Centre for the Study of Religion and Society (CSRS)

Background

The College which was founded on interdenominational co-operation, had from its very early days, faculty and students belonging to diverse religions. They cooperated and learned from each other and benefitted from the rich religious diversity. Interfaith dialogue, understanding and tolerance are all the more needed today in view of the trend in religious extremism and intolerance. With this backdrop, the Centre for the Study of Religion and Society was created with its conceptual development and seed money provided by Prof. Titus Mathews of Calgary, Canada, a member of UCC Alumni Association of N. America and its former Advisor.

The Objectives of CSRS

To promote a creative dialogue among people of various religions and ideologies with a view to fostering better understanding and tolerance.

To provide a venue and platform for dialogue to people belonging to different faith communities.
The Centre envisages study, research and orientation by promoting interaction among clergy, community leaders, developmental workers, social activists, teachers, and students.
To publish articles, through print or electronic media on the core topics of the Centre, that will have a positive impact on the society at large.
To raise funds through donations, grants, endowments etc., from individuals and organizations globally.
To collaborate with institutions with similar objectives as those of the Centre.
To develop academic courses affiliated to a University, and to offer certificate courses by the Centre. To this end, the Centre will seek resource persons from inside the Union Christian College and from outside.

Report of the Activities of CSRS in the year 2015-16

CSRS conducted two lectures under the T.O Abdulla Endowment Lecture series, one workshop and a documentary fest in the year 2015-16. A brief account of the activities are given below:

First T.O Abdulla Endowment Lecture: The first T.O Abdulla Endowment Lecture was inaugurated and delivered by the Honourable District Collector of Ernakulam, Sri M.G Rajamanickam, IAS on November 26, 2015 in the V.M.A Hall, U.C College, Aluva. He addressed the audience on the topic “Understanding our Ethical context: Deliberations on the Campus”. He expressed his concern regarding the way we understand and value education and he exhorted students to ask the question whether some of their behavior within the campus will be good for the long term well-being of our society. He also stated that there is a glass ceiling for women in Kerala society though it is supposedly progressive and stressed the importance of women and their role in nurturing a society with gender equity and greater sense of values. Cautioning the students regarding the use of electronic gadgets, Sri Rajamanickam also stressed the need for using these judiciously.

Second T.O Abdulla Endowment Lecture: The 2^ndO Abdulla Endowment Lecture was delivered by Dr M.N Karassery, renowned academician and writer on January 15, 2016 in the V.M.A Hall, U.C College, Aluva. Delivering his lecture on the topic ‘Religion and Society’, he spoke at length on the contemporary relevance of religion and how important it is for a diverse and multi-cultural society like ours to accept and coexist with others. The vicious atmosphere of intolerance, fear and hatred prevailing in society today would inevitably lead to unrest and turbulence in society and as responsible citizens all of us should unitedly offer resistance to these undesirable trends. The heated but constructive deliberation that followed was moderated by Dr M.I Punnoose, Department of Malayalam.

Three day Workshop on Journey towards Self-realisation: Ethical dimensions: With the intention of giving a platform to young generation to re-assess and re-interpret the current waves of ethical discourses, CSRS in association with SCM, Kerala organized a three day workshop in January 2015, 15-17. Forty five students who participated in the workshop interacted with eminent personalities who have carved a niche for themselves in various spheres like religion and spirituality, literature, media and ecology. After the inaugural session by Dr M.N Karassery (T.O Abdulla Endowment Lecture-II), a Malayalam movie ‘Rani Padmini’ was screened. Dr Muse Mary George moderated the discussion and suggested the need for coming out of our comfort zones to experience the bundle of emotions and contradictions of life. The first days’ programme ended with an ice breaking session by Prof Sunil Abraham Thomas, Department of Economics in the evening. The second day commenced with a yoga session by Dr Bindu M, Department of Physical Education. This was followed by a session arranged on the banks of Periyar by Fr Jiby Jose who encouraged the students to ponder on one self and their relationships by quoting some real life instances. The last forenoon session of the day by Mrs Lissy Sunny was one the most awaited sessions of the workshop. Narrating the context of forming the Pombilai orumai, the trade union floated by the women tea estate workers of Munnar, she shared their bitter experiences and sufferings. In the afternoon session Fr Sunil Jose, St Aloysius College, Trissur screened a movie ‘The Japanese Wife’ and moderated the interactive session that followed. The second day concluded with the Group wise theme presentation and camp fire which was monitored by Dr Alex Mathew, Department of Physics. The final day of the workshop started with a worship based on Nature led by the participants and a message by Prof Anitha S, Government College, Tripunithura incorporating the references on nature from various religious scriptures. The next session on ethical issues concerning ecology and development by Sri C.R Neelakandan renowned Environmentalist, was a reminder of the threats confronting the ecological balance of the Universe. He warned that the depletion of natural resources and destruction of environment would inevitably lead to disasters. The final session of the workshop was handled by Sri Denzil Antony, Manorama News spoke on the ethical issues confronting media today and stressed the importance of maintaining honesty, integrity and social commitment while reporting. In the valedictory session the participants reflected on their workshop experiences.

Documentary Fest: The Centre hosted a four day documentary/short film fest in the college from 4^th to 7^th January 2016 to provide the student community a platform to hone their skills in critically analyzing visual narratives and forming their opinions. Four different themes were presented on these days and was well moderated by the experts. The Fest was inaugurated by Dr Asha Achy Joseph, the well-known short film director and the Head of the School of Communication, SH College, Thevara and her short film ‘Ore Udal’ (One Body) was screened on the inaugural day. The short fiction tells the story of a nun, traumatised and unable to face life after a physical assault.The second day of the fest screened an ethnographic movie titled ‘Qissa-e-parsi’ which narrates the eccentricities of Parsi life and beliefs. Dr Aju Narayanan, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Malayalam, School of Letters, M.G University introduced various aspects of documentary film making and its importance in espousing the issues and concerns of the world we live in. He also asked the students to evaluate the documentary on the basis of the said aspects. On the third day of the fest the documentary ‘Behind the Mist’ was screened and Dr Jenee Peter from the Dept. of History moderated the session by placing a very detailed historical sketch of the changing lives of the tea estate labourers in Munnar. The fourth and the final day of the fest screened ‘Avvabi, a positive story’ which tries to present the positive attempts of survival of an HIV positive woman. Moderating the discussion, Prof Cheri Jacob K, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English dwelt on how people like Avvabi live fighting the inclement socio- cultural environments that constantly try to defeat them.