$15.00

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Sustenance, Symbols, and Souls: Religions' Tangled Threads

Class - In Person & Zoom | Available (Membership Required)

This two-part talk dives into the profound ways religions shape human life, from the meals we share to the symbols we cherish. In the first hour, we will explore how dietary laws and traditions shape cultures, create boundaries, connect us to the divine, and lead us to conflict. During the second hour we will cover religious symbols, among them swastikas to crosses, that have been misunderstood, misused, and politicized, and can cause harmony, provoke hostility, and challenge our perceptions.

Craig Wansink

Craig Wansink, Ph.D. is the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr. Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center, the Interim Dean of the Birdsong School of Social Science, and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Virginia Wesleyan University. He has studied at universities in Japan, Jordan, Germany, and Israel. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in the field of New Testament and Ancient Christianity. He also serves as the Senior Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church and is active throughout Coastal Virginia.