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Thursday, 28 June 2012

A group of about 30 staff and students were excited as they sat down to a meal of four bean dahl last month.

It was not the simple food but the historic gathering that sparked their enthusiasm. It was the first time people from many different faiths (and no faith), had joined for dinner at UWA and initiated a discussion about working together to address issues of social justice and extreme poverty.

Michael Sheldrick, a fellow with UWA 's Religion and Globalisation Initiative, helped organise the dinner, which was held at St George's College.

"We were hoping the evening wouldn't descend into a ‘my religion's better than yours' debate," Michael said. "And it didn't, it was great. It was exciting to see that people from different faiths, and agnostics like me, were able to embrace our common humanity and share a meal together."

Religion and Globalisation is a multidisciplinary unit in the discipline of Anthropology and Sociology, led by Assistant Professor Debra McDougall.

The Initiative runs in partnership with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Faith Foundation.

"Debra is the driving force behind the unit and the Initiative," Michael said. "A very diverse group of students take the unit, which is ground-breaking for a secular institution such as UWA .

"Students, many of whom are not necessarily religious, receive a rich educational experience as they critically examine the impact of religion on an increasingly interconnected world."

Michael said the dinner, hosted by St George's chaplain Richard Pengelley, resulted in very productive discussions, facilitated by UWA 's Anglican chaplain, Michael Wood.

"It was another example of UWA being part of an internationally renowned partnership and leading the way, along with other leading universities such as Yale."

The meal was prepared for less than $2 a head to remind the guests that this was a typical meal eaten by the millions of people in the world who are living below the extreme poverty line, which is US $1.25 per day.

Michael, who is completing his law degree this year, is a long-time campaigner with the Global Poverty Project and led The End of Polio campaign, which peaked during CHOGM last year.

The guests represented a wide range of religious backgrounds, from Baha'is, Catholics, Muslims and Jews to agnostics and atheists.

One of the guests, student Tracy Herrick, said the group was venturing into unchartered waters and answering the demand for action against poverty and injustice was the next challenge for the Religion and Globalisation Initiative.

"Religion isn't a threat. It isn't the enemy and it isn't going away," she said. "It can be a force for good in the world but we need to learn how to accept each other and not be threatened by each other's world views so that we can finally make great strides in helping the sick and the hungry."

The participants, many of whom used the word ‘inspiring' to describe the evening, are keen to translate their discussions into action.

In the meantime, five UWA students are on exchange with McGill University in Canada, studying human rights and religion. Students from McGill will be hosted by the Initiative to do similar studies at UWA .

The Religion and Globalisation unit also runs seminars and discussions on topics including gender, violence and peace. See also The Last Word.

Published in UWA News , 25 June 2012

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