IPSA RC 43 - Religion and Politics

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06Dec

Conference: Ten year of publishing the Politics and Religion Journal (PRJ)

The Center for Study of Religion and Religious Tolerance and the Faculty of Political Science University of Belgrade jointly organized an international scientific conference dedicated to the tenth consecutive year of publishing the Politics and Religion Journal (PRJ). The Conference was held on November 25th 2016 and around 30 researchers had a chance to present their work in 7 different panels. Prof. Miroljub Jevtic, editor-in-chief, together with Prof. Dejan Milenkovic, opened the conference.

For the full program, and photos of the event, check the journal website:

18Feb

Conference on Populisms and Religion in Europe

2nd conference concerning the Populism in Europe, funded by the Council of Europe.

POPULISM(S) & RELIGION(S) IN EUROPE

POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES- IPSE DOCTORAL SCHOOL 2015-2016

3-4 JUNE 2016

Collège des Bernardins, 20 rue de Poissy, 75005 Paris

The third and last international conference will be held in November 2016 at the University of Luxembourg with the research question on Populisms and Economy in Europe.

The conference proceedings will be published in winter 2016-17 in the parliamentary studies collection from Larcier in French and in English (http://editionslarcier.larciergroup.com/collections/120557_6_30942/etudes-parlementaires.html).

For more information contact Prof Philippe Poirier: philippe.poirier@uni.lu.

18Nov

International Seminar on Theology, Religion and Politics (Buenos Aires, November 26, 2015)

INTERNATIONAL SEMINARY OF THEOLOGY, RELIGION AND POLITICS
November 26,  2015, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina

PEC (Cultural Studies Program) part of IEI (Initial Studies Institute)

Institutional support:
UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN
UNIVERSITY OF  BELGRADE
CLACSO (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales)
IPSA (International Political Science Association)-RC43 Politics and Religion

Academic coordination: Dra. Emilce Cuda

Presentation of international jounal: Politics and Religion.
Director: Dr. Miroljub Jevtic. Special Number 2015 about Latin America

10:00 – 10:30 Brekfast Conference
Dr. Miroljub Jevtic. University of Belgrade: “Politics of religions”

10:30 – 12:30 Panel/Theology and Politics

-Dr. Emmanuel Taub. UBA/Political Science-CONICET: “Jewish Philosophy and Education: Reflecting on the diáspora to Argentina from the theology of Franz Rosenzweig”
-Dr. Hernán Borisonic. UBA/ Political Science: “Notes about faiting between catholics and pratestants”
-Dr. Omar Albado, Lic. Enrique Bianchi, Lic. Fabrizio Forcat.. UCA/Theology College: “Theology of the People”

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch/ Conference
Dr. Hans Aasmundsen. University of Bergen: “Religión and Politics in Argentina, a contemporary-historical perspective"

14:30 – 16:30 Mesa redonda/Religión y Política

-Dr. Fortunato Mallimaci. UBA/Social-CEIL/CONICET: “Pluralism and Individualism in the religious argetininen context”
-Dr. Néstor Miguez. ISEDET: “L
The political ambiguity of popular religión in Latin America: Francis and the political”
-Dr. José Fernández Vega. UBA/Fhilosophy-CONICET: “The legitimacy of the pontifical”

30Mar

2015 UCSIA summer school on “Religion, Culture and Society"

Call for applications for the 2015 UCSIA summer school on “Religion, Culture and Society: Entanglement and Confrontation”. This summer school is a one-week course taking place from Sunday 23rd of August until Sunday 30th of August 2015 (dates of arrival and departure). This year the programme will focus on the topic: Is Faith-based Violence Religious?

Topic:

Despite the predicted secularization process that would make religion less salient in the global world, the topic of faith biased violence remains hugely relevant, both from a societal and an academic perspective. Whether the movements are pro-democracy or pro-theocracy, religious movements are often instrumental in political change. Political tensions mapped onto religious discourse may also de-contextualize historical events, mythologize agendas and transform neighbours into ‘others’ while the struggle for ‘Truth’ renders defence into an act of aggression. Given UCSIA’s mission to delve into academically timely and challenging topics we will approach this phenomenon from an interdisciplinary perspective. More specifically, the UCSIA summer school will investigate both sides of the subject matter: Is religion inductive of or instrumental for violence?

