The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith

Scripture has inspired welcoming the stranger and caring for the poor, and it has also been used to justify slavery, exclusion, and violence. Drawing on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Rachel Mikva will discuss how these traditions have always carried their own tools for self-examination, debate, and humility about what we can know of God. Rachel S. Mikva is the Herman E. Schaalman Professor of Jewish Studies and Senior Faculty Fellow of the InterReligious Institute at Chicago Theological Seminary. A leader in Interreligious Studies, she co-chairs the American Academy of Religion’s Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Program. Part of the Kennedy Center's fall 2026 lecture series, "Religion, Identity, and Public Life."