Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society

Eugene M. Burke was born in Los Angeles in 1911 and was ordained a Paulist priest in 1938. He earned his doctorate from the Catholic University of America in 1941 and served a distinguished 35-year career as a member of its faculty, the faculty of Trinity College, and as visiting faculty at Columbia and Princeton. He was known for promoting quality teaching, teaching as a profession and teaching programs for the laity. He was appointed to the Catholic Commission for Intellectual and Theological Development in 1947.

Father Burke organized what is now known as the College Theology Society and the U.S. Catholic Theological Society, serving a first president of both. He was Associate Editor of the American Ecclesiastic Review for eleven years. The recipient of many honorary degrees and tributes, he was awarded both the Cardinal Spellman Medal and the equally prestigious Gibbons Medal for his distinguished work in theology.

Ecumenism became a focus for him in the 1950s and he participated in the National Catholic Bishops Committee on Ecumenical Affairs which led to the Presbyterian-Catholic Dialog in 1970. All seminaries in the Washington, D. C. area were ecumenically united in 1970 when Father Burke founded the Washington Theological Consortium and served as its first president.

At UCSD Father Burke initiated a series of dialogs between the Catholic and Lutheran communities which resulted in a formal, covenanted Catholic-Lutheran community. Early on, he was interested in women's rights and human rights and worked as the American Bishops' advisor to the UN Human Rights Commission, helping to draft the UN's Declaration of Human Rights.

Gene Burke was a warm, compassionate man, invariably open and approachable, and deeply interested in each individual. Those who sought him out came away refreshed, enriched and full of hope. He was a gifted teacher, a teacher's teacher, and his legacy continues in the minds and spirits of the countless teachers, scholars, theologians, historians and others who were his students.

2010 – present 

The Bishop and the Imam - "A Conversation on Immigration"
Bishop Robert W. McElroy and Imam Taha Hassane                                                                                                     
November 18, 2019
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Jose Cabezon - "What is a Woman? What is a Man? Exploring the Buddhist Sources"
Dalai Lama Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
February 7, 2019
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Lauria Zoloth - "May We Make the World?: Religious and Ethical Questions - Gene Drives Malaria and the Duties of History"
Senior Advisor of the Provost, Programs in Social Ethics, University of Chicago
November 15, 2018
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Rev. Traci Blackmon - "Building Beloved Community: ReConnecting Church & Community"
Executive Minister of Justice & Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO.
April 26, 2018
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Father Gregory Boyle - "Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship"
Founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the Largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.
November 9, 2017 
Watch on UCSD TV
 
David Murphy - "Making room for the Stranger: Refugee Realities at Home and Abroad"
Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) San Diego
April 18, 2017
Watch on UCSD TV

Mary Evelyn Tucker - "Journey of the Universe: A Story of Our Times"
Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar, Yale University
October 20, 2016
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Veerabhadran "Ram" Ramanathan - In Pursuit of the Common Good: A New Alliance between Science, Religion and Policy
Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences and Director of the Center for Atmospheric Science at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
February 24, 2016
Watch on UCSD TV
 
J. Kameron Carter - Post-Racial Blues:Religion and the 21st Century Color Line
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School.
October 29, 2015
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Mehmet Yavuz - Zones of Islam: An Interpretative Framework, from Extremism to Turkey's Gulen Movement
Professor of Political Science, University of Utah
April 23, 2015
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Richard Gaillardetz - Vatican II: An Unfinished Building Site
the Joseph Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College
November 20, 2014
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Peter Brown - Constantine, Eusebius, and the Future of Christianity
Rollins Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton and author of influential books on late antiquity
April 24, 2014
 
Richard Cizik - An Evangelical Rebel in the Ranks: Saving the Planet, Ecumenism, and Political Dissent
President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
November 18, 2013
 
James Kugel - From Text to Interpretation: How the Bible Came to Mean Some of the Strange Things it Means
Director of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University
May 2, 2013
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Ursula King - The Evolution of Religion, Society and Consciousness: Reflections inspired by Teilhard de Chardin
Professor Emerita and senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol
November 13, 2012
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Tariq Ramadan - Interpreting Islam in Modern Context
Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies
April 16, 2012
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Peter C. Phan - "World Christianity": Its Implications for History, Religious Studies, and Theology
Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University
October 13, 2011
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Francisco J. Ayala - Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion
Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Professor of Philosophy, (School of Humanities), and Professor of Logic and the Philosophy of Science at UC Irvine
April 7, 2011
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Amira Hass - The Israeli Policy of Separate Development
Author and Columnist for Ha'aretz
November 15, 2010
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Elizabeth A. Johnson - An Ecological Inquiry - Jesus and the Cosmos
Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham University
May 13, 2010
Watch on UCSD TV

