Event Update: CPJ Hosts Lecture on Faith and Diversity

On Tuesday October 28th, CPJ hosted a highly successful event that featured a lecture by Dr. Jonathan Chaplin at the Institute for Christian Studies (ICS) in Toronto. Jonathan, who is both a former CPJ board member and a former professor at the ICS, spoke on Faith in Diversity: Integrity and Solidarity in a Plural Society. He explored questions about how we can live out our faith in an increasingly diverse society and contribute to the common good.

Six staff from CPJ – Joe Gunn, Chandra Pasma, Karen Diepeveen, Suzanne Boileau, Michael Krakowiak and myself – drove down from Ottawa on Tuesday to facilitate the event and meet CPJ supporters in Toronto.

The evening was attended by about seventy people, who gathered for a wine and cheese reception before the speaker began and mingled again at a dessert social held afterwards. Many CPJ members were present, including Gerald Vandezande, a former National Affairs Director, and current CPJ Board members Fred Wind, Maria Pâez Victor and Maylanne Maybee.

Board member Maria Pâez Victor began the evening by giving the audience a warm welcome and introduced the speaker. CPJ executive director Joe Gunn also spoke words of welcome, expressing his delight at having Jonathan and so many CPJ supporters present.

During his lecture, Jonathan raised questions about the role of faith in the public sphere and offered some insight into how religious diversity can be included and respected in the political arena.

He cited cases such as the Bouchard-Taylor Commission in Quebec and the debate over Islamic sharia law in Ontario to illustrate some of the conflicts that can arise in an increasingly diverse society such as Canada. A question and answer period held after the lecture generated a very thought-provoking discussion on issues of faith, politics and diversity in Canada.

As I only began my internship with CPJ a few months ago, the event was a great way for me to meet many CPJ supporters and former staff members from the Toronto area. A year ago, CPJ moved its office from Toronto to Ottawa, and the lecture was a good opportunity for CPJ staff members (especially new ones) to connect with the CPJ community in Toronto.

We were all very pleased with the turnout for the evening, and the thoughtful discussions that took place demonstrated how relevant many people feel public justice issues such as pluralism are today.

Please take a moment and look on our website at the photos of the lecture, and feel free to post your own thoughts about diversity and pluralism in response to this week’s web feature. Thank you to all who were involved in making the event a success!