Global Speaker Series 

Religious Nationalism: A Threat to Democracy?

Join our Zoom program: Wednesday October 9 at 7:00 PM EST

Religion and national governments have a long history. One of the attractions to immigrants in the early years of America and eventually the United States was that religious freedom was a founding value. Despite some setbacks in the early colonial years, the US founding fathers enshrined this value in the first amendment and the establishment clause of the constitution.

We now see challenges to the separation of church and state in the statements of many American politicians. This phenomenon is not limited to the United States, however.

In other countries, such as Iran, government and religious doctrine are inextricably linked. Others, such as India and Turkey, have recently experienced a shift toward religious control of government policy.

What forces are driving this Religious Nationalism movement?

Do these shifts represent majority views in the respective countries or are powerful minorities pushing this agenda?

These and other questions will be addressed by our expert panel.

Panelists:

Sheila Suess Kennedy is Emerita Professor of Law and Public Policy at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Until her retirement, she was a Faculty Fellow with both the Center for Religion and American Culture and the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence, an adjunct professor of political science, and founder of the Center for Civic Literacy at IUPUI.

Kennedy has published numerous book chapters and articles in scholarly journals and law reviews, including Free Expression in America: A Documentary History (Greenwood Publishing), God and Country: America in Red and Blue (Baylor University Press) and Talking Politics: What You Need to Know Before You Open Your Mouth (Georgetown University Press).

In addition to her popular daily blog, Kennedy has been a columnist for the Indianapolis Star, Inequality.org, The Indiana Word, and the Indianapolis Business Journal.

 

Rev Beau Underwood is senior minister of Allisonville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indianapolis since January 2023.

In addition to congregational ministry, he has past experience working in social justice advocacy, hospital chaplaincy, and religious media. 

He is a proud alum of Eureka College (BA) and the University of Chicago (M. Div & MPP). Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in public affairs at the University of Missouri - Columbia. 

He is the coauthor of Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism, which is published by Chalice Press. His writing has appeared in The Christian Century, Sojourners, Word &Way, Religion Unplugged, Religion News Service, and    Religion & Politics. 

Moderator:

Donald E. (Don) Knebel earned a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue and a law degree from Harvard.

Don retired from Barnes & Thornburg LLP at the end of 2013 after 39 years as an intellectual property litigator.

Since 2011, he has been an Adjunct Professor and Senior Advisor at the Center for Intellectual Property Research at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, teaching antitrust law and patent litigation. He was recently recognized as the 2024 Adjunct Professor of the Year.

Knebel is deeply committed to community service and has served on numerous board and advisory committees throughout the city and state and has received several recognitions for his service.

Don has traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, seeking a better understanding of the world’s religions and cultures. Don is a frequent speaker on religious and political history, comparative religion, politics and the First Amendment. 

In 2015, he was named “Interfaith Ambassador of the Year” by the Center for Interfaith Cooperation, an organization he helped found in 2012 to develop a better understanding among people of different religious beliefs.

INFO / ORDER: Books | ICWA (indianaworld.org)

The Indiana Council on World Affairs invites you to join the dialogue about current world affairs based on reasoned information, researched and written by experts on foreign policy.

To inform and support America's largest discussion program on world affairs, the Foreign Policy Association publishes and has announced the topics for its Great Decisions 2025 Briefing Book.

The Indiana Council on World Affairs, FPA's State Coordinator for books and educational materials, offers prepublication discounts.

In Indiana, groups around the state organize Great Decisions groups to present lectures and facilitate discussion among those who want to learn about and understand the complex matters of world conditions. They are held in schools, libraries, churches, community centers, retirement communities, homes, as well as virtually.

Great Decisions 2025 Topics:

The Foreign Policy Association (FPA) Great Decisions 2025 Briefing Book topics form the basis for lectures and group discussions around the country. For 2025, the topics include:

Topic 1: American Foreign Policy at the Crossroads

Topic 2: U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy 

Topic 3: U.S. - China Relations

Topic 4: International Cooperation on Climate Change

Topic 5: The Future of NATO and European Security

Topic 6: AI and American National Security

Topic 7: India: Between China, the West, and the Global South

Topic 8: After Gaza: American Policy in the Middle East

Prepublication rates until 11/01/24: Books | ICWA (indianaworld.org)

When you order your Great Decisions Briefing Book from the Indiana Council on World Affairs, you are helping support world affairs education in Indiana. The book will be mailed to your home or business. Plus, you'll receive notices for ICWA Great Decisions 2025 Series!

FREE! The Indiana Council on World Affairs Global Citizen Membership level ($150) includes one Great Decisions 2025 Briefing Book. An individual membership is $50.00. Join today!

