The Peacebuilding Potential of Religion and Interfaith Dialogue w/ Josh Snyder and Stephanie Edwards

This month, host Lillian Koizumi talks with Drs. Josh Snyder and Stephanie Edwards about the role of spirituality and interfaith dialogue in these times of division. 

Dr. Snyder is Associate Professor of the Practice in Theological Ethics at Boston College. He also is the Director of the Faith, Peace, and Justice Minor.  He earned his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Boston College.  His dissertation entitled, Love Promoting Justice: An Augustinian Ethic for Transitional Justice from the Context of Guatemala explored how charity as a civic virtue can bring about social reconciliation in a divided society. Dr. Snyder’s research focuses on transitional justice and Catholic Peace-Building with an emphasis on the Guatemalan Catholic Church & Human Rights. Additionally, he is interested in Catholic Social Teaching and its contribution to global public health with a specific focus on ethical accompaniment and end of life care.  

Dr. Edwards is the Executive Director of the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. After undergraduate studies at Santa Clara University, Dr. Edwards spent a formative year as a Jesuit Volunteer in post-Katrina New Orleans. She holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College, where her interdisciplinary research focused on the ties between Christian theology and trauma. Her research can be found in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and Political Theology, and her first book, Enfleshed Counter-Memory: A Christian Social Ethic of Trauma. Her interest in such work has its roots in her “other” career as a social worker, wherein she has practiced diverse service delivery, grant writing, and non-profit management for over a decade. She lives in Biddeford, Maine, with her husband, Pete, and rescue dog, EmmyLou, where you can most often find her in nature: canoe camping in summer, leaf-peeping in fall, and bombing down the slopes in winter.

In this episode, they discuss their work, their personal journeys that led to where they are today, the importance of interfaith dialogue in this current climate, and the role of religion in bringing people together and restoring our humanity.

Music attribution: Podcast Music

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