Dwight Hopkins - China Rising: Religious and Ethical Core Values in the 21st Century
Professor of Theology at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago
January 21, 2010
 

2000 – 2009

Scott Appleby - What Can Muslims and Catholics Teach Each Other?
Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and the John M. Regan Jr. Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
October 22, 2009
 
Ronald C. White - Abraham Lincoln's Journey of Faith
Professor Emeritus of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminiary, Visiting Professor of History at UCLA and Fellow of the Huntington Library
April 30, 2009
Watch on UCSD TV
 
David Tracy - "Masks of Self: Theological and Tragic"
Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies and Professor of Theology and the Philosophy of Religion in the Divinity School; University of Chicago
February 2009
 
Khaled Abou El Fadl - "Islamic Law and the Challenge of Islamophobia"
Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Professor of Law at UCLA Law School, UCLA
May 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Lewis R. Lancaster - "Buddhism in a Global Age of Technology"
Professor Emeritus, East Asian Languages and Cultures
Former D.H. Chen Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies, UC Berkeley
April 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Rosemary Radford Ruether - "American Empire and the War Against Evil"
Carpenter Professor of Feminist Theology Emerita
Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union
February 2008
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza - "The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire"
Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity, Harvard University
February 2007
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Rabbi Michael Lerner - "Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right: The Politics and Theology of Spiritual Progressives"
Editor, Tikkun Magazine, and Author
November 2006
Watch on UCSD TV
 
John Haught - "Evolution and Divine Providence: Are they Really Compatible"
Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Georgetown University
February 2006
 
Diana Eck - "Pluralism and the Ethics of Dialogue"
Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and Director of Pluralism Project, Harvard University
October 2005
 
Wendy Doniger - "You Can't Get Here from There: The Logical Paradox of Creation Myths"
Mircea Eliade Professor of Religion at the University of Chicago
February 2005
Watch on UCSD TV
 
John Shelby Spong - "The Terrible Texts of the Bible"
Bishop Emeritus of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark
November 2004
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Stanley Martin Hauerwas - "Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Truth and Politics"
Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Divinity School of Duke University
February 2004
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki - "Looking Beyond the Mirror: The Intracultural Dialogue between Religion and Film"
Claremont School of Theology, Director of the Whitehead International Film Festival
November 2003
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Athol Fugard - "A Catholic Antigone: Hildegard of Bingen"
South African Playwright, Actor and Director
February 2003
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Sohail Humayun Hashmi - "September 11 and the Tradition of Jihad"
Alumnae Foundation Associate Professor and Chair of the International Relations Program at Mount Holyoke College
January 2003
 
Ronald Cole-Turner - "The Genetic Revolution and Designer Babies: Moral and Religious Implications"
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
November 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Samuel Ruiz Garcia - "The Pursuit of Justice from the Perspective of the Poor"
Retired Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
October 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Margaret Miles - "Short Beds and Narrow Sheets: Religion and the Common Good"
Dillenberger Professor of Historical Theology, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
April 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Abdul Raheem Yaseer - "Afghanistan, Islam, and Recent Events: An Afghan Muslim Educator's Perspective"
Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska
January 2002
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Marcus Borg - "Religious Pluralism: Seeing Religion Again"
Hundere Professor of Religion and Culture, Oregon State University
January 2002
 
David Noel Freedman - "Religious Pluralism: Seeing Religion Again"
Professor of History and Endowed Chairin Hebrew Biblical Studies, UC San Diego
October 2001
 
John P. Meier - "Jesus the Jew: But What Sort of Jew?"
Author of A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Professor, Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame
October 2001
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Amy-Jill Levine - "Reassessing Jewish-Christian Relations: Scripture, Polemic, and Salvation"
Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
April 2001
Watch on UCSD TV
 
John T. Noonan - "The Dog and The Fish: Lord John Acton and John Cardinal Newman"
Author and Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
November 2000
 
Thomas J. Reese, SJ - "The Politics of Papal Elections: How Will The Next Pope Be Selected?"
Editor in chief of AMERICA, a Jesuit weekly magazine
Spring 2000
 

