__________________________________________________
Conference Announcement Theme: The Changing Faces of Religion and Secularity Subtitle: Religion and Civil Society Type: International Conference Institution: Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra Law School, Harvard University Location: Cambridge, MA (USA) Date: 7.–8.6.2012 __________________________________________________ Workshops 1. Religious Freedom in Contemporary Juridical Context This Workshop invites to reflect on contemporary legal controversies regarding the protection of religious freedom, and the conflicts between religion and law in the public sphere: 1) displays of religious symbols on public property, 2) government funding of faith-based organizations, 3) asylum on the grounds of religious persecution, 4) autonomy for religious organizations, 5) conscientious objections in the exercise of public functions, 6) the right to build, buy, and operate places of worship, and 7) the conflicts between freedom of expression and religious freedom. 2. Medieval Political Theology: Theory and Practice The topics of interest to be covered in this Workshop include, but are not limited to: 1) Theory on the concept of Political Theology: Medieval, Early Modern, Modern. 2) The practice, historical evolution and forms of political theology in Medieval Europe: The royal symbolic space: the court; Royal ceremonies and their symbolic value: coronations, self-coronations and the secularization of royal power; Visual elements of royal symbolism: emblems and royal signs; The anthropological dimension of royalty: festivals; The contestation of hegemonic royal political theology: the critique of the crusades; The iconology of royal power: the fracture of the royal seal; Royal image: political and theological symbolism; Liturgy; The theological and symbolical power of literary and historical discourses. 3. The Media and the Process of Secularization of Society Gramsci proposed the conquest of civil society through the material transformation of their cultural foundations. His main objective was the creation of a new fully secularized common sense to replace the traditional, based on religious and metaphysical content. The tools to achieve this would be media, film, theater and educational organizations. In these institutions, key positions would be held by organic intellectuals, in charge of building the new culture and introducing it to the masses. The proletarian revolution and the control of the means of production were no longer the state’s competition. Now it is task, was to lead the Cultural Revolution and gain the means to produce and spread culture. Thus, from the 70's and 80's, social democratic governments abandoned the struggle in the economic and labor fronts to focus on the cultural conquest of society, in materialistic code. It was important to gain an extensive and benevolent public opinion of the new ideas they wanted to establish. These theories of Antonio Gramsci have been the basis of some processes of secularization developed in various countries of Europe and Latin America. In this sense, the role played by media and leftist intellectuals, has been critical. 4. Liberalism, Capitalism and Religion There are only few societies in which religion has not played a role, even a central one. When this has been the case, however, it is easy to see that politics tends unavoidably to assume the role proper to religion. Taken as a social category, religion is some kind of practical knowledge about the origins and the end, i.e. knowledge of the totality, some kind of revelation about the ultimate meaning of things. For that reason, the political system that does without religion and, at the same time, pretends to rule people’s life, surreptitiously takes on the form of a religion. Some have thus characterized Marxism, for instance. Political liberalism and capitalism, however, did not pretend in their beginnings to wipe off religion from social life, but to use it. The form of capitalism which has its starting point in the 18th century with Adam Smith attributes great importance to the presence of religion in commercial societies. For him, the existence of religions – in plural – is desirable and useful for society, because they reinforce morality, without which no society can live in its optimal condition. And, on the other hand, if there are many religions and none of them gathers the majority of citizens, there will be no religious power that competes with political power. Moreover, early modernity and the Enlightenment redefined the spheres of religion and politics so that they their objects are different and their functions tend to part more and more. The interesting point is to find out which kind of religion a liberal and capitalist society tolerates and also which role religion is recognized in the social space. To speak about religion is to refer to the existence of God. To speak about political or economical power is to refer to the Caesar. This tension is as old as history: What must be given to God and what to the Caesar? But it also poses the question about God’s intervention in history: How is He present in