All Upcoming Events
A list of all upcoming Jay Phillips Center events is available via TommieLink.
All Upcoming Events
Fostering understanding, cooperation and friendship
Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies
About the Jay Phillips Center
The Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of interreligious relations and understanding. The center collaborates with the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota to promote the public understanding of interreligious relations through dialogue, encounter, and civic engagement.
"The field of Interreligious Studies (IRS) entails critical analysis of the dynamic encounters – historical and contemporary, intentional and unintentional, embodied and imagined, congenial and conflictual – of individuals and communities who orient around religion differently. It investigates the complex of personal, interpersonal, institutional, and societal implications"
—Rachel Mikva
Featured Public Events
Additional Programming
Programming Archive
An archive of Jay Phillips Center programming dating back to 2011 is available via Research Online.
Archived Events
Programs and Resources
Engagement
The Jay Phillips Center engages campus and community in many ways.
Public Events
We serve the campus community and the public by hosting events that promote the public understanding of religion and interreligious relations.
Conferences and Symposia
We host conferences and symposia organized around timely questions, relevant events, and innovative ideas in the area of interreligious studies and religious diversity.
Bridge Building
The Jay Phillips Center promotes community relations by bringing together people of different religious, spiritual, and secular identities to learn from and understand each other.
Seminars and Lecture Series
Our seminars and lecture series invite scholars, leaders, practitioners, and community members together for scholarly and practical conversation around important topics and issues in the multidisciplinary field of (inter)religious studies and beyond.
Faculty Fellows Program
Faculty Fellows at the Jay Phillips Center leverage their scholarly expertise to guide programmatic and collaborative initiatives to advance understanding within and beyond their disciplines related to the study of religion and interreligious relations.
Faculty Fellows
Community Engagement
The center sponsors programs and conversations designed to foster mutual learning between academics and practitioners to ensure that both groups benefit as they learn with and from each other in service of common goods across public, social, and personal dimensions in local communities and beyond.
Jan Phillips Database
The Jay Phillips Center hosts the Jan Phillips Database, a freely accessible tool for research in interreligious studies, human rights and prejudice, and human agency and behavioral norms for students and scholars.
Engagement
The Jay Phillips Center engages campus and community in many ways.
Public Events
We serve the campus community and the public by hosting events that promote the public understanding of religion and interreligious relations.
Conferences and Symposia
We host conferences and symposia organized around timely questions, relevant events, and innovative ideas in the area of interreligious studies and religious diversity.
Bridge Building
The Jay Phillips Center promotes community relations by bringing together people of different religious, spiritual, and secular identities to learn from and understand each other.
Seminars and Lecture Series
Our seminars and lecture series invite scholars, leaders, practitioners, and community members together for scholarly and practical conversation around important topics and issues in the multidisciplinary field of (inter)religious studies and beyond.
Faculty Fellows Program
Faculty Fellows at the Jay Phillips Center leverage their scholarly expertise to guide programmatic and collaborative initiatives to advance understanding within and beyond their disciplines related to the study of religion and interreligious relations.
Faculty Fellows
Community Engagement
The center sponsors programs and conversations designed to foster mutual learning between academics and practitioners to ensure that both groups benefit as they learn with and from each other in service of common goods across public, social, and personal dimensions in local communities and beyond.
Jan Phillips Database
The Jay Phillips Center hosts the Jan Phillips Database, a freely accessible tool for research in interreligious studies, human rights and prejudice, and human agency and behavioral norms for students and scholars.
Student Interreligious Research & Interfaith Leadership Programs
The Jay Phillips Center offers two robust programs for students to study interreligious relations and engage with religious diversity while building their skillset to lead in a world growing in religious diversity.
Contact Hans Gustafson for more information.
