Duke Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative

Duke Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative
  • 4.9 (12)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Daily

The Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative invites participants to reimagine and to reengage contemporary practices of health and medicine in light of Christian tradition and the practices of Christian communities.

  1. 3d ago

    "Health and Friendship Through the Community's Eyes" with Karl Johnson, PhD

    This presentation explores two distinct—and often opposing—approaches within public health: Population Health Management (PHM) and Health Through Community (HTC). Dr. Karl Johnson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Leadership and Practice at UNC Chapel Hill, will highlight key characteristics that differentiate these models and illustrate the contrast through practical examples. Drawing on the core values of public health and the unique challenges of our current historical moment, the presentation will make a case for shifting from PHM toward HTC. This episode aired on March 20, 2026.

    "Health and Friendship Through the Community's Eyes" with Karl Johnson, PhD

  2. 3d ago

    "Attending Beauty: Why We Need Art in a World of Suffering" with Natalie Carnes, PhD & Brewer Eberly, MD, MACS

    What does beauty have to do with suffering? And what do both have to do with the practice of medicine? In this TMC seminar, theologian Dr. Natalie Carnes and family physician Dr. Brewer Eberly sit down for a rich conversation about beauty — one of the Christian names for God — and why beauty and suffering are so deeply intertwined in the Christian story. Together they explore what this togetherness means for how we love, attend, and care in medicine. This episode aired on February 20, 2026.

    "Attending Beauty: Why We Need Art in a World of Suffering" with Natalie Carnes, PhD & Brewer Eberly, MD, MACS

  3. 3d ago

    "The Long Defeat" with Rick Donlon, MD and Susan Post, DMin, MBA

    Providing care among the poor and marginalized has always required tenacity and perseverance. Failures, discouragement, and even despair are commonplace. In this seminar, Rick Donlon, MD and Susan Post, DMin, MBA explore the normal course of faithful and sacrificial Christian discipleship and the means of grace available for long-term faithfulness from their work with Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF), a national network of Christians and Christian health centers that serve those experiencing poverty in the U.S. This episode aired on February 6, 2026.

    "The Long Defeat" with Rick Donlon, MD and Susan Post, DMin, MBA

  4. 3d ago

    "The Nursing Profession & Christian Nurses: Integrating Faith & Work" with Anne Biro, RN, PhD

    The nursing profession been shaped by Christian nurses while also having an influence on nurses. This seminar with Anne Biro, RN, PhD, President of Nurses Christian Fellowship International (NCFI), provides a brief overview of major influences on the development of the nursing profession. Impacts on nursing by Christian nurses past and present will be highlighted, including a discussion of ways that have helped Christian nurses in different parts of the world integrate a biblical worldview into their nursing work. This episode aired on October 24, 2025.

    "The Nursing Profession & Christian Nurses: Integrating Faith & Work" with Anne Biro, RN, PhD

  5. 3d ago

    "Religion, Spirituality, and Health: Research and Clinical Applications" with Harold Koenig, MD, MHSc

    An in-depth interview with Dr. Harold Koenig, a world-leading scholar on the intersection of faith and health. Dr. Koenig reflects on his distinguished career in medicine, psychiatry, and geriatric care, sharing insights from decades of research on the relationship between spirituality and well-being. He and interviewer Dr. Warren Kinghorn discuss how Koenig's Christian faith has shaped his professional vocation, from clinical practice to global scholarship. With nearly 650 peer-reviewed publications, 66 books, and international recognition as the top-ranked researcher in spirituality and health, Dr. Koenig brings a rare combination of academic rigor, clinical expertise, and personal conviction to this important conversation. This episode aired on September 26, 2025.

    "Religion, Spirituality, and Health: Research and Clinical Applications" with Harold Koenig, MD, MHSc

  6. 3d ago

    "On Dignity and Suffering in Life's Eleventh Hour" with Sunita Puri, MD

    Dr. Sunita Puri has seen firsthand how the spiritual dimensions of life and death shape how people think about what matters most—and what doesn't—as they face their mortality. Concepts of dignity, suffering, and mercy are largely absent from conversations with people who are seriously ill, yet they are the heartbeat of decisions about living and dying well. Drawing on her experiences as a palliative care physician and her writing about life and medicine in the eleventh hour, Dr. Puri, in conversation with Farr Curlin, invite us to consider how these ideas influence our lives and how they might shape one's wishes for life's end. This episode aired on November 14, 2025.

    "On Dignity and Suffering in Life's Eleventh Hour" with Sunita Puri, MD

  7. 4d ago

    "Epistemic Liberation & Ethical Challenges in Global Health" with Alexandre Martins, PhD

    This seminar, which originally aired on April 4, 2025, explores common epistemological frameworks underpinning global health initiatives in the Global South. These frameworks raise ethical concerns, as they often sustain research, education, and medical delivery that generate conflicts with local realities shaped by distinct worldviews. Drawing from liberation theology, which emphasizes the preferential option for the poor and the liberation of marginalized communities from systemic oppression, the presentation highlights the need for an "epistemic liberation" built in a process from below. This involves challenging dominant Western paradigms and embracing locally rooted knowledge systems. The presentation raises the question of whether such an epistemic liberation is necessary for global health initiatives to truly promote health in a way that empowers and fosters the independence of local communities. Alexandre A. Martins is a Brazilian theologian and bioethicist, serving as an associate professor in the Department of Theology and the College of Nursing at Marquette University in Wisconsin. His research focuses on bioethics and global health from a liberating perspective, specializing in healthcare ethics and social ethics, particularly in public health, global health, community-based approaches, and Catholic social teaching. His scholarship spans diverse areas, with his most recent books including Christology and Global Ethics: Encountering the Poor in a Pluralist Reality (Paulist Press, 2023) and A Prophet to the People: Paul Farmer’s Witness and Theological Ethics (Pickwick Press, 2023), co-edited with Jannie W. Block and M. Therese Lysaught. He is currently working on the project, Bioethics from a New Lens: Foundations, Liberation, and Global Public Health, and serving as president of the Brazilian Society of Moral Theology.

    "Epistemic Liberation & Ethical Challenges in Global Health" with Alexandre Martins, PhD

  8. 4d ago

    "Faith-Based Safety Net Care and Advancing Health Equity" with Ngozi Ezike, MD

    "Faith-Based Safety Net Care and Advancing Health Equity" with Ngozi Ezike, MD by Duke Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative

    "Faith-Based Safety Net Care and Advancing Health Equity" with Ngozi Ezike, MD
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The Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative invites participants to reimagine and to reengage contemporary practices of health and medicine in light of Christian tradition and the practices of Christian communities.

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