If you’ve got controversial questions about religion, get ready to have them answered head-on.

UVic’s Interfaith Services has collaborated with other sectors of the university to sponsor panel discussions over the next three months on some of the toughest questions religions are faced with today.

The lecture series, titled “Tough Questions for Religions: A University of Victoria Forum,” will be held every Tuesday from Jan. 20 to March 17, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Three expert panelists will take on heated questions each session, with topics ranging from whether or not religions are inherently violent, to how religions discriminate against women, to if religions are mutually exclusive or not.

“In our culture, there are labels placed on people who practice their faith,” said Henri Lock, a chaplain at UVic’s Interfaith services and one of the main organizers of the event. “We wanted to know if people in those traditions could answer for those tough questions. And we wanted to get the dialogue going.”

Lock, who teaches meditation practices at the chapel, said the objective of the series is for participants to start understanding the layers of diversity among religions, and for people to feel empowered to ask the unanswered questions that create misunderstandings.

In spring of 2008, an article in the Martlet that accused the Qur’an of inciting violence helped to spur the Tough Questions series by opening heated debates across the campus community.

Andrew Rippin, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and a professor of History at UVic, was involved in the initial discussions that occured about creating a seminar series after the Qur’an article appeared. Rippin will be moderating the panels, ensuring that the questions asked of the panelists are in the spirit of constructive dialogue, and that panelists are frank with their answers.

“It is often felt that religious people are not direct and forthcoming about the problems that religions have created in the world,” said Rippin. “But there’s also the feeling that there is a tendency not to ask difficult questions of religious people, whether that be out of a sense of being polite or through self-censorship.”

Rippin said that while the goal of the series is to start dialogue, he believes it’s just as much to prove that it is possible to have reasonable and considerate discussions on topics about religion without being antagonistic or avoiding the facts.

“The idea is not, in my opinion, to get people to change their minds about any given religion, but to show that religious people are intelligent and that they tangle with how to make sense of these sorts of difficult questions [themselves],” Rippin said.

Rippin believes that while some people might be opposed to the ideas they associate with certain religions, this will open an avenue for discussing difficult topics in a safe and informed environment — whether those topics cover polygamy in Bountiful, teaching “intelligent design,” or allowing same-sex marriage.

Karima Ramji, an Ishmaili Muslim and a member of the Victoria Multifaith Society, was invited to participate as a panelist on the topics of discrimination against women in religion.

“When left unexplored, these tough questions provide avenues for misinterpretation,” said Ramji, who is currently the International Co-ordinator for UVic’s Co-operative Education Program. “Religion does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, one needs to look at religion within the context in which it exists and is practiced.”

Ramji hopes that the workshop will be one way of promoting understanding and respect for religions and for people who hold differing views — whether religious or secular. 

“As students go through their academic careers and their professional careers, they are bound to come into contact with people who belong to one faith group or another,” Ramji said. “This workshop will go a long way toward promoting their understanding of this topic.”

A keynote session on Jan. 20 given by speaker Michael Ingham, an Anglican Bishop of New Westminster, will tackle the topic “When religion goes bad.”

In the days following the Tuesday panel sessions, Interfaith Services will be hosting follow-up events to allow for additional discussions on the topics.

Lock emphasizes that the seminars are not about “convincing” people that any religion is “right,” nor are they any sort of attempt to recruit members. But, he says, the Tough Questions series is especially important now, as “diversity is the order of the day.”

“The world is much more diverse and complex than one truth only,” Lock said. “Saying ‘I’m the only one who’s right’ is a non-starter. Look at nature and see the diversity there. If we can come to an understanding we can build a better community. There is wisdom to be shared all around.”

Sarah Stang, a second-year History major, has been involved with the event through UVic’s work-study program. Stang said that students are often averse to talking about religion, even in an environment like university, which should be open to promoting questions and thought. She believes the series will get people talking and finally generating their own important discussions.

“It’s our hope that the speakers will be able to rise to the questions,” Stang said. “All religions have a dark side, but hopefully [the panelists] can admit to the shortcomings and show the positives too. It’s going to be interesting. Religion affects everybody, even if they don’t know it.”

For lecture locations and more information on the panelists, visit uvic.ca/interfaith/toughquestions.