STREAMING PROGRAM INFORMATION

• This program is part of our Smithsonian Associates Streaming series.
• Platform: Zoom
• Online registration is required.
• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.

In a secular world the significance of scripture may not be immediately obvious, but according to Karen Armstrong, religious scholar, author, and ambassador for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, its misunderstanding is perhaps the root cause of many of today’s controversies. For most of their history, the world’s religious traditions have regarded these texts as tools that enable the individual to connect with the divine, to experience a different level of consciousness, and to help them engage with the world in more meaningful and compassionate ways.

Instead, says Armstrong, people in the modern world today either take religion too literally or dismiss it promoting division over tolerance. She discusses how we can instead look at scripture’s “ambiguity as being more expressive of the complexity of the human dilemma,” as she shines fresh light on the world’s major religions to help promote building bridges between faiths and rediscovering a creative and spiritual engagement with holy texts.

Armstrong’s book The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts (Anchor), is available for purchase.

Book Sale Information

• Purchase your copy of The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts by Karen Armstrong here.
• SPECIAL NOTE: Politics and Prose is offering a 10% discount to Smithsonian Associates ticket-holders. To claim your discount, enter the code SPECIAL10 in the “Coupon discount” section of Politics and Prose's check-out page.

Patron Information

• Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.