Guest lecturers are Jonathan Fox (Religion and State Project, Faculty of the Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University); Peter Neumann (Department of War Studies, King’s College London, and International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation); Marat Shterin (Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King's College London); & Thijl Sunier (Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University Amsterdam).

Practical details:

Participation and stay for young scholars and researchers are free of charge. Participants should pay for their own travel expenses to Antwerp.

You can submit your application via the electronic submission on the summer school website. The completed file as well as all other required application documents must be submitted to the UCSIA Selection Committee not later than Sunday 19 April 2015.

For further information regarding the programme and application procedure, please have a look at our website: http://www.ucsia.org/summerschool.

02Feb

Conference: Islam and Democracy. Exploring the Strategies of Political Islam

The Cordoba Foundation NATIONAL CONFERENCE

ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY: Exploring the Strategies of Political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood's Contribution

On the back of a trending upsurge in interest and critique of political Islam following the Arab Spring, and particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, this timely conference seeks to unpick the nature and manifestation of political Islam in Britain today. The conference will principally explore whether the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood is congruent with the values and principles of democracy; the orientation of the Brotherhood towards violence, extremism and radicalisation in Britain and abroad; the repressive measures targeting the group globally, and the increasing pressure placed on the political space by more extremist actors such as al-Qa'ida and ISIS.

Speakers (LATEST):

Leading academics, experts and scholars, including:

Prof. John Esposito – Georgetown University, USA

Prof. George Joffé – Kings College, London

Prof. Rosemary Hollis – City University

Prof. Yasin Aktay - Deputy Chairman, AK PartyTurkey

Jeremy Corbyn - MP for Islington North, London

Dr Maha Azzam – Egyptians Abroad for Democracy

Dr Anas Altikriti – The Cordoba Foundation

Dr Madawi Rashid – London School of Economics

Victoria Brittain – Former Associate Foreign Editor, The Guardian

Prof. Abdelwahab El-Affendi – Westminster University

Dr Barbara Zollner – Birkbeck, University of London

Mohammad Soudan – Freedom and Justice Party

Mona al-Qazzaz - Muslim Brotherhood

Oliver McTernan - Forward Thinkin

Dr Azzam Tamimi - Al-Hiwar TV

Prof. Jeffrey Haynes - London Metropolitan University

Dr Daud Abdullah - Middle East Monitor

Toby Cadman - Nine Bedford Row, London

Dr Omar el-Hamdoon - Muslim Association of Britain

Thu 12 February, 2015 10am-5pm

Holiday Inn London - Kensington Forum 97 Cromwell Road, London SW7 4DN

Nearest tube: Gloucester Road. Registration:tcfconf.eventbrite.co.uk Information:

events@thecordobafoundation.com

www.thecordobafoundation.com

27Oct

Conference: Religion, Diversity and Governance

3-5 December 2014: Religion, Diversity and Governance

Registration is now open for the annual conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion, hosted in partnership with the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University, Religion and Society Research Centre at the University of Western Sydney and the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at the Australian Catholic University.

Keynote Speakers:

Professor Lori G. Beaman, University of Ottawa

Professor Gary D. Bouma, Monash University

Professor Matthew Clarke, Deakin University

Dr Cathy Byrne, Southern Cross University

3-5 December 2014 | Deakin University Melbourne City Centre: http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/centre-for-citizenship-and-globalisation/events/conferences/2014/religion,-diversity-and-governance

27Oct

Religion and Political Theory Centre Lecture Series 2014-15

Religion and Political Theory Centre Lecture Series 2014-15 Multidisciplinary Engagements with Religion

Wednesday 24 September 2014, Council Room ‘Spiritual Governance: The Chaplain as Priest of the Secular’ Winnifred Fallers Sullivan , Indiana University Bloomington

Thursday 30 October 2014, Council Room ‘Religious Divisions After the Reformation: A Spur to Secularization?’ Ben Kaplan, UCL (University College London)

Thursday 4 December 2015, Council Room ‘Equality and Discrimination Law: What has Religious Conscience Got to Do with It?’ Maleiha Malik, King’s College London

Tuesday 3 February 2015, Committee Room ‘The Sociology of Religion and its Cultured Despisers: A Modest Defence’ James A. Beckford, University of Warwick

