Dr. Lucinda Mosher Named Director of MA in Interreligious Studies

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Hartford International University for Religion and Peace is pleased to announce that Dr. Lucinda Mosher, one of the foremost scholars of interreligious studies in the country, has been named to direct our MA in Interreligious Studies.

“Dr. Mosher has incrementally established herself as probably our country’s foremost expert on Interreligious Studies, certainly one of a handful of leading scholars in that field in America,” President Joel N. Lohr said. “That she will now lead our Interreligious Studies MA program, after first so ably growing our Chaplaincy program with Dr. Bilal Ansari, is a boon for Hartford, our students, and indeed the discipline.”

Dr. Mosher has a long history of interreligious scholarship and engagement. Among her many books and publications, she edited The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies (2022). She is also the senior editor of the Journal of Interreligious Studies, which is published collaboratively by Hebrew College, Boston University School of Theology, and Hartford International University.

Dr. Mosher is the rapporteur of the Building Bridges Seminar — an international dialogue of Christian and Muslim scholars under the stewardship of Georgetown University. She is secretary of the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, a member of the board of directors of the Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida, a member of the leadership committee of the Association of Interreligious/Interfaith Studies, and the chair of the Religion and the Arts Book Award jury of the American Academy of Religion.

At HIU, Dr. Mosher will continue her role as Senior Scholar for Continuing and Professional Education and her affiliation with the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations.

Dr. Mosher has been a keynote speaker, workshop leader, panelist, or instructor in many venues in the U.S., as well as in the UK, Haïti, Ireland, Turkey, Uganda, India, and Korea. She will be offering several presentations at the Parliament of the World’s Religions convening this August in Chicago. An accomplished musician, her scholarly projects sometimes combine her expertise in interreligious understanding and theology with her training in the arts. Dr. Mosher holds degrees from Boston University, the University of Massachusetts (Lowell), Hartford Seminary, and a Doctor of Theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church.

“We are fortunate to work with a tireless colleague who is both an expert in the field of interreligious studies and a leader in the practice of multifaith dialogue,” Dr. Deena Grant, acting dean, said.  

MA in Interreligious Studies

HIU’s MA in Interreligious Studies, a 36-credit graduate degree with optional specializations, is distinguished by its cutting-edge collaborative methodology, Dr. Mosher said. “I see my role as helping us to assess and strengthen what we’re doing well already.”

“What attracted me to Interreligious Studies as a discipline was its combined emphasis on dialogical, interdisciplinary, and intersectional approaches to the study of religion — its emphasis on the ‘between,’” she said. “I like the fact that Interreligious Studies allows for — even encourages — disclosure of one's orientation toward religion, however one defines that word.”

Rabbi Or Rose, Senior Publisher of the Journal of Interreligious Studies and Founding Director of The Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College, said of the appointment: “Dr. Lucinda Mosher is a wise and accomplished educator and scholar with whom I have had the pleasure to work on a number of projects and initiatives. She exemplifies the best qualities of servant leadership: passion, compassion, determination. The students at HIU are blessed to be working with such fine mentor and administrator.”

Learn more about the MA in Interreligious Studies at this link.