Welcome to the...
Wendland-Cook Program in
Religion and Justice
The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice is an interdisciplinary program located at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. We focus on issues of justice that arise at the intersection of religion, economics, and ecology. Founded in 2019 by Dr. Joerg Rieger and supported by a generous gift from Barbara Wendland, the mission of the program is to develop resources and opportunities for students, scholars, clergy, and activists to envision and create a more just and sustainable world for all.
Interventions
Interventions is a space for students, scholars, clergy, and activists to write and collaborate on practical and theological approaches to issues of economy, ecology, religion, and justice.
FEELING THE HEAT OF SOLIDARITY:
LABOR DAY REFLECTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS
August 2023
In our third annual Interventions installment for Labor Day, we continue drawing on assigned scriptures from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Christian tradition and expand the conversation across the Abrahamic faiths. The written reflections and video conversations that follow — featuring Wendland-Cook leadership and faith and community colleagues that are engaged in various aspects of economic justice ministry, labor and community organizing, and justice-seeking theological work — are offered with lay and ordained faith leaders and allied community partners in mind. We hope to share ideas, stories, and insights on how to preach, teach, and organize around the issues of labor and economic justice during and following the Labor Day holiday, and how these matters are inseparable other forms of oppression (racism, sexism, homophobia, the ecological crisis, etc.).
PITFALLS
June 2023
In this Interventions forum, the final of a series on ecology, we aim to critically examine prevailing narratives and ideologies surrounding these issues, highlighting potential pitfalls and offering alternative perspectives.
Our first piece, written by Chaia Heller, takes us back to the 1980s when she found herself at the crossroads of social and deep ecology. Frowning at the gates of Eco-la-la land, Chaia challenges the notion that a nature-based spirituality can single-handedly solve ecological crises.
In our second piece, Mary-Jane Rubenstein examines the fallacy of "for all mankind"-ism in the context of billionaires venturing into outer space. With a critical lens, she questions the philanthropic intentions of space-obsessed billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Finally, we end with a response from our Founding Director, Joerg Rieger in which he reflects on the entirety of the series.
Economic and Ecological Alternatives
March 2023
Though the level of intensity might differ between traditions or denominations, the Bible is still considered an essential element, if not the anchor, of Christian lifestyle and thinking. Hence, when Christians encounter the issue of poverty in the current context, more often than not, they peruse what the Bible might have a say on such a subject. The Bible, however, seems to have ambiguous attitudes toward poverty.
For that reason, this forum seeks to explore the tension between the Bible, the poverty issue, and class. Panelists will address questions like (but not limited to): What can the Bible contribute to addressing poverty? What should be done going forward concerning poverty? Is class analysis an appropriate hermeneutical and analytical tool to address poverty?
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Outward focus
Collaborations & Organizing
The struggle for economic and ecological justice exists within and outside the classroom. We bring people together in ways that challenge traditional models of theological education. By bringing social movements into the classroom, theology is transformed, reconstructed, and comes alive again. When theological education takes place in organizing circles and at the grassroots, everything changes. The Wendland-Cook program is driven by a sense of holistic justice: for us that means professors, students, activists, and communities working toward solidarity for the liberation of all.
Prospective Students & Community Scholars-Activists
Does What You Believe Make a Difference?
Discover a space where you can wrestle with matters of faith, spirituality, and justice, and engage with scholars and activists who are leading movements of sustainable change for people and the planet.
The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School provides fellowships and internships for masters students enrolled at VDS and for doctoral students in the Graduate Department of Religion and other graduate programs at Vanderbilt University.
We also consider project proposals for fellowships from non-student scholars and activists in the Nashville area engaged in the work of economic and ecological justice who have unique insights and opportunities for intersectional engagement.
Our Most Popular Posts
Are you curious to find out why the work of Wendland-Cook is so important for our times? Below is a collection of our most popular posts and stories that define who we are striving to be and what experiences define our work. You will also find our founding documents and a letter from our Director, Dr. Joerg Rieger.
Letter & Program Rationale
June 15, 2020
When Barbara Wendland, author and director of the Cook Foundation, agreed to support our vision of a new program in religion and justice, a new world of opportunities opened up. At Vanderbilt University Divinity School, we share Barbara’s concern for religion that is engaged in making a positive difference in the world, and this has long been the goal of my own academic work as well. The focus of the Wendland-Cook Program on ecological devastation and economic …
Essential For What?
April 30, 2020
“Already we are beginning to sense who the essential workers, those without whom we cannot survive, really are….” (Joerg Rieger)
The coronavirus pandemic has made more blatant than usual how much our collective survival and well-being depend on various kinds of workers, most of whom do not receive such attention, much less acclaim,...
Deep Solidarity: Embracing God’s Power to Alleviate Poverty and Create Structural Change
March 12, 2019
Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger is the co-founder and co-director of the Southeast Center for Cooperative Development in Nashville, Tennessee. For a deeper engagement of this topic see their book Unified …
To check out more popular posts or our general list of articles go to our Interventions Page!
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