Tuesday 3 March 2015, Committee Room ‘Multiculturalising Secularism, Multiculturalising State-Religion Connexions’ Tariq Modood, University of Bristol

Monday 23 March 2015, room TBC ‘Moral Majority and Moral Minority: The Values and Beliefs of Religious and Non-religious People in the UK Today’ Linda Woodhead, Lancaster University

Thursday 9 July 2015 Title TBA Saba Mahmood, University of California, Berkeley

The RAPT lecture series showcases the work of prominent international scholars in, and in relation to, the study of religion and political theory. It is organised by UCL’s Religion and Political Theory (RAPT) Centre. RAPT is a 5-year project funded by the European Research Council and led by Professor Cécile Laborde. It aims to interrogate the special status of religion (ethics, epistemology and practices) in western political and legal theory.

Unless otherwise stated, all lectures take place at 5.15pm and will be held in the Council or Committee Rooms (as stated) at the School of Public Policy, The Rubin Building, 29-30 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9QU.

All are welcome. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please email Aurelia Bardon (a.bardon@ucl.ac.uk) or Lois Lee (lois.lee@ucl.ac.uk). To attend, please register at www.uclspp.eventbrite.com

02Jul

RC43 panels at the IPSA Montreal Conference

Towards the end of July, Political Scientists from all over the world will gather in Montreal for the 23rd World Congress of Political Science. The Research Committee 43 on Religion and Politics hosts the following 12 panels*

Civil Society and Religion Chair: Prof. Jeffrey Haynes Palais des congrès - 512d Wednesday, July 23rd - 13:00-14:45

Governance Implications of EU Integration for Post-communist States Chair: Prof. Jeffrey Haynes Palais des congrès - 522b Tuesday, July 22nd - 11:00-12:45

Individual Attitudes towards Religion and Politics Chair: Mr. Lieuwe Kalkhoven Palais des congrès - 514a Sunday, July 20th - 17:00-18:45

Political Leaders' End Games and Military Engagement: Political-Military Relations in Mobilizing Societies Chair: Prof. Aurel Croissant Palais des congrès - 522c Monday, July 21st - 13:00-14:45

Religion, Democratization and Democracy Chair: Prof. Jeffrey Haynes Palais des congrès - 513c Sunday, July 20th - 15:00-16:45

Religion, International Relations, and Foreign Policy Chair: Dr. Carimo Mohomed Palais des congrès - 522c Monday, July 21st - 11:00-12:45

Religious Criticism and Protest: Two Driving Forces for Socio-Political Change? Chair: Dr. Julia Enxing Palais des congrès - 522b Tuesday, July 22nd - 13:00-14:45

Religious-motivated Criticism and Democratic Protest Movements Chair: Dr. Massimiliano Livi Palais des congrès - 515a Tuesday, July 22nd - 15:00-16:45

Secularization and Its Discontents: Debates over the Legitimacy of a Historical Category Chair: Prof. Jeffrey Haynes Palais des congrès - 512g Thursday, July 24th - 9:00-10:45

The Arab Spring: Three Years On Chair: Prof. Jeffrey Haynes Palais des congrès - 512g Thursday, July 24th - 11:00-12:45

Thought, Action and Faith in an Age of Governance Chair: Mr. Colin Cordner Palais des congrès - 522c Monday, July 21st - 9:00-10:45

Turkey: Politics, State, and Governance Chair: Dr. Yusuf Sarfati Palais des congrès - 512g Thursday, July 24th - 13:00-14:45

18Jun

Religion, Nation(alism) and Transnationalism Symposium

The University of Western Sydney’s Religion and Society Research Centre invites you to attend the:

Religion, Nation(alism) and Transnationalism Symposium

Speakers:

Saïd Arjomand, State University of New York

Julia Day Howell, University of Western Sydney

Mark Hutchinson, University of Western Sydney

Patrick Michel, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales

Enzo Pace, University of Padua

Bryan Turner, Australian Catholic University and City University of New York

Firdaus Wajdi, State University of Jakarta and University of Western Sydney

Date: Wednesday, 09 July 2014

Time: 09:00 AM – 16:30 PM

Venue: UWS Bankstown Campus, Building 5, Lecture Theatre 15

RSVP: j.fishman@uws.edu.au by Wednesday, 2 July 2014 – for catering purposes (please advise of any special dietary requirements)

Symposium Introduction

With the permeability of borders and the greatly increased speed and volume of international communication and transportation, we have entered a new era of transnationalism. In this post-Westphalian world, religions are taking part in a network society that cuts across borders. If world religions have dominated the global sphere for centuries, today we are faced with a plethora of new religious recompositions. This symposium will explore the impact of globalisation on the relationship between religion and nation, religion and nationalism, and the changes that transnationalism has brought on religious groups (and vice versa).