temporal reality? Does he rather set society in motion, and then society builds itself alone? The idea of God is not alien to the idea of man and society. Nowadays, the question of identity is vital and religion plays again a fundamental role. Which answer do liberalism and capitalism give to these basic topics? Which form did that answer take in America and Europe? Which model did civilizations in the West adopt in the past centuries? Have liberalism and capitalism preserved any traits of Christianity, which inspired them? 5. Monotheism and Violence The affirmation of the existence of one God is the common characteristic of the monotheistic religious traditions, especial Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All three commonly affirm the unicity of God. This workshop is not intended to highlight the points of convergence or divergence between the three mentioned forms of monotheism, but rather to examine the immanent “logic” of the discourse of monotheism. The reason for choosing this topic is the diverse and intense debate under which currently surrounds monotheistic faith. Predominant and omnipresent criticism of monotheism is underway to the point that it is associated with intolerance, fanaticism and violence, presented as an uncontested yet often inadequately justified assumption, which constitutes a sort of cultural and social evidence. However, the workshop does not seek to deal with historical, but rather argumentative issues. The topic could be formulated in the following way: to what sort of dynamic would the assumption of an immanent logic of monotheism lead? To intolerance, exclusion and violence, or to freedom, inclusion and pacification? The workshop is rather, restricted to specific issues related to the affirmation of monotheism as potentially violent or liberating on the contemporary political society. Given that the criticism of monotheism is not something entirely new, but rather in some way a prolongation of past judgments, special attention will be paid to the current debates, to better detect the new propositions and the cultural context unique to current times. Among the numerous aspects within this topic, the project will narrow in on those of particular relevance: the issue of violence related to the assumption of the truth of monotheism itself, as well as its legal and political consequences; the principal monotheistic religions and their eventual pretense of exclusive truth and the resulting political violence that they are assumed to generate; current polytheistic and non-religious humanistic positions if related with the main topic of the workshop; fundamentalisms versus tolerance in civil society, in those cases in which their origin is of a religious nature and are manifested through violence; monotheistic religions as a means of forming social and political identities and their possible role in building social peace. Program 7th June 9:00 Speaker 1, Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard University) 10:00 Speaker 2, Rafael Alvira (University of Navarra) "Parenthood in God and the Civil Society" 11:00 Speaker 3, Carmelo Vigna (Università Ca Foscari de Venezia) "Religious civilization and civil religion in a multicultural world" Discussion 13:00 Lunch 14:00 Workshop I: Religious Freedom in Contemporary Juridical Context Chair: Francisca Pérez Madrid (Universidad de Barcelona) 4 Workshop Speakers 16:00 Workshop II: Medieval Political Theology: Theory & Practice. Chair: Jaume Aurell (University of Navarra) 4 Workshop Speakers 18:00 Dinner 19:30 Speaker 4: Robert Royal (Institute for Faith & Reason, Washington, D.C.) 8th June 9:00 Speaker 5, Allen Hertzke (University of Oklahoma) - "Defending Civil Society: Religious Advocacy in American National Politics" 10:00 Speaker 6, Jean Bethke Elstain (University of Chicago) 11:00 Speaker 7, Russell Hittinger (University of Tulsa) "The Theologico-Political Problem Today" Discussion 13:00 Lunch 14:00 Workshop III: The Media and the Process of Secularization of Society Chair: Mercedes Montero & Mónica Codina (University of Navarra) 4 Workshop Speakers 16:00 Workshop IV: Liberalism, Capitalism & Religion Chair: Raquel Lázaro (University of Navarra) 4 Workshop Speakers 18:00 Workshop V: Monotheism & Violence Chair: Alejandra Vanney (Austral University of Buenos Aires) 4 Workshop Speakers 20:00 Dinner Keynote Speakers Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard University) Rafael Alvira (Universidad de Navarra) Carmelo Vigna (Università Ca Foscari de Venezia) Allen Hertzke (University of Oklahoma) Jean Bethke Elstain (University of Chicago) Robert Royal (Institute for Faith & Reason, Washington, D.C.) Russell Hittinger (University of Tulsa) More information: http://www.unav.es/centro/religion-sociedad/congress-changing-faces-religion-secularity Contact: Claudia Osinaga Instituto Empresa y Humanismo University of Navarra Edif. Biblioteca Pamplona 31009 Spain Phone: +34 948 425600 Fax: +34 948 425619 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.unav.es/centro/religion-sociedad/congress-changing-faces-religion-secularity __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
