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12 months ago

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(RNS) — Diana Eck, for decades, has been the academician-activist who has delved into the world’s religions and encouraged others to discover and learn about the faiths of their neighbors.

Now, 49 years after she arrived as an instructor at Harvard University, the professor of comparative religion finds herself answering the same question she posed to her “Ritual and the Life Cycle” class on its last day in late April.

“What is the hardest thing that you’ve ever encountered and how did you face it?” Eck, 78, asked the class.

Weeks later, in an interview with Religion News Service, she realized it was a good question for her to answer as well.

“I think the hardest thing has been the realization that though we have — I have and my students have — been very involved in trying to lift up the ways in which people in our society are coming together — in interfaith initiatives, interfaith councils, interfaith projects, literally all across America,” she said, “but to realize that despite our vision of how important this is, there are many people today who are still very surprised that all of these strangers are here with us, and, basically, would like them all to go home.”

RELATED: Harvard religion professor Diana Eck on pluralism’s changes, challenges

After founding the Pluralism Project at Harvard University — through which Eck, her part-time staff and scores of student researchers mapped “the new religious landscape in America” — she realizes that “unfortunately, a lot of people are still waking up to this in some way.”

Professor Diana Eck, center, stands surrounded with students from one of her religion classes near the end of the spring 2024 semester. (Photo courtesy of Harvard Divinity School)

But she hasn’t given up and remains convinced that exploring and engaging across faith lines helps individuals, communities and democracy.

Since 1991, her project has moved from discovering religious communities, such as a Hindu temple meeting in a Friendly’s restaurant, to creating a CD-ROM used in school systems, to having a website whose home page links to information about 17 religious traditions — from Afro-Caribbean to Zoroastrian.

Eck, with dual expertise in Indian studies and comparative religion, invited students to visit the Boston-area temples, gurdwaras and mosques near Harvard but also those in their hometowns. At first, the terminology for those religious communities, many of them birthed in the wake of the 1965 Immigration Act, was little known.

Jonathan Ebel, who graduated in the ‘90s after attending Eck’s “World Religions in New England” class and is now a professor of religion at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, embarked on a project in Chicago under her direction through a Pluralism Project grant.

“I was the one who had to open up the Yellow Pages and look under C for churches because it turned out that’s where almost all of these places were listed — Buddhist temples and Hindu temples and mosques and Sikh gurdwaras,” he recalled in an interview.

The Dalai Lama, from left, speaks with Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, and others inside Loeb House at Harvard University on Sept. 15, 2003, in Cambridge, Mass. (Staff Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard University News Office)

Current and former faculty, interfaith leaders and former students of Eck — via the classroom or through her books — speak of her work as changing the trajectory of their academic life or careers.

“Diana was superb at bringing her vision for a better comprehension of the vast religious diversity of the USA together with the diverse array of talent in our university students to build a long lasting research and idea base from which she could realize the project’s goals in very tangible ways,” said William Graham, a former graduate-student colleague who later was dean of Harvard Divinity School.

After studying practices used at Harvard Business School, Eck and her team built a case for the viability of religious pluralism — using the “case study” method, with examples that now fill the project’s website.

One of the first was what she considered a “failure,” where a Muslim organization’s attempt to buy a church that was for sale was met with negative reaction by hundreds of residents at a city council meeting in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. But a few years later, another initiative led to the building of an “Islamic house of prayer” in another suburb, Orland Park, with a unanimous council vote.

Emile Lester, author of books about teaching religions in public schools, said the project’s resources have been received well among possible critics. The University of Mary Washington political science professor cited a conservative evangelical teacher who, despite preconceptions, “thought that it was completely legitimate as a subject for public school.” 

Professor Diana Eck, far left, talks with panelists during an event. (Photo courtesy of Ellie Pierce)

Though much of her work is based on research, Eck, who also is a professor at Harvard Divinity School, also has taught and learned through relationships.

Eck invited women from a range of faiths to gather at Harvard in 1983 and again in 2003 for a conference with the theme “Women, Religion and Social Change.”

She also brought women leaders of U.S. religious communities to the Harvard Club in New York shortly after 9/11 to find solace and develop strategies together for re-creating their initiatives that were disrupted by the terrorist attack and the ensuing backlash against Muslims, Sikhs and other faiths with which many Americans were still unfamiliar.