1990 – 1999

Avery Cardinal Dulles - "Christ, The Church and Social Order"
McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University
Fall 1999
 
James Carroll - "The Cross at Auschwitz"
Writer, winner of the National Book Award for An American Requiem
Winter 1999
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Joan Chittister, OSB - "Ecology, Theology and Feminism: In Conjunction or in Conflict"
Benedictine author and lecturer
Spring 1998
 
Robert Bellah - "Max Weber and World-denying Love: A Look at the Sociology of Religion"
University of California, Berkeley
Fall 1997
 
Tu Wei-ming - "Confucian Spirituality: The Idea of Immanent Transcendence"
Confucian Humanist and Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy at Harvard University
Spring 1997
Watch on UCSD TV
 
Alice B. Hayes - "The Growth of a Leaf and a Life"
President, University of San Diego
Fall 1996
 
Elliot N. Dorf - "Balancing Self Defense with the Need for Peace"
Rector, University of Judaism Los Angeles
May 18, 1995
 
Thomas Stransky, CSP - "The Crisis of Religion in the Holy Land"
Director, Tantur Institute for Ecumenical Research Jerusalem
April 27, 1995
 
Seyyed Hossein Nasr - "Islam and the Dialogue Between the Abrahamic Faiths"
University Professor of Islamic Studies George Washington University
May 4, 1995
 
Michael Himes - "A Theological Foundation for an Environmental Ethic"
Professor of Theology, Boston College
February 17, 1994
 
Richard Louv - "Children at Risk: Voice of Hope"
Jounalist
A Symposium co-chaired by Teresa and Neil Coopes
October 23, 1993
 
Ines M. Talamantez - "Apache Female Initiation: The Practice of a Native American Religious Tradition"
Associate Professor of Theology, UC Santa Barbara
April 22, 1993
 
Richard A. McCormick, SJ - "Bioethics: What to Look For in the 90s"
Professor of Christian Ethics, University of Notre Dame
April 30, 1992
 
Gertrud Mueller-Nelson - "The Healing Journey of the Feminine"
Author, Lecturer
February 20, 1992
 
Daniel J. Sullivan - "Putting God on Stage: From Aeschylus to Woody Allen"
Journalist and Theater Critic
April 25, 1991
 
Hans Küng - "No Peace Among Nations Without Peace Among the Religions"
Director, Tubingen, Institute of Ecumenical Research Tubingen, Germany
March 15, 1991
 
Martin E. Marty - "The Fundamentalist Across the Globe, Down the Block or In the Heart"
Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor University of Chicago
October 29, 1990
 
Elizabeth A. Johnson - "Women in the Image of God, God in the Image of Women"
Professor of Theology, Catholic University of America
May 2, 1990
 
Ted Peters - "Discerning the Spirit of the New Age"
Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, UC Berkeley
February 15, 1990
 

1985 – 1989 

James Cone - "Martin and Malcolm: A Dream or a Nightmare"
Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology Union Theological Seminary
October 19, 1989
 
Elie Weisel - "A World at Peace" cosponsored
Mellon Professor of Humanities, 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate, Boston University
February 21, 1989
 
Charles Curran - "Economic Justice for All"
Visiting Brooks Professor of Theology, University of Southern California
October 13, 1988
 
Daniel Berrigan, SJ - "Disarming the Heart, Disarming the World"
Poet, Peace and Justice Advocate
October 20, 1988
 
Karen Lebacqz - "Jubilee Justice"
Professor of Christian Ethics, Pacific School of Religion, UC Berkeley
October 6, 1988
 
Raymond E. Brown - "The Star, the Magi and the Wicked Herod: Matthew's Gospel Story of Jesus' Birth"
Auburn Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies, Union Theological Seminary, New York
November 23, 1987
 
Abigail McCarthy - "From the 30s to the 80s: The Education of a Twentieth Century Woman"
Author, Journalist
April 29, 1987
 
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin - "The Church in the Third Millennium: Age Old Values and New Challenges"
Archbishop, Diocese of Chicago
October 28, 1986
 
Robert McAfee Brown - "Religion and the Role of Dissent"
Professor Emeritus, Pacific School of Religion
May 1, 1986
 
J. Robert Nelson - "Human Life as a Criterion of Science"
Director, Institute of Religion Texas Medical Center
November 7, 1985
 
Theodore Hesburgh - "The Nuclear Threat to Humanity"
President, University of Notre Dame
April 3, 1985