MEMBERSHIP: Join / Donate | ICWA (indianaworld.org)

For more information: info@IndianaWorld.org or 317-704-4689.

MORE: www.IndianaWorld.org

09-20-24 JIH

 Info/Photos/Registration: Academic WorldQuest | ICWA (indianaworld.org)

Academic WorldQuest 2025 in on!

Teachers' early registrations give students a boost for scoring well.

For students who want to be engaged on a global level, the Academic WorldQuest is a resume and career building. It's an engaging way to learn about serious world conditions.

The Indiana Council on World Affairs commitment for Youth Education: The Indiana Council on World Affairs continues its commitment to youth education. Each year since 2003 (23 years) the World Affairs Councils of America, and since 2005 (21 years) the Indiana Council on World Affairs have offered the study program and competition. More than 40 local world affairs councils across the nation engage more than 3,000 high school students to compete for the chance to win a trip to Washington, DC for the national competition.

Competition Topics: This year, the topics (10) have been announced and the Official Study Guide is scheduled for release mid-September. It will be posted on the World Affairs Councils of America and the Indiana Council on World Affairs web sites.

Eligibility to Participate: All high schools in Indiana, grades 9-12, are eligible to participate in Academic WorldQuest free-of-charge, including registration, study guide, competition, and lunch. Schools may register as many teams of four students as there are students who are interested. (*All schools including public, charter, private, home school, are eligible and subject to confirmation per ICWA & WACA.)

Competition Format: The quick-paced, quiz-style competition consists of multiple-choice questions (70-100) on ten (10) topics. The optimum experience is the in-person Indiana competition scheduled for the University of Indianapolis. For schools unable to participate in-person, arrangements will be made for a virtual option, if possible.

Study Content: Students prepare by using the FREE Official Study Guide, an on-line easily accessed document. It facilitates independent, self-guided study, and covers global politics, geography, international economics, history, world cultures, and current world events. The competition questions are derived from the content in the Official Study Guide, except for the topic "Current Events" which is designed to test knowledge of recent and wider developments across the world. Reading newspaper and journal articles, and watching on-line news and videos, all contribute to preparing for the competition.

Students will be learning about this year's topics:

1. The USA and Foreign Languages 
2. Space and National Security 
3. Gender, Peace and Security
4. Music and Globalization
5. Indigenous Peace Building
6. Critical Minerals in Africa
7. Borders and Boundaries
8. Focus Country - Mexico
9. Great Decisions 2025 (GD) Selected Topics (2) - The Future of NATO and European Security, and AI and American National Security
10. Current Events

Great Decisions: The Great Decisions 2025 Briefing Book is suggested reading, but is not required, for the Indiana or National competitions. For teachers and community leaders who include the Great Decisions Briefing Book, DVD, and Teacher's Guide PDF in their curriculum, educational discounts are offered by the Indiana Council on World Affairs.

Teacher Leadership: Teachers recruit and organize teams of four students, offer guidance, and provide access to the FREE on-line Study Guide. Some teachers facilitate on-going in-person workshops to engage the students in face-to-face dialogue about these significant world conditions.  Also, teachers use the study materials for international relations classes.

Registration is Now Open: When a teacher registers for the 2025 competition, the Indiana Council on World Affairs sends on-going, up-dated information. 

Equipment: For the competition, each team of four students must be equipped with a laptop PC or tablet for viewing the questions, answering the multiple-choice questions, and viewing the Q&A in Quizziz. Also, the questions and Q&A will be displayed on multiple, large screens. Similarly, schools participating virtually are encouraged to project the questions onto larger screens. For scoring, each team will be provided an access code to the gaming software. The team code is structured, as follows: city1, city2, city3, etc. To avoid delay of the competition, this code must be entered exactly the same way before each of the 10 rounds.

Schedule on Competition Day: Indiana's Academic WorldQuest competition is scheduled for a Saturday, February 22, 2025, 11:00 - 1:30 PM, with pre- and post-events.  Check-in time is 10:00 AM, the program will end at 2:30 pm, and the doors will close by 3:30 pm. ● Doors and Zoom Opens 10:00 AM - Check-in, including setting up laptops and internet connectivity.  Video, with audio, playing on the multiple monitors. ● Welcome and Review of Competition Guidelines 10:30 AM - Continue audio, internet connectivity set-up. ● Competition 11-1:30 PM.  Time may be extended to cover all 10 categories. ● Zoom Close - 3:00 PM ● Doors Close - 3:30 PM.

Awards and Recognition: ● Cash awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams' schools' global studies. In 2024, the cash awards were $1,000, $500, and $250. ● All Students: FREE Membership in the ICWA for the 2024-2025 program season. ● Upon registration for AWQ, teachers will be added to email notices for the ICWA Global Speakers 2024-2025 Series and the ICWA Great Decisions 2025 Series. ● Announcement of teacher training programs offered by the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA), the Foreign Policy Association, Indiana University, other educational institutions, and social studies organizations (some offer free tuition, stipends, and travel stipends).      