“We can speak honestly about what it is that is happening in our own community,” said Eck of the post-9/11 gathering of women in New York. “That’s not something that scholars are going to be able to penetrate very immediately.”

As Eck, the longest-serving woman professor at Harvard, is retiring, she has witnessed one of the most religiously driven global conflicts playing out on campus that is threatening interfaith relations and pluralism in real time.

A supporter of the pro-Palestinian protests by Harvard students, she acknowledged the deaths of Israelis and Jews in the Israel-Hamas war but focused on the deaths of the thousands of children in Gaza.

A student protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“When I look at the tents that have been in Harvard Yard, I think the most dramatic part of it —and the part that I believe the students care most about — is a long canvas that stretches basically from the gate of the university all the way to the administration building, on which students have written over the last months, the names and ages of the people who have been killed in Gaza,” she said.

And as a longtime member of the United Methodist Church, she celebrated as its General Conference made numerous historic steps for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in early May.

“It’s about time,” said Eck, a lesbian who married her wife, minister and psychologist Dorothy Austin, in 2004 in Harvard’s Memorial Church. “Thanks be to God. It was great to see that happen.”

Eck has modeled how a person can be a member of one faith but be supportive of people of other faiths, in and outside their houses of worship.

Her longtime friend and former student Ali Asani, whose Kenyan Muslim parents Eck once joined in prayer, called on his colleague to join him on a new task force at Harvard he is co-chairing that seeks to combat anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias.

Despite her plan to officially retire as of July 1, he said she has held listening sessions and he expects her to have a role in pending recommendations.

“I said: ‘You’re still part of the university; we’re not going to let you go,’” recalled Asani, a professor of Islamic religion and cultures. “We need you. We need you now more than ever.”

Eck, who noted that Harvard also created a task force on antisemitism earlier this year, also has encouraged people beyond the campus as they sought new ways to foster interreligious understanding.

Among her progeny are Eboo Patel, who once sat on her patio to discuss what would become Interfaith Youth Core, known for engaging college students in interfaith service projects, and is now Interfaith America, distributing grants to other cross-faith initiatives. Another is Simran Jeet Singh, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program. Both contributed to “Pilgrimage, Place, and Pluralism,” a volume published earlier this year to pay tribute to Eck, with Patel describing his mentor as “perhaps the single most influential figure in American interfaith work in the 1990s.”

Paul Raushenbush, from left, then editor for the Huffington Post, Professor Diana Eck and Simran Jeet Singh stand together for a portrait, circa 2018. (Photo courtesy of Simran Jeet Singh)

“Professor Eck’s sustained efforts demonstrate how academics can utilize their expertise — from a place of care and compassion — to help make our world a better place,” said Singh, who is a columnist for RNS.

Eck said she hopes the Pluralism Project, which has been a model for affiliates and organizations across the country, will continue to foster dialogue and engagement, even as she hopes to spend more time at home and pursue writing projects.

“I think we’ve kind of got the ball rolling, and we will try to keep what is on our website up to date,” she said. “People can use it, utilize it, build on it, teach from it, and all that stuff until we become that utopian pluralist culture.”

RELATED: White House’s Melissa Rogers affirms religious diversity as interfaith group expands

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US

Woman missing for more than 60 years found ‘alive and well’

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6 mins ago

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May 4, 2025

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Woman missing for more than 60 years found 'alive and well'

A woman in the US who has been missing since 1962 has been found “alive and well”, authorities have said.

Audrey Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in July that year when she was 20 years old, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years but the case eventually went cold.

However, during a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed all the case files and evidence, and re-interviewed several witnesses – and found Ms Backeberg.

The 82-year-old was “alive and well” – living outside of the state of Wisconsin, the sheriff’s office said.

Ms Backeberg was married and had two children when she disappeared on 7 July 1962, according to the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation.

She left her home to pick up her salary but never returned, causing her husband to ask family members where she was.

Shortly afterwards their 14-year-old babysitter claimed she and Ms Backeberg had hitchhiked to Wisconsin’s capital city Madison and then caught a bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.

The teenager said when she arrived she became nervous and wanted to go home, while Ms Backeberg refused to return and was last seen walking near a bus stop.

Ms Backeberg’s marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation said, with a criminal complaint having been filed days before she went missing.

Her relatives insisted she would never abandon her children, the organisation added, and her husband passed a polygraph test and maintained his innocence.

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‘We talked for 45 minutes’ – detective

Detective Isaac Hanson, who found Ms Backeberg, said her sister’s Ancestry.com account was vital in helping him locate her address.