08Apr

Conference: The Muslim World - Democracy Redefined?

London Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Hijaz College, host the conference

The Muslim World - Democracy Redefined?

23 April 2014

09.30am to 06.00pm

Venue: GSB01 Basement Lecture

Theatre Faculty of Business and Law

16 Goulston Street London E1 7TP

Nearest tube stations are Aldgate and Aldgate East

Keynote speakers and presenters include:

George Galloway (MP, Respect Party)

Lord Nazir Ahmed (Labour Peer)

Shaikh Faiz Siddiqi

Shaikh Ahmad Thomson

For more information, visit the website: www.democracyredefined.org

14Feb

Summer Graduate Studies in Religion and Global Politics at John Cabot University

Summer Graduate Studies in Religion and Global Politics at John Cabot University Funded with a grant from the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)

19 May – 20 June 2014

The Summer School features:

A graduate seminar on Religion and Global Politics (PL 529 is a 6 ECTS or 3 US credit course) which examines the topic from the perspectives of philosophy, law and empirical political science. Students will attend regular tutorials with one of the program’s lecturers. Visits to religious and political institutions in Rome, such as the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, the Sant’Egidio Community, the Rome Synagogue, and the Grand Mosque of Italy. A two-day international conference on “Rethinking Political Catholicism: Empirical and Normative Perspectives,” to be held at the University in May, 22-23, 2014. Scholars from Italy, Europe and the U.S. will discuss new research on both the normative relations between Catholicism and liberal democracy and new socio-political trends in Political Catholicism in contemporary Europe and the United States.

In addition to the Religion and Global Politics Seminar, students participating in the Institute may also audit or take for-credit one other course offered by the University during the Summer I 2014 session. Summer I 2014 Course Schedule.

Apply online now.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with final deadline of April 15, 2014.

The application fee of 50 euro is waived for students applying for the graduate seminar in religion and politics.

Tuition fees

€ 1170 for Religion and Global Politics Seminar (6 ECTS / 3 US credits)

€ 2170 for Religion and Global Politics Seminar + another course for credit (12 ECTS / 6 US credits)

Graduate student fees for the Religion and Global Politics Seminar have been subsidized by John Cabot University and the ECPR.

Two students will also be awarded a € 165 travel grant, sponsored by the ECPR.

All students will be expected to pay their travel, accommodation and living expenses.

Interested students may apply for John Cabot University Housing.

For more information or inquiries, please contact one of the convenors.

05Feb

Summer School: The Political and Cultural Presence of Religions in Europe

Salzburger Religionstriennale

International Salzburg Summer School on

The Political and Cultural Presence of Religions in Europe: Judaism – Christianity – Islam

The Department for Systematic Theology at the University of Salzburg and the Salzburger Hochschulwochen are organizing a Triannual International Summer School on The Political and Cultural Presence of Religions in Europe: Judaism – Christianity - Islam (Salzburger Religionstriennale) which will take place at the University of Salzburg. This summer school offers 20 excellent PhD-students as well as postdoctoral researchers from all over Europe the possibility to study and discuss questions of religion, culture, politics and identity in the European context with distinguished experts in this field. These topics will be dealt with in a historical as well as systematic perspective focusing on the three monotheistic traditions Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The second part of this triannual programme will take place from

28th of July to 2nd of August 2014

at the University of Salzburg.

The topic of this year’s Salzburg Summer School is

Political Religions: The Political History and Presence of Religions in Europe

Three first-class researchers will unfold this topic from the perspectives of different religious traditions:

- Ruth Langer (Boston) – Judaism (Monday/Tuesday) - John Milbank (Nottingham) – Christianity (Wednesday/Thursday) - Nicolai Sinai (Oxford) – Islam (Friday/Saturday)

There is also the possibility for participants to present their own research topics in an afternoon section.

The accompanying scholar of the week is Georg Essen, professor for systematic theology at the University of Bochum.

The whole programme will be held in English, knowledge of the German language is not necessary.

