What: Jainism Conference

When: 9:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. April 14 (Saturday)

Where: Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building, 1704 W. Mulberry St., Denton

Cost: Free. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jainism-and-the-environment-tickets-43639760699

Parking: Visitors may park in Lot 7 on Avenue C between Mulberry and Sycamore Streets, across from the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building. Learn more at http://transportation.unt.edu/visitor-information

DENTON (UNT), Texas ¾ The Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Texas will host a Jainism and the Environment Conference April 14 (Saturday).

Jainism is an ancient religion of India with central tenets of nonviolence, love toward all living beings, non-absolutism and non-possessiveness.

The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building on the UNT campus. While the conference is free, attendees are asked to register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jainism-and-the-environment-tickets-43639760699

Last September, George Alfred James, a professor in UNT’s Department of Philosophy and Religion, was named the university's first Bhagwan Adinath Professor of Jain Studies. The professorship was created in UNT's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences with a $500,000 gift from the Jain Education and Research Foundation.

This is the first major public event supported by the Bhagwan Adinath professorship.

“We want to raise public awareness of Jainism as the purveyor of non-violence that decisively influenced the activism of Mahatma Gandhi, and through Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement in the United States,” said James. “We are going to explore the significance of Jain values for environmental ethics.”

For more information about the conference visit http://jainstudies.unt.edu/one-day-conference-jainism-and-environment-and-recognition-dinner-program