“That was pretty key in locating death records, census reports, all kinds of data,” he told local news station WISN.

“So I called the local sheriff’s department, said, ‘Hey, there’s this lady living at this address. Do you guys have somebody, you can just go pop in?’

“Ten minutes later, she called me, and we talked for 45 minutes.”

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‘She sounded happy’

Mr Hanson said Ms Backeberg may have left home due to marital issues, but it was unclear why she had stayed away for so long.

He said he had promised to keep their conversation private.

“I think she just was removed and, you know, moved on from things and kind of did her own thing and led her life,” he said.

“She sounded happy. Confident in her decision. No regrets.”

Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said Ms Backeberg made the choice to leave and her disappearance “was not the result of any criminal activity or foul play”.

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Sports

Jets-Blues Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions

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14 mins ago

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May 4, 2025

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Jets-Blues Game 7 preview: Key players to watch, final score predictions

  • Multiple Contributors

May 4, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

It all comes down to this. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues in the 200th Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoffs history Sunday (7 p.m. ET, TBS).

One team will advance to the second round, while the other will get an early start to the offseason — and try to fix what went wrong.

For the Blues, this is the club’s 19th all-time Game 7, the most of any non-Original Six team. They have gone 10-8 in Games 7s, with the most recent one being the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, which they won 4-1.

This version of the Jets has much less Game 7 history on which to draw; their only Game 7 was a second-round victory over the Nashville Predators in 2018.

Who wins this one? We’ve gathered the ESPN hockey family to identify the key players to watch in the contest — as well as their final score predictions.

Who is the one key player you’ll be watching in Jets-Blues?

Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter: If he plays, it’s Mark Scheifele. The hit in Game 5 from Brayden Schenn and/or Radek Faksa generated quite a bit of conversation about what is arguably the most physically demanding series in the first round. Scheifele’s play this season and this series prior to the hit reinforces what makes him a legit top-line center in this league. We saw how the Jets maneuvered around his absence for the final two periods of Game 5, while Game 6 proved why they need contributions from everyone if he can’t go.

But again, that’s if Scheifele plays. He skated Saturday in a tracksuit, with Scott Arniel saying the center will be a game-time decision Sunday.

Arda Öcal, NHL broadcaster: Connor Hellebuyck is the obvious answer here for me because he’s been “Vezina” at home (especially Game 2) and “Vezina from Temu” on the road.

Hellebuyck has allowed four or more goals in seven straight road playoff games, which ties the second longest such streak in Stanley Cup playoff history. But Game 7 is at home. The pressure is on but he’s in comfortable confines, surrounded by a “Whiteout.” Which version of Hellebuyck do we get Sunday night?

Kristen Shilton, NHL reporter: Connor Hellebuyck, of course. Has there been a Jekyll/Hyde performance like this in recent years?

The Vezina finalist can play lights-out at home and like a fish out of water on the road. Does that trend continue in Game 7? What version of the goalie shows up for this one?

But as a bonus, I’ll toss Pavel Buchnevich into this equation. He’s been driving the Blues’ offense, and if Hellebuyck is on his A-game then St. Louis is going to need Buchnevich to channel his hat trick energy from Game 3 to help the Blues pull off a stunning road win.

Greg Wyshynski, NHL reporter: Jordan Binnington renewed his title as one of the NHL’s most clutch goaltenders with his 31-save performance in Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship win over the U.S. — including six saves in overtime. He first earned it in 2019, backstopping the Blues to the Stanley Cup with Game 7 wins over Dallas and Boston.

Now he’s got a chance to reestablish those credentials.

Binnington had a 0.82 goals-against average and a .968 save percentage in those prior Game 7s. While Hellebuyck has been terrible in St. Louis, Binnington hasn’t been much better in Winnipeg, generating an .861 save percentage and a 3.44 goals-against average and giving up four goals in two of the three games. But as 4 Nations showed, Binnington can meet the moment. (Although this time, Kyle Connor will actually be in the lineup for the opposition. Not that we’re bitter or anything.)

The final score will be _____.

Clark: 4-3 Jets. There have been a few themes in this series. The first being that offense hasn’t been an issue — the teams have combined to score more than six goals in all but one game. The second is that the home team has won every game; I say that continues, and the Jets advance.

