The Kenan Moral Purpose Award is given for the best undergraduate student essay on the role a liberal arts education plays in students’ exploration of the personal and social purposes by which to orient their future and the intellectual, emotional, and moral commitments that make for a full life. The award extends to include students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, thanks to a partnership with the Parr Center for Ethics. One winner from each school receives $1,000. This contest is open to all currently enrolled undergraduate students at either Duke or UNC.

Essays of between 500-800 words should address either or both of the following questions:

• In what ways have your core beliefs and larger aims been tested, transformed, or confirmed during your time in college?
• How have you had to defend or challenge prevailing ideas, social norms or institutions and what lessons have you learned from doing so?

The deadline for the 2013 competition is April 26, 2013.

Contact Rachel Revelle (rachel.revelle@duke.edu) for more information.

During Jose Casanova‘s visit for the Religions and Public program, the Duke Divinity newsletter Faith and Leadership  interviewed him about “Globalization and the Growing Church.”

The “Religion and Ethics” blog on the Australian Broadcasting website recently asked several experts to weigh on on the implications for the recent election of Pope Francis. KIE Senior Fellow Luke Bretherton respons to the idea of “a post-secular pope.”

Francis Cardinal George, OMI, the Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, was the first speaker of the new Religions and Public Life speaker series, “Paradoxical Politics: Religions, Poverty and Citizenship.” The six speakers chosen for the series are leading scholars and practitioners from the U.S. and abroad. This program is co-sponsored by KIE, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, and the Divinity School.

The Cardinal’s talk focused on Catholic social teaching in the age of economic globalization, and was delivered to a packed room in the Westbrook Building. He discussed the Church’s focus on strengthening communities and the ways in which global capitalism is creating increasingly stratified societies.

To watch the entire talk, visit the Religion and Public Life resources page, where all of the videos for the speaker series will be posted throughout the spring.

The next talk will be on Tuesday night. All remaining talks will be on Tuesdays, beginning at 5:30 pm in room 0014 of the Westbrook Building, next to Duke Chapel.

Jose Casanova | February 19
“Post-secularization, Globalization, and Poverty”

Ruth Marshall | February 26
“Pentecostalism, Poverty & Power”

Katherine Marshall | March 5
“Religion and Development”

Peter van der Veer | March 26
“The Spiritual, the Secular and the Poor in India and China”

Susan Holman | April 9
“Public Health, Poverty & Patristics”

Grants of up to $500 are available to all Duke students, faculty and staff for projects that support initiatives that promote ethical or moral reflection, deliberation, and dialogue at Duke and beyond. We welcome diverse perspectives and submissions from organizations and individuals in all areas of the University and the Medical Center. Campus Grant funding provides support for speakers, workshops, meetings, curriculum development, publications, organizational collaborations, and other activities. Travel grants for attending conferences or other individual activities will not be awarded.

For more information and to download the application, visit our Campus Grants site.