Successful Inter-Religious Workshop on the Nature of the Soul & Death

On the 16th of March 2023, The Inter-Religious Symposia (IRS) Platform held its inaugural academic workshop, looking at the theme of The Nature of the Soul and Death, from the perspectives of the three Abrahamic traditions. The IRS has been convening interfaith meetings since 2018. This workshop sought to further those efforts and project the standpoints, from renowned theologians, into the academic arena. This workshop managed to bring together scholars from various persuasions from within each of the three Abrahamic faiths, each presenting on the topic from various disciplines within religious study. Presentations included those that posed jurisprudential, theological and philosophical questions. As such, the day’s panels were arranged to discuss, firstly, how theological tenets inform jurisprudential stances on the soul and death; secondly, addressing beliefs about the transition from this life to the next; and lastly, tackling the subject of the nature of the soul itself and its possible existence before this life. Debates and discussions from the presentations spilled over into the lunch, tea and coffee breaks. Furthermore, the workshop proved to be an excellent networking event between scholars of the different faiths, thus allowing further collaborative work in the future.