Gift funds Institute for the Study of Religious Tolerance

By Dixita Viswanath     8/28/13 7:00pm

Rice University has received a $28.5 million gift from Milton and Laurie Boniuk in order to establish the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, according to President David Leebron.

Leebron said the purpose of this institute is to conduct research and outreach with the ultimate goal of finding innovative ways to understand and strive toward religious tolerance. 

"We provide a great environment because of the religious diversity of our student body," Leebron said. "Almost every major religion is represented in our student body, [which allows the institute] to have a role in fostering dialogue both on campus and off. It will be taking advantage of our diverse and smart students to talk about things like religious tolerance."

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The Boniuk Institute will focus on outreach, dialogue and K-12 education in the area of religious tolerance by bringing speakers to Rice, sponsoring various courses and bringing conferences to Rice, Leebron said.

Once built, a new social sciences building will house the institute, but in the meantime, on-campus space will be allocated, according to Director of the Boniuk Institute Elaine Howard Ecklund.

The institute is sponsoring two classes for this semester, Ecklund, a professor of sociology, said. SOCI 412: Perspectives on Religious Tolerance in an Intolerant Age, co-taught by Ecklund and professor of philosophy Donald Morrison, aims to introduce students to the perspectives on religious tolerance. FWIS 125: Lethal Religion: When Faith Hurts, taught by Anna Smith Fine Senior Lecturer in Jewish Studies Shira Lander and Watt J. and Lilly G. Jackson Professor in Biblical Studies Matthias Henze, aims to explore the connections between religion and violence. 

The goal of the Boniuk Institute is to expand the resources used and fostered by the Boniuk Center established at Rice in 2004 by a $5 million gift from the Boniuks, Ecklund said. The institute will focus on academics and will expand on the current center.

"We want to do cutting-edge research on the conditions under which religion leads to violence and the conditions under which religion leads to peace," Ecklund said. "We want to study the diversity of religious traditions both nationally and globally, and we don't want to leave our research in the ivory tower, and we want to make sure it gets more broadly into the hands of the people it can help and do good for."

Ecklund said the previous Boniuk Center focused heavily on outreach among youth in the Rice and Houston community. It held programs that took students to sacred sites around Houston, sponsored an essay contest and increased local art installations. 

"This extraordinary endowment will allow us to take this institute and really expand the activities, focusing on community engagement and cutting-edge research around the issue of religious tolerance as well as community involvement through potential courses that can be used nationally on related topics," Ecklund said.

On Nov. 4, the Boniuk Institute is sponsoring Scott Appleby, the John M. Regan Jr. Director of Notre Dame University's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, to speak at major lectures at Rice, Ecklund said. Appleby is regarded as the world's foremost scholar in peace studies, Ecklund said. The institute aims to sponsor similar engagement activities each semester. 

Baker College senior Parker Eudy said he is excited for the institute.

"I hope to see a greater presence of the Boniuk Center on campus," Eudy said. "With the dramatic increase in funding, the center will be able to significantly increase its impact on improving religious literacy and promoting tolerance of different faiths. I hope the center provides more venues and opportunities for undergraduates such as myself to become involved, whether it be through dialogue, research, lectures or community service."

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