Right image: Dominique Stewart ’21, Interreligious Research Fellow (2019-2020, 2020-2021), Interreligious Cohort Leader (2019-2020)
Jay Phillips Center News
From Frozen Lakes to Frosty Fjords: Dialogue, Religious Diversity, and Leadership in Minnesota and Norway
Hans Gustafson | 14 FEB 2025 This past January, 17 undergraduate students from the University of St. Thomas embarked on a transformative 4-credit study abroad experience exploring dialogue, diversity, and leadership across Minnesota and Norway. Led by Dr. Hans Gustafson and Dr. Ryan Dulkin in partnership with DialogPilotene, this immersive course challenged students to step beyond echo chambers and engage in complex conversations on religion, antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, secularism, extremism, and pluralism. The course began in Minnesota at the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas, where students developed a foundation in religious literacy, secularism, and interreligious engagement before traveling abroad. Each day focused on a major religious tradition or concept, starting with an introduction to the course and case studies. They also reflected on Janteloven and “Minnesota Nice,” two unwritten societal codes that shape cultural expectations of humility, politeness, and belonging in Norway and Minnesota. The week concluded with a visit to the Norway House in Minneapolis, where students considered the historical and cultural ties between Norway and Minnesota, preparing them for the transition abroad. At the heart of this experience was DialogPilotene, an organization at the forefront of promoting dialogue, preventing alienation, and […]
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Fall 2024 Public Events, News, and Opportunities
Fall 2024 Upcoming Public Events, News, and Opportunities Public Events (scroll down the email for details on each event) Sept 12: Co-Pilgrims on the Journey to Truth: Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue Sept 24: Peacemaking, Grieving, and Storytelling with Colum McCann Sept 26: The Way of Abraham Joshua Heschel and His Legacy for Jewish-Christian Relations Nov 13: Jewish Identity, Genetics, and Indigeneity: Remapping Jewish Histories and Futures April 6-12: 2025 Culture of Encounter Ideas Festival News & Opportunities (scroll down the email for details on each item) Marianne Moyaert joins the JPC as scholar-in-residence from KU Leuven Introducing the inaugural JPC Faculty Fellows Project funded by grant from Interfaith America Undergraduate Opportunity: Study religious diversity and dialogue in Norway Undergraduate Opportunity: complete the Engaging Religious Diversity Certificate Program as an Interfaith Fellow Launch of new Holocaust and Genocide Studies Minor at St. Thomas Upcoming Public Events Co-Pilgrims on the Journey to Truth: Hinduism and Christianity in Dialogue A Conversation between Fr. Yann Vagneux, Th.D. and Anantanand Rambachan, Ph.D. Thursday, Sep 12, 2024, 12:00 pm – 1:10 pm Iverson Center for Faith, Schoenecker Multipurpose Room (LL16) University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus (click here for map) | Visitor Parking Information free and […]
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The Jay Phillips Center’s 2023-2024 Year in Review
The Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of interreligious relations, promoting public understanding through dialogue, encounter, and civic engagement, while critically analyzing the dynamic encounters of individuals and communities with different religious orientations, as well as their personal, interpersonal, institutional, and societal implications. Executive Summary The Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies (JPC) had a successful year of public programming, highlighted by Rabbi Dr. Ryan Dulkin’s October 2023 presentation on misconceptions about Judaism and the “Echoes of the Divine” concerts, which promoted learning and engagement through music. In March, Busshō Lahn led a session on Zen Buddhist insights for mental health and wellness, and Dr. Rabbi Rachel Mikva and Professor Najeeba Syeed discussed Multifaith Leadership. Read more below under Public Programming. The Interfaith Fellows Program continues to thrive in its third year, offering students invaluable experiences through interactions with guest speakers and real-world internships. A standout event was the Multifaith Workshop held at St. Olaf College, designed and led in part by the Interfaith Fellows. Read more below under Empowering Future Leaders. In 2024, the JPC co-sponsored a book club and a focused session examining the Israel-Palestine narrative, […]
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Interreligious Studies Center Director Publishes Book
OCTOBER 19, 2023 | By Elain Kolaru ’24 M.S.L. Newsroom Dr. Hans Gustafson, director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies at the University of St. Thomas and an adjunct professor in the Department of Theology, recently published the book Everyday Wisdom: Interreligious Studies in a Pluralistic World. Read full article …
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Statement from the Jay Phillips Centers at the University of St. Thomas and Saint John’s University on the Violence in Israel and Gaza
The Jay Phillips Centers at the University of St. Thomas and Saint John’s University affirm our solidarity with all those who in any way have been affected by the recent genocidal attack by Hamas terrorists on people in Israel — especially those who have loved ones who were killed, wounded or taken as hostages — and also with innocent civilians in Gaza and elsewhere who have been directly and indirectly affected by the Israeli government and military response to the Hamas attack. Along with millions of people in Israel and worldwide, we grieve the suffering and death on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We hope and pray that the Israelis and Palestinians who yearn for peace will be able to bring about a just solution to this conflict and thereby increase the collaboration and friendship that many of them have already fostered between their communities. Acknowledging that brief statements like this inevitably fall short of the reality about which they speak, both because of what they say and what they leave out, we recognize that they remain important for fostering awareness and advocating for peaceful solutions. In times such as these, the inadequacy of silence compels us to amplify diverse voices that […]
Affiliations
The Jay Phillips Center is affiliated with the following external organizations to foster local, regional, and (inter)national engagement in the areas of interreligious studies and relations.
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Our Staff
Dr. Hans Gustafson
Director
Dr. Gustafson is the Director of the Jay Phillips Center and teaches courses in (inter)religious studies and theology.
Faculty Fellows Program
Faculty Fellows contribute to the guidance of programmatic and collaborative initiatives that foster intellectual understanding of interreligious relations and interfaith understanding
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about the Jay Phillips Center.
Tel: (651) 962-5780
Email: jpc@stthomas.edu
Mailing Address
Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies
University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave. MAIL 57P
St. Paul, MN 55105
Campus Location
Our address is 2057 Portland Avenue