PhD-students and postdoctoral researchers in the field of theology and religious studies from all over Europe are invited to apply for participation until 28th of February 2014. Only persons who participate in the whole programme can be considered for participation.

The organizers of the International Salzburg Summer School offer:

· Free participation in a high-quality programme on The Political and Cultural Presence of Religions in Europe: Judaism – Christianity – Islam

· Possibility to present own research projects

· Optional participation in the cultural programme of the Salzburger Hochschulwochen (an interdisciplinary academic programme that will take place at the same time as the Summer School – www.salzburger-hochschulwochen.at)

· Free meals and accommodation (www.virgil.at)

· Travel reimbursement up to € 250,--

A registration fee of € 100,-- has to be paid in advance. This registration fee will be paid back in case of successful participation.

Please send your application including a brief CV, a short description of your research interests and (optional) an abstract of your research presentation (about 300 words) to sigrid.rettenbacher@sbg.ac.at no later than 28th of February 2014. The organizing committee of the Salzburger Religionstriennale will select 20 participants who will be informed about participation by the beginning of April 2014.

For further questions contact

MMag.a Sigrid Rettenbacher Project coordinator Vice chairwoman of the Salzburger Hochschulwochen Department for Systematic Theology University of Salzburg sigrid.rettenbacher@sbg.ac.at

05Feb

Conference: The Church and Immigration

The Church and Immigration

University of Notre Dame

March 2-5, 2014

http://latinostudies.nd.edu/news-events/the-church-and-immigration-conference/

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God." -Ephesians 2:19

People have been migrating since the dawn of human history, but the scope and scale of migration today is unprecedented. Nowhere is this reality more present than in the United States. Although scholars have examined this reality from a number of perspectives, there is a critical need for more sustained reflection on the Church's contribution to immigration reform. Pope Francis has highlighted the importance of this issue and encouraged individuals and institutions from around the world to respond to this defining moral issue of our times. This conference will bring together scholars, pastoral workers, public policy leaders, and advocates committed to responding to this issue in the United States today. In the process we hope to not only reflect more critically on immigration today but also to assist our understanding of what the Church has done, what it is doing, and what it might do better in its outreach to migrants and refugees.

Program: http://latinostudies.nd.edu/assets/118685/the_church_and_immigration_conference_program_.pdf

05Feb

Conference: SIkh Research

SIKH RESEARCH CONFERENCE

The University of Warwick 28th June 2014

Research into Sikh studies is relatively young and is rapidly growing as a mainstream academic discipline. This annual conference aims to bring together academics, scholars and researchers and to encourage a spirit of collaboration within UK Sikh studies academia.

The conference aims to explore research and academic inquiry into various aspects of Sikh studies. The conference will provide an environment where academics, researchers and scholars can come together to pursue critical debate, discussion and inquiry into the many aspects of Sikh research in an open, constructive and collegiate manner.

The conference is being organised by Opinderjit Kaur Takhar, Harjinder Singh Lallie and Gurinder Singh Mann. Further details can be found on the Conference website:

http://www.sikhconference.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/SikhResearchUK

05Jul

Public lecture: "Religion in Modern America" (University of Sydney)

The Religion and Society Research Centre at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend a public lecture:

‘Religion in Modern America: a success story of migration and liberalism ?

Speaker: Professor Bryan Turner, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Date: Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Time: 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Venue: Bankstown Campus, Building 3 Room 55

RSVP to e.garcia@uws.edu.au by 12 July

Abstract

It has been a common feature of all discussion of America since Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1840s to note the exceptional importance of religion in American public life. While northern Europe is often seen to be significantly secularized, religion has been important in American public life. Sociologists have defined the Moral Majority as a major 'public religion' and others such as Robert Bellah have identified an all-embracing American civil religion.

But does religion divide or unite society? In recognizing the divisions over race in America, there is a common observation that America is most divided at prayer on a Sunday morning. This observation typically referred to divisions in Christianity, but we could also add other examples from the Nation of Islam. By comparison with Europe, the veil and Shari'a have not been or not remained important. However, there are other spectacular divisions around religion and terrorism - 9/11, Ground Zero, the Boston marathon and so forth. More recently various sociologists have argued that the old religious divisions (Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Jew, Christian and Muslim) are breaking down - most notably Putnam and Campbell in American Grace, Jeff Alexander in The Civil Sphere, and Muhacit Billici in Finding Mecca in America.

