ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR AND RELIGION FOCUS OF CONFERENCE AT BARD COLLEGE ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 AND SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-"Economic Behavior and Religious Belief" is the topic of a two-day conference sponsored by Institute for Advanced Theology and the Jerome Levy Economics Institute, both based at Bard College. The conference, free and open to the public, will be held in the F. W. Olin Humanities Building, Room 102 on Saturday, October 16, and Sunday, October 17.

The conference focuses on the economics and religious beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. The objective is to account for economic structures on the basis of religious systems, and to anticipate theologically grounded shifts in economic policy.

The conference begins Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with opening remarks by Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, executive vice-president of Bard College and president of the Jerome Levy Economics Institute. The first session, at 10:45 a.m., will be given by Bradley Clough, visiting assistant professor of religion at Bard College. His topic is "For the Benefit of All: The Contemporary Reintegration of Early Buddhist Principles of Social Economics." Jacob Neusner, professor of religion and a fellow of The Bard Center, will speak on "Religious Belief and Economic Behavior: Quantifying the Intangible," at 11:30 a.m.

Following luncheon Nicolaus T. Tideman, visiting professor of economics at Bard College, will speak on "Resolving Tensions Between Economic and Religious Perspectives" at 2:00 p.m. Mario Bick, professor of anthropology at Bard College, will speak on "The Obvious and the Chimerical: Cross-Cultural Musings on the Relationship of Religion to Economics" at 2:45 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., Tamara Sonn, the William R. Kenan distinguished Professor of Humanities at the College of William and Mary, will address "Islamic Banking: Rationale and Results of the Prohibition of Interest." On Sunday, the conference will open with brunch at 10:30 a.m., followed by a talk by Ithamar Gruenwald, professor of Jewish philosophy at Tel Aviv University, about "Investing Capital in the Interest of Myth and Ritual" at 12:00 p.m. Rev. Dr Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell professor of religion and chaplain of Bard College, will speak on "Three Economies of Jesus: Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem in Eschatological Perspective" at 12:45 p.m. The conference concludes with remarks and discussion by Chilton and Papadimitriou at 1:30 p.m. A reception follows.

For further information and to register for the conference, fax 914-758-7036 or e-mail: [email protected]. The conference is sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Theology at Bard College with additional support from the Jerome Levy Economics Institute at Bard College.

This event was last updated on 03-02-2001

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