Faith of our Neighbors: World Religions in Coastal Virginia
Class - In Person & Zoom | Available (Membership Required)
In the 1980s and 1990s, Virginia Beach gained national attention as both a stronghold of the Religious Right and a magnet for the New Age movement, a spiritual crossroads where apocalyptic evangelicals and reincarnation-minded mystics coexisted just miles apart. Yet religious diversity has long defined our region: Ghent is encircled by a Jewish eruv; Norfolk is home to the first mosque ever established on a U.S. military base; even a major Buddhist temple stands in a suburban area just 1.3 miles from the VWU campus. Our time together highlights fascinating aspects of the surprising and richly layered religious landscape of Coastal Virginia.
Craig Wansink
Craig Wansink, Ph.D., is the Joan P. and Macon F. Brock, Jr., Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center 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. Dr. Wansink also serves as the Senior Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church and is active throughout coastal Virginia.