Amidst a nationwide effort to improve diversity education in the health sciences, religion has received little attention. While some healthcare professionals find the topic daunting and mostly avoid it, others presume that it falls exclusively within the domain of hospital chaplains or patients’ religious communities. This two-day symposium will explore the positive ways in which religion can be present in healthcare contexts and will encourage attendees to think of interfaith knowledge as an important part of the practice of medicine in contemporary America.
The symposium will kick off with a public lecture with Roshi Joan Halifax on the intersections between religion and healthcare in death and dying.
Roshi Joan Halifax, Ph.D. is a Buddhist teacher, Founder and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a social activist, author, and in her early years was an anthropologist at Columbia University (1964-68) and University of Miami School of Medicine (1970-72). As a pioneer in the field of end-of-life care, Roshi Joan Halifax speaks to Buddhists and non-followers alike on such universal topics as compassion, suffering, and what it is to be human. Roshi Joan Halifax will present live virtually, followed by a Q & A with the audience.
On Friday, December 2nd, the symposium will include three panels of experts in religion, health sciences, and humanities in dialogue on key issues.
