Fall 2026 Admissions Now Open: Apply Now!
A TWO PART WEBINAR SERIES

Religion and Science in the Globalized World

Part 1

Religion and Science in the Globalized World (Panel #1)

July 23, 2023 AT 11:00 AM Pacific, 02:00 PM Eastern

Flyer for Religion and Science in the Globalized World featuring book cover with a purple, blue and white graphic depicting what looks like a molecular energy field, or an expanding universe, along with head shots of the panelists and the host.
The first panel in this 2-part webinar series is devoted to Bahá’í approaches to various aspects of globalization as discussed in the articles “Globalization — The Tangible Expression of Humanity’s Journey Towards Unity” by Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing; “Building a Just and Sustainable Global Food System: Some Guiding Principles” by Paul Hanley; and “Globalization Requires a Bahá’í Foundation” by Hooshmand Badee. The Host for both panels is Mikhail Sergeev.

RESOURCES:

To view or download a PDF copy of Sovaida Maani Ewings presentation, click the link below titled “View or Download PDF.” Other panelist presentations are listed below.

Building a Just and Sustainable Food System (Some Guiding Principles) by Paul Hanley (PDF)

Part 2

Religion and Science in the Globalized World (Panel #2)

August 13, 2023 AT 11:00 AM Pacific, 02:00 PM Eastern

Flyer for Religion and Science in the Globalized World featuring book cover with a purple, blue and white graphic depicting what looks like a molecular energy field, or an expanding universe, along with head shots of the panelists and the host.
The second panel in this 2-part webinar series focuses on different issues within the domains of natural and social sciences. It is based on the articles by the participants, including “How Can We All Get Along?—A Bahá’í Perspective on Globalization” by Harold Rosen, “Plato, Modern Physics, and Bahá’u’lláh” by Vahid Ranjbar and “Iterative Theology: Progressive Revelation as the String Theory of Religious Studies” by Andres Elvira Espinoza.

Contributors

member-img

Vahid Ranjbar

Vahid Ranjbar is a research physicist working at Brookhaven National Laboratory. His field of research is spin and beam dynamics for which he has published extensively and has served as a reviewer for the American Physical Society’s Physical Review Journals. He is currently leading the development of the electron injector complex for the future Electron Ion Collider. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Indiana University and did his post-doctoral work at Fermilab working on collective effects in the Tevatron. He grew up living in Tanzania, India, Pakistan and in the US and spent three years studying physics in Novosibirsk Russia. He is an occasional contributor to bahaiteachings.com magazine writing on subjects related to science and religion.

member-img

Andres Elvira Espinoza

Andres Elvira Espinoza is a freelance writer, independent scholar, and second-generation Bahá’í who was born and raised in California. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy—with a minor in anthropology—at Cal Poly Pomona, and a Master’s degree in bioethics at Loyola Marymount University. His first publication was “The Excellence of h+: Virtue, Utility, and Human Enhancement” in Rutgers Journal of Bioethics. He currently writes and researches freelance, has served as a volunteer Teaching Assistant for two courses at the Wilmette Institute, and intends to return to graduate school to receive further degrees in the next few years. His interests span the sciences and humanities, including the philosophy of science, biomimetics, and literature of all genres.

member-img

Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing, LLM

Director, Center for Peace and Global Governance (CPGG)

Sovaida Maani Ewing is a prolific author, speaker and an international lawyer (with 18 years experience in private and government practice). She is a barrister-at-law of England and Wales, an LLM graduate in International Law and European Union Law from Cambridge University and an attorney-at-law in the United States. Her eighteen year legal career has included private practice with respected law firms in Washington, DC, including her own, teaching as an adjunct professor of law and most recently service as an Attorney-Advisor in the Legal Advisor’s Office of the US State Department. Sovaida is also the founding director of The Center for Peace and Global Governance (cpgg.org), a virtual think tank and online forum that pools and proposes principled solutions to pressing global challenges through publications, podcasts, lectures, online courses, workshops, and targeted consulting.  Over the past 18 years she has written five books in the area of peace, collective security, and global governance:  “Collective Security Within Reach” (2008) with a foreword written by an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations ,“Building a World Federation: The Key to Resolving Our Global Crises” (2015), “21st Century Ready” (2018), “Bridge to Global Governance: Tackling Climate Change, Energy Distribution, and Nuclear Proliferation,”  and her latest, “The Alchemy of Peace: 6 Essential Shifts in Mindsets and Habits to Achieve World Peace” (2021).  All are available in paperback and digital forms on Amazon.com. Her book “Building a World Federation” is the basis for her Wilmette Institute Course “Building a New System of Global Governance.” The book posits that humanity has been passing through stages of collective growth towards integration and unity. Our current collective crises–including climate change, financial upheavals, proliferation of nuclear weapons, gross human rights atrocities, and mismanagement of critical natural resources–are simply manifestations of our passage through a turbulent adolescence. The only way to a peaceful world is for humanity to take the next step towards maturity by establishing collective decision-making institutions that can evolve into a world federation of nation-states.  Her other publications include Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Tracing Their Evolution in Religious History, co-authored with Baharieh Rouhani Ma’ani (published by George Ronald) and Creating a Baha’i Identity in Our Children published by Grace Publications. Sovaida also hosts a live monthly video cast entitled “Reimagining Our World” on her CPGG — Center for Peace and Global Governance — YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/centerforpeaceandglobalgovernancecpgg which is dedicated to creating a vision of the world we want and infusing hope that we can make the choices necessary to attain it. All past episodes (51 at the current count) are available both on the YouTube channel and as audio podcasts on most popular podcast platforms such as Apple Podcast, Spotify, etc..  In addition, she maintains a blog that analyzes and offers principled solutions to current global problems at http://collectivesecurity.blogspot.com.  Sovaida was born to a pioneer family in Kenya, and went to school in Haifa, Israel for several years during which her mother served at the World Center. She has lived in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Her Baha’i service includes membership on Local Spiritual Assemblies in England and the US, membership on the National Youth Committee in the UK, work as an assistant to an Auxiliary Board Member, membership on the Board of the Baha’i Justice Society, and service as the Baha’i representative on the Washington Metropolitan Interfaith Council. She has lived and worked on four continents and speaks four languages. Listen to Sovaida’s interview with Rainn Wilson on ‘Bahá’í Blogcast' Listen to Sovaida’s interview on ‘A Bahá’í Perspective’ podcastSee Faculty Bio

Up Next...