National Competition:  The winning team of the Indiana AWQ competition is awarded a trip to the World Affairs Councils of America AWQ national competition on April 28th and 29th, 2025 at the United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC located at the edge of the National Mall. Preliminary information for the schedule follows:  

Monday, April 28, 2025 - Welcome Reception in the afternoon                                            Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - Career Fair in the morning                                                                Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - Competition in the afternoon   

Sponsors and Friends: Indiana's Academic WorldQuest is administered and underwritten by the Indiana Council on World Affairs. The University of Indianapolis Department of History and Political Science, International Relations serves as host for the competition. Indiana University has emerged as a significant supporter for the competition, the luncheon, and the teacher travel to Washington, DC. The IU departments of note include the Center for the Study of Global Change (Global Center), the Hamilton Lugar School of Global International Studies and Area Studies Centers, the Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), and the Geography Educators' Network of Indiana (GENI).

From one of AWQ's sponsors, Indiana University's Director for the Study of Global Change, Elizabeth Konwest, remarks, "Students participating in Academic WorldQuest are preparing themselves to thrive in a globally connected world, including their future careers and social lives. We are proud to support these students, their schools, education leaders, and the Indiana Council on World Affairs for this exciting program."  

REGISTER SOON!
FREE event registration - Register NOW! Indiana Council on World Affairs - 2025 Academic WorldQuest - February, 2025. University of Indianapolis. Registration now open (wildapricot.org)

FREE Student Memberships - Register NOW! Indiana Council on World Affairs - Join/Renew (wildapricot.org)

JOIN ICWA! One of the best ways to support Indiana's Academic WorldQuest is to join the Indiana Council on World Affairs. Member dues and meeting fees help finance the AWQ competition and the winning team's trip to Washington, DC for the national competition. Join | ICWA (indianaworld.org) Note: ICWA Student memberships are FREE.

For more information about AWQ: www.IndianaWorld.org / Contact ICWA at: info@IndianaWorld.org or VM 317-704-4689.

SPONSORS ENCOURAGE WORLD AFFAIRS STUDIES

SPONSORS - Thank you!

An array of sponsors, partners and friends make Indiana's Academci WorldQuest possible. The Indiana Council for the Social Studies, the Geography Educators' Network of Indiana, and the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association enrich the event.

With long-term sponsor University of Indianapolis, History and Political Science Department, Professors Doug Woodwell, International Relations, and Brian Platt, Geography - History, serve as Quizmasters for the competition.

The Indiana Council on World Affairs administers the program and finances the winning team's students' travel to Washington, DC for the national Competiton.

For the 2024 competition, support from Indiana University Global, International Business, and Area Studies Centers makes possible the winning team's teacher's travel to Washington, DC for the national competition, certain event expenses, and cash awards to the winning schools.  (Note 1. For the 2024 competition the awards to the schools were in the amounts of $1,000, $500, and $250. Note 2: Indiana University's Area Study Centers, formerly known as the National Resource Centers, are within the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies,) 

For the 2024 competition, the Geography Educators' Network of Indiana hosted the luncheon provided free-of-charge for the teachers and students.

Academic Sponsors:  Teachers are encouraged to consider joining the following organizations which sponsor the ICWA Academic WorldQuest and provide opportunities for professional development: Indiana Council for the Social Studies  www.indianasocialstudies.com; Indianapolis Sister Cities Teacher and Student Outreach Committee www.Indytasoc.org ; Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA) IFLTA  www.iflta.org; and American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese https://www.aatspindiana.org; and Geography Educators' Network of Indiana https://geni.iupui.edu/.

University Sponsors: Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School's National Resource Centers (HLS) https://hls.indiana.edu and https://global.indiana.edu; and University of Indianapolis, International Relations (UIndy) www.uindy.edu

Other Sponsors: International Center INTLCTR) www.internationalcenter.org; Indiana Sister Cities International https://www.indianasistercities.org and (20+) Indiana Sister Cities | Facebook. 

National Sponsors: World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) worldaffairscouncils.org; Foreign Policy Association (FPA) https://www.fpa.org; United States Institute of Peace (USIP) https://www.usip.org

© Indiana Council on World Affairs. 09-23-24 

INFORMATION & UPDATES:                                                                          

Up-dates:  Academic WorldQuest | ICWA (indianaworld.org)                                                  Contact: 317-704-4689 (VM) or Info@IndianaWorld.org (AWQ)

www.IndianaWorld.org 

PHOTOS: