Center on Religion and Culture
Welcome to Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture
At a time when religion’s role in American life is both praised and contested, Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture (CRC) explores the complex relationship between faith and contemporary life.
Through public events and conversations with experts and artists, scholars and faith leaders, the CRC seeks to engage and elevate the public dialogue about religion and culture, the mind and the soul, inclusion and identity, politics, and the arts.
The CRC is hosting a full slate of in-person and online events in the 2025-2026 academic year.
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On Sinners: Trans-Disciplinarity and Belonging — A Mini-Conference and Film Screening
Day One:
April 9, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:45 p.m.
Fordham University at Lincoln Center | Tiered Lecture Hall 333 (overflow: 334)
140 West 62nd Street | New York, NY 10023
Opening Remarks: Michele Prettyman — Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies, Fordham University
Roundtable Discussions I & II: Student Reflections on Film, Sound, Religion and the Unmaking of the Horror GenreRefreshments served 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Day Two:
April 10, 2026 | 4:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Fordham University at Rose Hill | Keating First
441 E Fordham Road | Bronx, NY 104584:00 – 6:20 p.m.: Film Screening of Sinners — Written and Directed by Ryan Coogler
6:30 – 7:00 p.m.: Refreshments & Intermission
7:00 – 8:00 pm · Roundtable Conversation: Racquel Gates · Kathryn Reklis · Michele Prettyman · Rufus Burnett, Jr.
8:00 – 8:30 pm: Q&AReception: Duane Library 1st Floor
About the Mini-Conference
Ryan Coogler's Sinners (2025) has captivated audiences and critics alike, weaving together horror, blues music, Southern U.S. Geographies, and American religion into a singular cinematic vision.
This free mini-conference hosted by Fordham's theology and communications and media studies departments, and sponsored by the CRC, brings together scholars, students, and film enthusiasts to examine what the film reveals about belonging, sound, and the sacred — spanning two campuses over two days.
Day One (6:00-8:45 p.m.) at Lincoln Center opens with student-led roundtable discussions situating Sinners within broader conversations about trans-disciplinarity, inviting perspectives from film studies, religion, media studies, and the humanities at large. Day Two (4:00-8:30 p.m.) at Rose Hill features a full screening followed by a roundtable conversation with Fordham University faculty and special guest Racquel Gates, Associate Professor of Film, Columbia University.
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Sacred Biodiversity: Contemporary Icons of Endangered Species
April 15, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET
Via ZoomJoin New York-born iconographer Angela Manno, renowned for her icons of endangered species painted in the style and tradition of Eastern Orthodox devotional art, along with Fordham emerita theologian Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, a leading Catholic thinker on creation care, and Fordham’s George Demacopoulos, theologian and co-director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center, for an online discussion.
Manno’s icons are currently on exhibit at the Moray Art Centre in Scotland.
Registration is required. A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants a week before the event.
The event is organized and co-sponsored by Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture and the Orthodox Christian Studies Center.
Stay tuned for details on the CRC’s growing schedule of programs and follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter) for updates. You can also join our email list to receive CRC news and event invitations.
In the meantime, you can check out our YouTube channel for curated videos of our past events, or learn more about our Fall 2025 programming below.
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