Welcome to EarthDiverse!

“I just want to thank you so much for all the great work you are doing through EarthDiverse. Bringing people together and helping us to understand each other offers such hope for the future of society.”

“Great year, great lessons, great edification!”

“Thank you for a great year of learning. I loved the sessions and will spread the word to others.”

“EarthDiverse’s courses are like a family gathering. That was one of the reasons it was such fun. Thank you!”

“Todd is a well prepared teacher. Thorough in his knowledge and has rich personal experience of major world religions to draw from. Very enjoyable so much that I will enrol for another term!”

Discovering Religious Diversity series: “A superb course for a deeper and exciting understanding into the rich spiritualities in different major religions of the world. Educational course content and very helpful Sources and References for deeper understanding are given. An indispensable course for interfaith dialogue geared towards a more comprehensive religious approach for world peace. Doctor Todd is a friendly teacher and an effective tour guide to the course material. It was once believed that true Biblical Prophets feel the world with the passion of God. That’s how Dr Todd guides us into the subject matter of these courses.”

“I took Todd’s Contemporary Belief and Practice courses in the Religious Diversity series and I really like his approach to select topics for each evening and look at how each religion expresses that particular topic. As he has said this tends to draw out the similarities between the various religions rather than the differences. As a minister of Universal Worship, coming from a Sufi and interfaith perspective, I appreciate this approach very much.

“EarthDiverse’s digital teaching equipment and skills combined with Benny’s native experience with the Hebrew language was more beneficial than a self-taught, extra-mural course.”

“It is a pleasure to be a relaxed student, with no need to take notes, receiving well-informed lively presentations, with follow-up pdf’s of the lectures.

“Todd understands how to teach Hindi to English speakers. As a beginner I never thought I’d get past the alphabet and cannot believe how much I have learned in such a short amount of time. Todd’s approach, which includes free-flowing conversation in combination with textbook learning, is effective and we have a good time. He is an adaptable, patient, and dedicated teacher and I highly recommend his language courses.”

“I have really enjoyed Peter’s ‘History of Death’ course which not only taught me new facts but strengthened my Quaker beliefs of only believing what your educated reasoning allows you to believe. Leaving mind open to new and evolving changes. I look forward to new courses next year. Thank you again for organising everything in such a friendly way.

“The World Religions series has helped me identify the various traditions where my own beliefs probably primarily originated. Todd leads brilliantly on a grand journey through time, populated by fascinating characters, ideas and historical consequences. He has a clear passion for teaching and knows his subject extremely well.”

“As I live in Tauranga I wasn’t able to attend classes regularly, but I definitely enjoyed watching the weekly videos. Peter is a great lecturer and the class has been extremely helpful for my research. I really appreciate his amazing knowledge on the History of Death.”

‘I have been attending EarthDiverse’s excellent religious diversity courses for several years now. And plan to continue doing so. Todd has a vast store of knowledge on the subject and presents the courses in a group discussion format with copies of the factual information emailed the following day.”

“The Religious Diversity courses offer a detailed overview of religious thinking spanning different faith traditions over the millennia. Each course engages all participants, drawing on experiences, views and insights as well as personal understanding. Every session is a relaxed evening’s outing that broadens the mind. Todd’s one of very few people who you’d go to hear no matter what subject he talked about. I’d go to hear him talk about paint drying.”

“EarthDiverse’s series of Religious Diversity courses are beautifully crafted and presented by an eminently qualified lecturer. The abundance of information given in each lecture was enhanced with helpful notes, which are emailed to class participants after each session. The lectures are all delivered from from a benign, historical and objective point of view, and the lecturer‘s personal experiences added an enjoyable dimension to the talks. These series of courses offer a wonderful start to understanding the origin and progression of many of the world’s major belief systems—and also some of the not so major ones. Absorbing and fascinating.

“As a reader of the Hebrew Bible, I’m very appreciative of the opportunity to learn the sounds of Hebrew language and extend my vocab to current times. This course has enhanced and extended other study. I intend to do more courses at a higher level.”

