Institute for Communication and Religion Relaunches 'Inter/Sections' Podcast

Seton Hall University’s Institute for Communication and Religion has relaunched its feature podcast, Inter/Sections, through a new partnership with the Journal of Interreligious Studies and Interreligious Studies Media. The relaunch reflects a shared commitment to advancing scholarly and public conversations on religion, ethics and interreligious engagement through accessible digital media.

The latest episode, “Blessed Be the Strangers: Islamic Ethics and the Anthropocene,” features a discussion with Aseel Azab, a doctoral student at Brown University, on her recently published article of the same name. The episode is available to view on the ICR’s PodBean and Seton Hall’s YouTube page. 

Axel Takacs, Th.D., assistant professor of Comparative Theology and Interreligious Studies and editor-in-chief of JIRS, highlighted the alignment between the partner organizations. “As an assistant professor in the department of religion at Seton Hall and a member of the ICR steering committee, I thought a partnership would make sense on many levels,” said Takacs. “The vision and mission around interreligious/interfaith dialogue is shared by both ISM and Seton Hall.”

Founded in 2009, The Journal of Interreligious Studies (JIRS) is an open‑access, double‑blind peer‑reviewed academic journal. Established at Andover Newton Theological School, the journal later became jointly sponsored by Hebrew College and Boston University School of Theology in 2016, with Hartford International University for Religion and Peace joining as an equal partner in 2019.

As the journal expanded its scholarly publishing, webinar programming and podcast initiatives, Interreligious Studies Media (ISM) was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to support the growing scope of work. ISM provides platforms for the distribution of critical and constructive scholarship in interreligious and interfaith studies, including publications, educational programming and digital media.

Hebrew College, Boston University School of Theology, Institute for Islamic, Jewish and Christian Studies and Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, are all founding partners of the project. In 2025, Seton Hall University became the first Full Partner of the ISM.

About the Institute for Communication and Religion 

The Institute for Communication and Religion (ICR) is an affiliated unit within Seton Hall University’s College of Human Development, Culture and Media. Religious traditions are primary drivers for social action across humanity’s full moral range, from care through violence. Launched with THRUST funding in Fall 2017, the ICR is an interdisciplinary nexus for communication and media scholarship addressing the critical intersection between religion and society. Guided by Nostra Aetate’s spirit of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation, the Institute seeks to engage in public dialogue and debate, promote academic inquiry and support religious dimensions of creativity. Our values are Seton Hall’s values: servant leadership, curricular innovation and intellectual excellence. For more information, visit the Institute for Communication and Religion website.

Categories: Faith and Service