Beginning Friday, the International Studies and Languages Division and the Glazer Institute are hosting a weekend-long symposium, “Surveying Sacred Space: An Interdisciplinary, Interfaith Symposium.”
The event will provide an opportunity for scholars and professors across the nation to discuss the significance and differences associated with religious spaces. The symposium will be filled with interfaith dialogue on faith traditions of sacred space.
According to Professor David Simonowitz, 
Pepperdine’s Middle East specialist, sacred space includes geographical landscapes, physical building structures, shrines, and many other religiously affiliated places, items and routines.
“Interfaith dialogue has never been done here at Pepperdine on this big of a scale before,” senior Sabena Virani said. “There will be a refreshing perspective shown to Pepperdine students.”
Virani is just one of the numerous scholars who will be presenting at this weekend’s two-day symposium.
Virani’s topic focuses on social networking as related to sacred space and the global affect social networking has had. Virani has been conducting research over the past few months and has gained an expertise in Facebook and Twitter.
“I will be evaluating the bridge between how social networking applies to the religious sector,” Virani said. “This includes how religious communities are portrayed online to the rest of the world.”
Passionate scholars such as Virani will take on timely topics such as these, as well as more historical viewpoints regarding sacred space.
“How one creates sacred space can inform the way we conceive our religious community,” Simonowitz said. “Sacred space serves as a place for different religious communities to collect and express their national identity.”
“We will explore and address questions such as, what do these spaces mean to the people who patronize them, what is the significance?”
This open forum will allow all participants to discuss the elements of sacred space all around the world, primarily in the Abrahamic religions.
“We want participants to come and engage in these questions,” Simonowitz said. “Here we will work to understand the dynamics of interfaith issues.”
The panel of experts and researchers will deal with questions regarding religious pilgrimages, holy lands, buildings and shrines, many of which are not universally recognized.
“There are different ways that sacred space is looked at in different religions,” Simonowitz said. “Sacred space is also looked at differently within one religion.”
Multiple papers will be dealing with sacred space in a diverse set of contexts such as ancient polytheistic times, Byzantine Christian times, present relations in the United States and more.
“I love diving into topics that haven’t been pioneered so much, especially when it is relevant to my life and the life of other Pepperdine students,” Virani said.
Examples of both tremendous conflict and cooperation, known as shared admiration, will be further explored.
According to Simonowitz, sacred space can be an instrument and means of communication between and within religions. He is looking forward to participants engaging in this idea plotting possible solutions to some of the issues.
“Whether it’s a building that’s purpose-built, or a space that’s been determined, it governs the nature of the encounter of the Other,” Simonowitz said. “Differences play out in religious space.”
The symposium begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the Hahn Fireside Room. The first day of discussion will end at 5:30 p.m., but will continue on Saturday at 9 a.m. in CCB 140.
“Anyone can come check it out and see what an impact it can have,” Virani said. “You will definitely learn more about the world.”
