6-8th April 2005 Von Hugel
Institute, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge,
UK
CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS
Today, issues about faith and
society are changing fast and are of great public concern. The continued
presence and impact of religion in the public sphere has called in question
the view of secularization as meaning that religion declines in direct
proportion to the emergence of modernity. Religion’s social and
political significance is re-emerging in new and dramatically diverse
contexts, from the Jubilee 2000 campaign to the religiously inspired
terrorism of Al Qaeda. These issues impact on public policy at virtually all
points, and correspondingly engage a wide range of academic disciplines. In
view of this new context, a new agenda for political theology is
required.
The conference calls for papers from a wide range of
disciplines ? theology, politics, sociology, law etc. - which
are exploring this new relationship between religion and politics. Papers on
the following topics would particularly be welcome: - Various
perspectives to explain the re-emergence of religion as a public force. -
How is political theology challenged by this new emerging relationship? - How
do different faith traditions understand their public role? Is the new
visibility of religion likely to lead to intensified strife between
religions? - What is the role of faith-based communities in promoting
justice? Do they play a supportive role, or a political role challenging the
political authority? - What is the relationship between secularization
and fundamentalism? - Has post-modernity given rise to a new understanding of
religious authority? - How does faith inform the way issues such as
immigration, education, human rights and social exclusion are
conceived?
Confirmed speakers include Professor William Cavanaugh (USA,
author of Torture and Eucharist), Professor Tomas Halik (Charles University,
Prague), Dr Mona Siddiqi (University of Glasgow), Most Rev Diarmuid Martin
(Archbishop of Dublin, formerly Vatican Representative at the UN Human
Rights Commission, Geneva), Dr Patrick Riordan, SJ (Heythrop College,
University of London).
Deadline for submission: 15th December
2004
Please send a summary of your paper proposal (max. 1000 words)
to: Von Hügel Institute, Centre for the Study of Faith in Society, St
Edmund’s College, Cambridge, CB3 0BN