In this lecture I argue that the growth of no religion, rising inter-racial and inter-faith marriage, the acceptance of same sex marriage in law, the re-election of Obama, and the acceptance of homosexuality in the military may indicate that religion is becoming less significant in public life and less divisive as a result. The growth of the Hispanic population means that Catholicism cannot be ignored by the Protestant majority and at the same time, despite the war on terror and evidence of Islamophobia, Islam is becoming another American denomination.

Professor Bryan Turner is the Director of the Religion and Society Research Centre at the University of Western Sydney and Presidential Professor of Sociology at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York, USA. He has taught at the University of Aberdeen, Flinders University, University of Utrecht, Deakin University, Cambridge University and the National University of Singapore. He is the founding editor of the journals Body&Society, Citizenship Studies and Journal of Classical Sociology, and an editorial member of numerous journals including: British Journal of Sociology, European Journal of Social Theory, Contemporary Islam, Journal of Human Rights and Journal of Sociology.

02May

Conference: Muslims, Multiculturalism and Trust: New Directions

Conference: Muslims, Multiculturalism and Trust: New Directions, SOAS, University of London, June 1-2, 2013

From: Jane Savory <js64@soas.ac.uk> SOAS, University of London Conference

Muslims, Multiculturalism and Trust: New Directions 1 - 2 June 2013

Recent high-profile interventions by politicians in the West declaring the 'failure' of multiculturalism have had, as their very thinly disguised context, mistrust in those Muslim communities that have been growing in Western Europe and the United States since the end of the colonial era. The sense that multiculturalism has been a flawed experiment, that 'unintegrated' Muslims are evidence of this, has become a truism of much journalism and media coverage too.

This conference brings together leading experts from across the social science/humanities divide to examine the intersections and tensions between different approaches to questions of multi-culturalism and trust, and to explore the possibility of developing mutually informative interdisciplinary approaches to shed new light on this topic. The aim of the conference is to analyse current critiques of multiculturalism, measure them against other, perhaps more progressive interpretations, and consider the potential offered by lived experience and creative visions of intercultural exchange to offer new ways of envisaging multicultural experience.

Invited participants include: Rehana Ahmed, Valerie Amiraux, Claire Chambers, Sohail Daulatzai, Rumy Hasan, Salah Hassan, Tony Laden, Alana Lentin, Nasar Meer, Tariq Modood, Anshuman Mondal, Peter Morey, Stephen Morton, Jorgen Nielsen, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Amina Yaqin.

The conference is part of the 'Muslims, Trust and Cultural Dialogue' project: www.muslimstrustdialogue.org/

Admission: the event is free and open to the public. Booking is recommend to guarantee a place: www.soas.ac.uk/csp/events/

Inquiries: centres@soas.ac.uk

Jane Savory Centres and Programmes Office

SOAS, University of London

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG tel +44 (0)20 7898 4892 email js64@soas.ac.uk

web www.soas.ac.uk/centres/

02May

Workshop: The Future of Religious Pluralism in Europe

International Workshop: The Future of Religious Pluralism in Europe

Friday, May 17th - Saturday, May 18th 2013

Academic Direction: Volker Heins (KWI), Riem Spielhaus, (EZIRE)

Location: Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI), Gartensaal, Goethestr. 31, 45128 Essen, Germany

Organizer: Research Unit “Interculturality” at the KWI & Erlangen Centre for Islam & Law in Europe (EZIRE)

