Pacific School of Religion

Each January, PSR hosts the annual Earl Lectures and Leadership Conference, a three-day event that addresses critical theological, pastoral, and social issues of the day. The lectures were established in 1901 to bring prominent religious leaders to Berkeley's university community, and have featured such international figures as Theodore Roosevelt, Elie Wiesel, Howard Thurman, Maya Angelou, Paul Tillich, and Alice Walker. Upcoming and past program information is listed below.

Contact the Earl Lectures office at 510/849-8218 or 800/999-0528, ext. 8218.

2011: January 25-27.  Save the date!

Past Earl Lectures

2010: Spiritual but not Religious: Chasing the Divine

The 109th Earl Lectures explored the increasingly popular phrase spiritual, but not religious.  The program featured Matthew Fox, Melissa Wilcox, Scotty McLennan, and Donna Allen.  Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir performed, and the film Lord, Save Us from Your Followers was previewed. Topics explored included: the essential difference between spiritual and religious; what religious institutions can learn from those who claim to be spiritual or religious; and what kind of critique can those who call themselves “religious” offer of the concept "spiritual, but not religious“?

See detailed conference information, hear audio of plenary sessions, or order audio CDs.

2009: Behold… a New Thing: Emerging Expressions of Faithfulness

The 108th Earl Lectures reflected critically on new forms of spirituality and worship associated with the “emerging church.” The program featured three “emerging church” figures, Abbess Karen Ward, Jay Bakker, and Bruce Reyes-Chow; and scholars Gerardo Marti and PSR’s Boyung Lee. They guided exploration of popular culture, generational change, and religious innovation in North America. There was also a screening of the new film, The Ordinary Radicals.

See the schedule, workshops, special events, presenter bios, and press release from the event. See video excerpts and hear complete audio of all lectures in Ideas media library (choose category: Earl Lectures).

2008: O for a World: Faith, Community, and Sustainability

The 2008 Earl Lectures featured Chandra Muzaffar, a social activist, academic, and president of the International Movement for a Just World (an international NGO based in Malaysia); Karen Baker-Fletcher, published womanist author and associate professor of theology at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, TX; Daniel A. Buford, a self-described "Harlem Renaissance Man," a sculptor, writer, community organizer, and associate minister of the Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland; and PSR assistant professor of theology Mayra Rivera Rivera.

See facts about the event, see the 2008 registration booklet, listen to online audio recordings, or order audio CDs.

2007: All the Rivers of Paradise: Christian Responsibility in an Interfaith World

The 2007 Earl Lectures featured Mahmoud Mustafa Ayoub, professor of Islamic studies and comparative religion at Temple University, Bernice Powell-Jackson, past president of the World Council of Churches for North America, Tat-siong Benny Liew, associate professor of New Testament at PSR, and Choan-Seng (C.S.) Song, distinguished professor of theology and Asian cultures at PSR.

See facts about the event, see the 2007 registration booklet, listen to online audio recordings, or order audio CDs.

2006: Gathering the Beloved Community: Voices of Faith for the Public Square

The 2006 Earl Lectures, featuring James Forbes, Diane Winston, Kwok Pui Lan, Hubert Locke, and Delwin Brown, engaged an audience of nearly one thousand in a three-day exploration of the meaning and potential of progressive Christianity. Read facts about the event, download the conference program book in PDF format, listen to online audio recordings, or order audiocassettes and CDs of the lectures.

2005: Sex and the City of God: Intimacy and Wholeness

More than 800 people attended the 2005 Earl Lectures to discuss cutting-edge issues concerning sexuality, sexual abuse, marriage, and intimacy, and the implications of these issues for our faith traditions and ethics. They heard from Earl Lecturers Gene Robinson, Eric Law, and Christine E. Gudorf; Earl Preacher Douglass Fitch; nine panelists; and more than 30 workshop leaders.

Read a report on the event, download the conference program book in PDF format, or listen to online audio recordings of the 2005 Earl Lectures.

2004: We Are Called: Vocation in a Swiftly Changing World

The 2004 Earl Lectures probed questions of vocation and God's call in the lives of ministers, lay people, and communities in today's complex world. Read a report on the event or download the conference program book in PDF format.

Listen to audio of the 2004 Earl Lectures.

2003: For the Living of These Days: Theology as a Public Resource

PSR's 102nd annual Earl Lectures explored ways that faith communities can take a greater leadership role in shaping public discourse in a troubled world. Read a short report on the event or download the conference program book in PDF format.

2002: Image to Insight: The Power of Film in Faith and Culture

Our 101st annual Earl Lectures and Pastoral Conference featured lectures, workshops and public conversations with national leaders in film and television, artists who are renewing worship through the use of multi-media, and people of faith in the film industry. Read a short summary about the event, enjoy some photos from the conference, or download the conference program book in PDF format.

2001: Into All the World: Christian Mission in a Pluralistic Age

• Abuna Elias Chacour
• Purity Nomthandazo Malinga
• Sharon Welch

2000: Conflict and Reconciliation: New Models for Hope

• Robin Meyers
• Richard Rodriguez
• Mary A. Tolbert
• Michael Lerner
• William W. Rankin
• Anthony B. Robinson

1999: Building Healthy Communities: Partners in Faith and Wellness

• Nancy Eiesland
• Gary Gunderson
• A. Cecil Williams

1998: Cross-Currents in Faith and Culture

• Robert M. Berdahl
• Michael Eric Dyson
• Miriam Therese Winter

1997: Equipping Faith Communities for a Changing World

• Kathleen Norris
• Frederick J. Streets
• Barbara Wheeler

1996: Religion and Science

• Ian G. Barbour
• Rita Nakashima Brock
• William F. May

1995: Jesus Beyond the Bible: A Cultural Debate

• John Dominic Crossan
• Chung Hyun Khung
• Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.

1994: Body, Sexuality and Spirituality: Sexual Christians and the Church's Renewal

• William Sloan Coffin
• Margaret R. Miles
• James B. Nelson

1993: Creeds and Ordination: Help or Hindrance?

• Brian A. Gerrish
• Glenda Hope
• Cynthia Rembert-James
• Mariellen Sawada
• Marjorie H. Suchocki

1992: Spirituality

• Virgil P. Elizondo
• Parker J. Palmer
• Phyllis Trible

1991: Preaching, Healing and Teaching

• Sharon Daloz Parks
• Craig Dykstra
• Roy I. Sano

1990: Preaching

• Fred. B. Craddock
• Justo L. Gonzalez
• Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez
• Prathia Hall Wynn

1989: Theological Truths from the Biblical Wilderness

• Walter Brueggemann
• Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza
• J. Alfred Smith, Sr.