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Call for Papers "Unity and Plurality in Europe: Religion and Public Life" International Conference International Forum Bosnia Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) 9-10 August 2006 __________________________________________________ In the modern world most ideas of tolerance and pluralism rest on liberal and secular ideas of self and society. These ideas can be briefly summarized as: a) the establishment of a secular public sphere; b) the privatisation of religion; c) a politics of rights rather than a politics of the good; d) a secular idea of the individual as a self-regulating moral agent. However in most of the world these ideas simply do not hold. In most parts of the world the public sphere is not secularised, religion remains a public and not a private matter, politics are articulated along with visions of a truth community and the self is seen as constituted by collective definitions and desiderata rather than by purely individual pursuits and interests. This is true not only in Southeast Asia and the Indian sub-continent, but also in the Balkans, the Middle East, Ireland, North Africa, Turkey and even in parts of that most secular of enclaves, Western Europe. Religious identities then, continue to matter. Given the continued, if not renewed, salience of religious identities world-wide, as well as their potential to form a focus of conflict and to provide a dangerous legitimation for existing conflicts, it is crucial to take religion seriously. This means seeing the potential of religion to provide resources for tolerance and mutual acceptance and not solely for conflict and oppression. The UPE: RPL is devoted to furthering these goals within research and an educational milieu. The conference addresses not only issues of public life in its diverse components but wrestles with leading theories of the political and societal order as well. It thus includes three panels. Panels Panel 1: Unity and Plurality in Europe: Religion and Civil Society Panel 2: The “Muslim Question” in Europe Panel 3: Religion and Public Life All applicants will be informed on decision of Organizational Board by May 15th 2006. Contact: International Forum Bosnia Sime Milutinovica 10 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina Tel: + 387 33 217 665 Fax: + 387 33 206 484 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.ifbosna.org.ba/bosanski/saopcenja/saopcenja/stolac2006/conference.html __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org/ Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://agd.polylog.org/cal/
