Luther College professor Guy Nave wins racial equity and interfaith cooperation award

Luther College Professor of Religion Guy Nave has won an award from the nonprofit organization Interfaith Youth Core.

The Racial Equity and Interfaith Cooperation Award was given to Nave from a pool that included hundreds of applicants.

As part of this award, Nave will receive grant funding for course development for his new Religion 485 course, "Toward an Interfaith Liberation Theology," which will be offered in the spring of 2021. The course will investigate the relationship between interfaith studies and liberation theology, specifically liberation from racial oppression.

The innovative and cooperative curriculum "will force students and the college to explicitly reflect upon the role and function of 'faith' in the pursuit of equity and justice, when equity and justice often seem elusive and unattainable," said Nave. "In response to the resurgence of racial inequity in America and the long history of societal pain, injustice, and inequity related to racism, hope is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine and/or sustain. This course will help to rekindle a sense of hope in the face of actions that often discourage hope."

IFYC will offer Nave virtual networking opportunities with other faculty award winners dedicated to developing similar curriculum. Nave's stipend will also support his use of the IFYC Interfaith Leadership Video Series, designed to help campuses creatively respond to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis with diverse interfaith remote learning possibilities.