New Perspectives on Domestic Violence, Social Justice, and Faith

In this moment of #MeToo, #EnoughisEnough, and #BlackLivesMatter, our essential task is to uncover the roots of violence including its roots in our religious traditions and faith communities. This extraordinary FREE webinar event on May 22 brings together three anti-violence pioneers to share fresh perspectives on the stories we have lived by and explore what it really takes to end the pandemic of violence against women, children, and other vulnerable peoples.

Millions around the world strive to break free from traditions of violence in our intimate relationships and in our broader culture. But, even as we speak out for an ethic of human relationships grounded in mutuality and caring, we find ourselves confronting beliefs and traditions that justify and normalize violence, including traditions embedded in religious doctrine and practice. How can we re-shape the stories we live by and re-claim the power of faith communities as leaders in today’s intersecting movements to end violence and promote healthy, ethical human relationships?

Join us on May 22 for Uncovering the Roots of Violence: New Perspectives on Domestic Violence, Social Justice, and Faith—an extraordinary FREE online event that brings together three pioneers dedicated to changing cultures of violence at their deepest roots.

Speakers include

Riane Eisler, internationally known for her work to reveal the deep historical and cultural foundations of misogyny and violence in books such as The Chalice and the Blade and Sacred Pleasure;

Julie Owens, a ground-breaking trainer in the field of domestic violence prevention and victim advocacy, and

Ron Clark, Church-Planter and Minister of Portland, Oregon’s Agape Church of Christ, who has authored Freeing the Oppressed and developed innovative approaches to enrolling clergy-people as effective advocates for those who are victimized or oppressed.

Renita Robinson is currently the CEO of the Green Bay YWCA. In her professional career, Renita has been an advocate, educator and supporter for victims of sexual and domestic violence across the life, gender and race span. Renita has served as Executive Director of the Committee Against Domestic Abuse, Inc. (the largest provider of domestic and sexual violence services in Southern Minnesota); Director of the Duluth Family Visitation Center, a program of the world re-known Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs (DAIP); and as Adjunct Instructor at three Mid-western universities teaching a range of courses to undergraduate and graduate students in Education and Sociology. Her favorite accomplishment is raising two compassionate sons.

We’ll probe issues like:

·    How should we respond when sacred texts are used to justify violence?

·    How do we make sense of the ways in which religious texts seem to hold conflicting messages about how we are supposed to treat one another?

·    How can we help our faith communities stop ignoring or normalizing women’s experiences of intimate violence, while cultivating ears to hear and hearts to believe the experiences of women and other survivors of violence?

·    What roles can faith communities play?

·    Why is gender inequality the lynchpin of oppression and violence across different eras and cultures?

·    How does an intersectional understanding of oppression help us connect the dots between seemingly unrelated forms of violence?

·    What possibilities for action open when we understand domestic violence as a human rights and social justice issue?

·    Why are local interventions in violent behavior not enough to prevent violence in our families and communities?

·    What does it really take to move away from cultures of domination, driven by control and fear?

·    How can we build cultures of partnership which celebrate relationships of mutual benefit and mutual responsibility?