Highlands Institute LSI
Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought (HIARPT)
Highlands, North Carolina
Since 1990, HIARPT has been engaged in dialogue between classical American philosophy, particularly pragmatism, and religious thought. Growing out of the American Journal of Theology & Philosophy, scholars have gathered each summer to work, meet and discuss core topics during seminars and conferences. Over the years, science and religion has become a central theme as programs expanded to year round periodic events reaching out to the surrounding community. Weekly forums, with an increased emphasis on scientific themes, have been developed to augment the year round program. Weekly forums often discuss materials in advance of the summer seminars and include discussions of key popular and academic books and papers as well as movies. Themes addressed in the past include feminist and political thought as well as the sciences, the “Chicago School” of theology, and naturalism. The annual summer programs include speakers such as Langdon Gilkey, Wentzel van Huyssteen, Ursula Goodenough, and Martin Marty. The program reaches out to local faith communities and residents, while maintaining its ties to the national community of scholars and residents that gather annually over the summer. Matching funds are provided by the contributions from HIARPT’s membership of local and summer residents.