Öcal: 6-5 Jets. Hellebyuck doesn’t have his best game, but the Jets outscore that challenge, and Kyle Connor scores another third-period goal in this series to win it.

Shilton: 5-4 Jets. The Jets have been too good on home ice to let this one slip away. That’s not to say a St. Louis win would be surprising, but even if Hellebuyck is off, Winnipeg’s offense should be able to provide enough buffer that the Jets can squeak through with a narrow victory to advance.

Wyshynski: 5-3 Jets. The Jets would be toast if this game were played in St. Louis because it’s a demonstrable fact that Hellebuyck is a disaster on the road in the playoffs. He’s slightly below replacement at home in the postseason, but Winnipeg will take that considering his three removals on the road.

The Blues are first in the playoffs in 5-on-5 offense and goals-for percentage at home. But Winnipeg is second in both categories. Hellebuyck calms down, and the offense gets ratcheted up at home, especially now that Nikolaj Ehlers has a game under his belt, having not played since April 12 due to a foot injury.

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Environment

Meet Bodo – the 35 mph electric golf cart that thinks it’s a G-Wagen

Published

2 hours ago

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May 4, 2025

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Meet Bodo – the 35 mph electric golf cart that thinks it's a G-Wagen

Bodo G-Wagon electric golf cart; via Mecum Auctions.

With a fully-enclosed, G-Wagen-inspired body and an 80 mile electric range, the Bodo G-Wagon golf cart is the NEV you need when you decide it’s time to get serous one-upping the rest of the Palm Beach country clubbers.

If you love the look of the $230,000 Mercedes-Benz G580 off-roader, but think the 579 hp, 6,800 lb. electric 4×4 is probably overkill for occasional trips to the golf course and country club, this G-Wagen-inspired golf cart might be just what you’re looking for.

The shiny black 2024 Bodo G-Wagon sold at Mecum Auctions last month for $31,900, which seems like it might not be a lot of money to the sort of person who decides to take a flyer on a goofy, limited-use EV that ships with real, metal doors, power windows, heating and air conditioning, fully digital instrument cluster and infotainment, and a “posh,” caramel leather interior.

It even has windshield wipers, power steering, and a rear-seat entertainment system that’s built into the front headrests!

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It’s really nice in there

Under the hood, the Bodo packs a 15 kW (20 hp) electric motor drawing power from a 10 kWh li-ion battery that won’t deliver a scorching 0-60 mph time (it only goes 35), but will deliver you and your buddies from one end of any golf course in North America and back several times over, thanks to the G-Wagon’s 80 mile range.

The official Mecum Auctions listing goes into a bit more detail, and I’ve included it here, in case it gets deleted after a while and you’re just finding this for the first time in 2027:

Be the envy of any country club or golf community showing up with this 2024 Bodo G-Wagon Golf Cart. Perhaps more appropriately known as an E-Wagon, this baby G-Wagon is powered by a 15kW motor with a 10kWh lithium battery. Boasting an 80-mile range and a 35 MPH top speed, the Bodo is an enclosed, luxury golf cart that pampers occupants with heating and air conditioning, rear-seat entertainment, power windows, power locks and a posh, caramel-colored interior. With the Bodo fitted with power steering and 4-wheel power disc brakes with brake boost, drivers will think they’re in a full-size G-Wagon, thanks to the multiscreen entertainment cluster, the rearview camera, windshield wipers, turn signals, running lights and so much more.

Finished in black with the right amount of brightwork, the overall vibe is one of jaw-dropping, smile-inducing fun. While the Bodo would be an excellent choice for any golf community, it should also prove to be hugely popular around a race track or car condo community as well, or maybe even a neighborhood with its own airplane runways. Over the past decade in particular, the demand for unique, luxury golf carts has been on the rise, and understandably so. The number of luxury communities with specific interests in sports, aero and auto has also been on the rise, with people buying homes in these exclusive locations to better engage with like-minded people. All too often a golf cart is the perfect way to get around these gated neighborhoods, and this one is enclosed, comes with the amenities of a full-size car and is infinitely more stylish.

MECUM AUCTIONS

You can check out a few more photos of the 2024 Bodo G-Wagon golf cart that sold at Mecum, below – and if you want one for yourself, you’re in luck! I found this brand-new 2025 “G600 E-Wagon” (in white) for $23,900 at Gulf Carts in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Head on down to the comments and let us know if you buy it.

SOURCE | LOTS MORE PHOTOS: Mecum Auctions.

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