“I attended two Religious Diversity courses and spent a term learning Hindi. Thoroughly enjoyed it all. Tuition and material were excellent.”

“I found EarthDiverse’s ‘A Cultural History of Death’ course a fascinating insight into how this subjective truth has been interpreted and conveyed throughout the ages by individuals from a range of disciplines. Thanks for offering such an engaging and thought-provoking course. I’d like to do it all over again!”

“As a remote learning student I feel lucky to have been able to join the EarthDiverse Level 2 Hebrew class this past term. Previous to enrolling I used a beginner app on my own, rather a lonely exercise. But with a native speaker, Benny, leading the class responsive to conversation and explaining the many hidden quirks of a living language, and with course material support and constant classroom support from Todd, I feel part of a quite special and ongoing and communal learning environment. More strength to EarthDiverse in an interconnected world!”

“I really enjoy our Hindi classes. Todd is an excellent teacher who has given me an opportunity to put my basic knowledge of vocabulary to use in some conversation. Doing this, alongside learning to read Devanāgarī script is something I have always wanted to do.”

“Todd’s Religious Diversity courses were both fascinating and very instructive. Each week a highly informative and visually interesting powerpoint was used to present the various topics as they related to the major faith traditions. Todd’s anecdotes based on his years of academic research and teaching, as well as living in South Asia for over a decade, helped bring the information to life. The class consisted of people of all ages, including students, educators, ministers of religion and others simply interested in broadening their knowledge about faith traditions. I highly recommend these courses for anyone wishing to extend their knowledge of the world’s great faiths.

“Regarding the Religious Diversity courses, I’ve enjoyed the experience of learning about the worlds leading faiths over the past one-and-a-half years. These courses are informative, thought provoking and I can thoroughly recommend them.”

“I’ve taken a number of EarthDiverse‘s courses and I would recommend any of them, as they are informative and well designed for relaxed learning. They also provide some much needed mental stimulation away from my daily grind!

“I’ve taken multiple EarthDiverse courses. In Todd’s Religious Diversity courses it is a delight to have a lecturer, and learners, who have lived experience of the religion being studied, and who are willing and encouraged to share that experience. The class discussions have been both lively and enlightening – sometimes concurrently. I’ve also taken Norman’s European Art course and his enthusiasm and the depth and breadth of his knowledge of art in various of its forms, added to the philosophic concepts informing the creation of these forms has been fascinating. His willingness to answer questions, relevant and otherwise has been very encouraging.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed each of the Religious Diversity classes I have taken. They have filled me in on a number of things I had no appreciation of before. They have also given me an overview of different beliefs, have taught me more about places I had visited when travelling, and have been thought provoking concerning life values. The classes cover all the essentials, but are flexible enough to cater to individual questions, and time is taken to delve into areas applicable to the students. Artefacts, which apply to the topic under discussion, are often brought along. It lifts the classes from the academic to the real life practices and students often also bring along items in support. Extensive bibliographies for the topic covered are made available for the religious diversity courses so you can study in your own time for further reflection. The Religious Diversity courses are excellent. I look forward to continuing with additional classes in the future.”

“Your class has been the highlight of my week. Thank you for your gifts of making theology interesting and facilitating us to make connections between the traditions we have been introduced to.”

“As a retired person with an interest in any part of history I was amazed at the discovery of the programmes you offer. The mix of anthropology, history, languages, religious diversity, philosophy, combining art, literature, theatre, etc. excites me. I look forward to 2021 and selecting my choices from ‘the box of chocolates’.”

“I wanted to learn Arabic, however with work was unable to stick to the classroom schedule. The classes with EarthDiverse were emailed to me each week with a link to the Zoom video of each class along with copy of the class notes. This allowed me to complete the lessons in my own time (and be able to pause and review) and still have the ability to contact tutors if necessary. I would definitely recommend this format which is informative, easy to follow and understand with ability to go over previous lessons if needed.”