Recent surveys by the Pew Research Center indicate that globalization and migration are changing the relations between the state and religion, because the world population, with the notable exception of Europeans, is becoming more religious and devout. Through immigration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, the ramifications of this trend are increasingly felt in Europe too. With regard to Muslims, we are witnessing new combinations of well-known forms of xenophobia and racism with a more subtle and insidious anti-religious impulse of the “enlightened” sections of the population. These new ideological combinations have found expression in recent public controversies about Muslim headscarves, halal/kosher butchering, the ritual circumcision of Jewish and Muslim boys and, more generally, on the place and visibility of religion in European society. Overall, these controversies – and the policies they inspire – have a tendency to restrict the freedom of cultural and religious minorities and to favour a shift from a “passive” or “open” to a more “coercive” or “fundamentalist” type of secularism, in line with the broader European trend away from multiculturalism. However, this trend doesn’t go unchallenged. As forces from both ends of the political spectrum join hands to restrict the space for minorities, other unlikely coalitions are forming to reshape European societies in the light of more inclusive ideals of civil solidarity. While we acknowledge that the “backlash against multiculturalism” is real, we believe that not enough attention has been given to the meaning of the intellectual and political responses and contributions of relevant minorities themselves to the current situation. The forthcoming conference at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) will address this gap. Focusing on Muslim and Jewish communities in Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark, the conference will explore various aspects of the triangular relationship between those two paradigmatic minorities and mainstream society. What are the available cultural strategies and spaces to express religious minority identity within late modern Western Europe? What significance does the activism of Muslims and Jews have on their mutual perception as well as on the perception of their situation within society? What strategies are available to groups that are historically perceived in terms of their stigmatized ethno-religious practices or cultural heritage? Are there structural similarities between exclusivist tendencies towards Jews and Muslims (“Islamophobia” and Antisemitism)? Do we see connections between an emergent European identity and new forms of ethno-religious hierarchization of non-European populations within Europe?

Academic Direction: Volker Heins, Senior Fellow and Head of the Research Unit “Interculturality” at the KWI Riem Spielhaus, Research Fellow at the Erlangen Centre for Islam & Law in Europe (EZIRE)

Contributors (et al.): Michal Bodemann (Dept of Sociology, University of Toronto) Gerdien Jonker (Erlangen Centre for Islam & Law in Europe, EZIRE) Riva Kastoryano (CERI, Paris) Brian Klug (Dept of Philosophy, Oxford University) Tariq Modood (Dept of Sociology, University of Bristol) Yasemin Shooman (Academy of the Jewish Museum Berlin)

Contact: Volker Heins, Senior Fellow and Head of the Research Unit “Interculturality” at the KWI, volker.heins@kwi.-nrw.de

Please register (until May 10th 2013) at: Maria Klauwer, KWI, Tel. 0201 7204-153, maria.klauwer@kwi-nrw.de

Event-Link: http://www.kulturwissenschaften.de/en/home/event-509.html

02May

Conference: Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia

Conference "Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia" Goettingen (Germany), June 26-29 2013


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The research network "Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia" (http://www.dorisea.de/en) holds its mid-term conference from June 26-29 in Goettingen, Germany.

Conference Outline In global comparison, Southeast Asia stands out as a region marked by a particularly diverse religious landscape. Various "ethnic religions" interact with so-called "world religions", all of the latter - with the exception of Judaism - being represented in the region. While religion has oftentimes been viewed as an antithesis to modernity, scholarship has shown that religion shapes and is intertwined with modernization processes in crucial ways and that its role in contemporary Southeast Asian societies is intensifying. The mid-term conference "Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia" will explore this link between "religion" and "modernity" by focusing on three dimensions of religious dynamics, namely mediality, politics and mobility. In the spirit of Southeast Asian studies as a holistic, i.e. trans-disciplinary approach, we selected papers from diverse fields that investigate the peculiar dynamics of religion in times of globalization, and the ways in which these dynamics mediate change and continuity in Southeast Asia.

Conference Keynote Lecture: Robert Hefner, Boston University

Panel 1: Spatial Dynamics of Religion between Modulation and Conversion Panel Keynote: Janet Hoskins, University of Southern California

Panel 2: Secularization of Religion, Sacralization of Politics? The State of Religion in Southeast Asia Panel Keynote: Anthony Reid, ANU

Panel 3: Materializing Religion: on Media, Mediation, Immediacy Panel Keynote: Justin McDaniel, University of Pennsylvania

Please visit the conference website for more information: http://www.dorisea.de/de/node/996.

02May

Conference: The Impact of Religion - Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy

The Impact of Religion - Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy

An interdisciplinary conference at Uppsala University

Uppsala, Sweden, 20-22 May 2013

This conference offers a forum for sharing recent research on the role of religion in both the public and the private sphere – locally, nationally and internationally. It pays particular attention to the links between religion, law and wider social developments. The conference reflects the work of its host: a multi-disciplinary research programme at Uppsala University with the same title as the conference. Extensive migration has brought new forms of religion to European societies for many different reasons; their presence raises new issues for lawyers, healthcare workers and other service providers. Europeans live longer; their families reconstitute themselves in new ways; the workplace changes in nature; the explorations of science render commonplace what was unthinkable one or two generations earlier. All these shifts interact with the changing nature of religion to make new demands on our understandings of democracy, law, family life, healthcare, well-being, welfare and science itself.

