MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s upcoming Religious Studies Colloquium on Oct. 29 will explore how religious traditions shape people’s views of land, ownership and the environment.

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies will host MTSU adjunct professor Andrew Krinks for a presentation titled “Religion and Land Between Colonialism and Anticolonialism” at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in Room 224 of the Student Union, 1768 MTSU Blvd.

“I have been interested for a very long time in the ways that groups of people trying to remake the world — both for better and for worse — regularly do so by way of religious practice,” said Krinks, author of “White Property, Black Trespass: Racial Capitalism and the Religious Function of Mass Criminalization.” For the last 500 years, the question of land and how humans should relate to it has been one of the most common and recurrent sites of competing religio-political visions.

Krinks’ presentation will examine how religious traditions have influenced ideas about land ownership and humanity’s relationship with the Earth, particularly in the context of colonialism and resistance to it.

“The heritage of colonialism has had a crucial role in the formation of the idea of religion as a major category of human culture with universal applicability,” said Mohammad Meerzaei, assistant professor of religious studies and event coordinator. “And due to the seminal role of our notion of religion in shaping our views of various human communities, any nuanced and profound understanding of the world demands a critical awareness of the impact of colonialism on the formation of this concept.”

According to the presentation abstract, European Christian colonial traditions have often used religious and political ideas to establish systems of private property. Many Indigenous traditions, by contrast, understand relationships with land in ways that do not center on possession.

The discussion will also examine how religious and spiritual practices shape struggles over the use of particular places and how those practices can contribute to political and environmental changes.

“The living histories and movements that wrestle with these questions deeply shape how we experience the world around us, whether we realize it or not. I am excited to share some of my ongoing research on these matters,” Krinks said.

By exploring the connections among religion, land and power, the colloquium will offer an opportunity to consider how religious beliefs and lived spiritual practices influence broader questions of justice, ownership and environmental responsibility.

“Dr. Krinks is an acclaimed critical scholar of what you may describe as the area of politics of religion: how the elements of power, including the colonial heritage and the race relations, constantly shape and reshape religion in our world,” Meerzaei said. “We invite everyone interested in understanding the historical, political, and cultural components of religion to join this richly informative lecture.”

The event is free and open to the public. A free boxed lunch will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about Krinks and his work, visit andrewkrinks.com. To learn more about the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, visit https://philosophy.mtsu.edu/.

— Nancy DeGennaro ([email protected])