Religious Experts to Ponder ‘Meaning of Life’ in Orange

In an effort to bring the world’s major religions together to discuss the meaning of life, Chapman University is hosting its first international religion conference.

The free conference, starting Thursday and open to the public, will bring experts from Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Islam and Christianity to try to find an answer to a question that has stumped philosophers for ages.

“We’re crossing religious traditions to bring together these outstanding scholars,” said Nancy Martin, co-organizer of the conference and an assistant professor of religion at Chapman.

The conference will feature 30 speakers, commentators and other experts from colleges and universities from around the world.

Martin said that renowned scholars such as Masao Abe of Nara University in Japan, John Hick of the University of Birmingham in England and Julius Lipner of Cambridge University will attend.

“This is a unique set of people,” said Martin. “For the audience, this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see these people.”

The three-day conference will be broken down into one-hour sessions covering topics like “The Question of Meaning in World Religion,” “Eros and Meaning in Life and Religion” and “The Meaning of Life in Buddhism.”

Each session, which Martin said will draw about 200 people, will be divided into a 25-minute speech on the topic followed by a 10-minute commentary. The panel will then be open for discussion with the audience.

“This conference is unique because normally everyone gets to choose which topic they would like to attend, but here they only have one event going on at one time,” said Dale Wright, a professor of religious studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles who is scheduled to speak at the event. “This way, all the scholars will have a chance to hear each other talk.”

Charlotte Fonrobert, an assistant professor of the Talmud at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, is excited about the event.

“I think it’s going to be an interesting and important gathering,” said Fonrobert, who is scheduled to speak. “There will be a good mix of international, well-known people and junior scholars like myself.”

Fonrobert said that seeking the meaning of life is getting ever-increasing attention. “I think that religion is focusing less on history and more on the meaning of life . . . .”

For more information, call the Chapman University Department of Religion at (714) 997-6536.