Religion has become a crucial research area in a wide variety of academic disciplines. The conference include contributions by lawyers, human rights experts, social scientists, specialists in social policy, health and welfare, philosophers and scientists as well as those engaged directly in theology and religious studies. Apart from plenary sessions more than 130 papers will be presented in parallel paper sessions.

We welcome all of you that are interested in how religion (in all its diversity) influences different sectors of society and how they in turn influence religion.

The conference is hosted by The Impact of Religion programme and Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre at Uppsala University and sponsored by Swedish Research Council.

Up to date information on the programme, registration, venue etc. is available at:

http://www.crs.uu.se/Research/impactofreligion/conference/

Lower early bird registration fee until April 10th

Invitation to participate – remember to register

(Updated 26/03/2013)

Plenary speakers

Heiner Bielefeldt, Professor, Erlangen/Nürnberg University, Germany, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief

Katarina Boele Woelki, Professor of Comparative Law, Private International Law and Family Law, University of Utrecht, Netherlands

Grace Davie, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Exeter, UK

Yilmaz Esmer, Professor of Political Science, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey

Marie-Claire Foblets, Professor of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany

Effie Fokas, Phd in Political Sociology, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Athens, Greece

Inger Furseth, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Oslo, Norway

Niels Henrik Gregersen, Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Ian Leigh, Professor of Law, Durham University, UK

Mattias Martinson, Professor of Systematic Theology and Studies in World Views, Uppsala University

Ayelet Shachar, Professor of Law, Canada Research Chair in Citizenship and Multiculturalism, University of Toronto, Canada

Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Director of Communications and Program Director, Social Science Research Council, USA

Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion, Lancaster University, UK

Siniša Zrinščak, Professor of Social Policy, University of Zagreb, Croatia

19Mar

ECPR General Conference: Section on "Regulating Private and Public: Between Religion and Secularism"

The next ECPR General Conference will take place in Bordeaux, France, 4-7 September, 2013. The Religion and Politics SG is organising a section of six panels. The title of the section is: Regulating Private and Public: Between Religion and Secularism. The section is co-chaired by Guy Ben Porat (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) and Jeffrey Haynes (London Metropolitan University).

Section theme:

Panels in this section will examine, theoretically and comparatively: the role of religion in public and private lives, regulation of religion by states, and religioussecular struggles over rights and obligations. The modern state has taken control from religious institutions not only the regulation of education and welfare but also services like marriage and burial. Secularisation has implied a new division of labour between political and religious authorities, where the modern state has official authority while religion provides moral guidance for individuals and, in some cases, legitimacy for the political system. Consequently, in many modern and seemingly secular states religion has different roles in private and public lives and different divisions of labour between religious institutions and the state exist.

Differing arrangements face different challenges, either by traditional, or religious, proponents that reclaim the definition of the common good, or by those that find the common good too close to religion. Specifically, some religious actors believe that modern, western individualism is contrary to the common good, while some secular actors believe that individual choice must be expanded. Consequently, questions like the recognition of gay marriage, abortion, polygamy and religious slaughter of animals are often politically salient as states contend with conflicting demands of groups unsatisfied with existing rules or fighting against change. In many democracies, therefore, previous agreements are being re-negotiated between religious and secular actors.

This section seeks to engage with both regulation of and competition in private and public life involving both religious and secular authorities. The specific questions include: How do various societies, in Europe and elsewhere, deal with these new and unexpected demands? To what extent is it possible for either the state or religious authorities to regulate private lives? In this regard, which models of accommodation have been successful unsuccessful?

Details of the individual panels that make up the section are located at:

http://www.ecpr.eu/Events/PanelList.aspx?EventID=5&SectionID=66

The SG will hold its next meeting at the conference; details to follow. Jeffrey Haynes has chaired the SG since its inception in February 2006. It is now time, perhaps, to have an elected executive for the SG, with members electing the chair and other posts, including membership coordination, information dissemination, events, etc.

This issue will be discussed in Bordeaux, and a decision made about the future organisational structure of the SG. Please make every effort to attend the meeting.

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