Public Lecture: “POST-SECULARISM AND NEO-LIBERALISM: TOWARDS THE I-SATION OF SOCIETY?”, Prof. Adam Possamai

Public Lecture by Prof. Adam Possamai: “POST-SECULARISM AND NEO-LIBERALISM: TOWARDS THE I-SATION OF SOCIETY?”

When: 4 PM – 20.11.14

Where: Conference Room – NATSEM Building 24, University Drive,
University of Canberra, Bruce (ACT)

BELIEF AND SOCIETY SEMINAR SERIES

Abstract:

By post-secularism, Habermas refers to the process of the de-privatization of religion, and to the current dialogue about managing the presence of religious groups within secular frameworks in the public sphere. This dialogue is currently affected by what I call the i-sation of society. In Jameson’s classic work, the end of the 20th century was claimed to face the third phase of capitalism, that of late capitalism, the world space of multinational capital. Around the same time, Ritzer wrote about the McDonaldisation of Society which refers to the permeability of (what Weber made reference to as) rational bureaucracy into our everyday life. This paper argues that we are now in a fourth stage of capitalism, the cyber space of ‘deterritorialised’ capitalism, and that with the help of new i-technologies, this penetration of rational bureaucracy has filtered further from everyday life to our personal biographies. Linking these two theories, this paper presents the argument that we are going through a process of i-sation of society (1) in which capitalism is not only dominating our outer life (e.g. global capitalism) but our inner life as well through its expansion on the Internet facilitated by various i-technological applications and (2) in which the McDonaldisation process has now been normalised and religion has been standardised. This process greatly affects the communicative action that religions were supposed to follow in our post-secular times. I will conclude that they have, paradoxically, been colonised or McDonaldised.

 

Adam Possamai is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Religion and Society Research Centre, University of Western Sydney. He is the former President of the RC22 on the Sociology of Religion from the International Sociological Association. His latest books are Religious Change and Indigenous Peoples: the Making of Religious Identities (with H. Onnudottir and B. Turner, Ashgate, 2013) and The Handbook of Hyper-Real Religions (as editor, Brill, 2012).

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Appel à communications: Les évolutions de la Science chrétienne

Les évolutions de la Science chrétienne

Congrès international organisé par l’Observatoire européen des Religions et de la Laïcité et la Faculté d’études comparatives des religions et de l’Humanisme de Wilrijk-Anvers en partenariat avec le CESNUR (Turin) and CLIMAS (Bordeaux)

23-24 avril 2015

Lieu: Anvers: Faculty for the Comparative Study of Religion and Humanism.

Bist 164. 2610 Wilrijk-Antwerpen. Belgique

En 2015, le livre Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures de Mary Baker Eddy aura 140 ans. Il fut la pierre d’angle d’une Église de guérison, la Science chrétienne, qui s’est répandue dans le monde et qui affiche un nombre impressionnant de témoignages de guérison. Mais la Science chrétienne est plus qu’une Healing Church : elle est un mode de vie, une culture marquée par des inspirations artistiques des valeurs sociales qui se reflètent notamment dans le journal mondialement connu qu’est le Christian Science Monitor et dans bien d’autres domaines. Dans nos représentations, la Science chrétienne est l’Église mère de Boston avec sa cathédrale mais elle qui fait partie du paysage religieux mondial et mérite une attention renouvelée des universitaires qui étudient le fait religieux. En coopération avec la Faculté d’études comparatives des religions et de l’Humanisme (FVG) of Wilrijk-Antwerpen, l’Observatoire européen des Religions et de la Laïcité propose de mettre à jour la connaissance théologique, philosophique, sociologique, juridique, de ce mouvement.

On pourra aborder les évolutions de la Science chrétienne sous ces divers angles :

  • - évolutions de la direction et de la gouvernance,
  • - croissance numérique, expansion internationale, modalités d’installation,
  • - perception dans le monde en tant que groupe né en Amérique,
  • - problèmes juridiques,
  • - impact sur l’art et la culture…
  • - couverture médiatique
  • - influences de la Science chrétienne sur la communauté religieuse, par exemple sur la New Thought, la guérison chrétienne, la Scientology. Gordon Melton organise une session sur le rôle de la SC dans la naissance de la New Thought.

La liste n’est pas close et toutes les dimensions de l’analyse de la Science chrétienne sont bienvenues.

Langues : français et anglais.

Nous vous invitons à envoyer vos abstracts (10 lignes) et un court cv à Régis Dericquebourg, professeur associé de la FVG et président de l’Observatoire européen des Religions et de la Laïcité,

et/ou à Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, professeur à l’Université Bordeaux Montaigne, vice-présidente de l’Observatoire.

redericq@netcourrier.com

bcellard@numericable.fr

Comité scientifique

  • Regis Dericquebourg, Associate Professor at the FVG and President of the European Observatory of Religions and laïcité (secularism), France and Belgium
  • Massimo Introvigne, CESNUR, Torino, Italy
  • Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor, Texas
  • Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, Professor in North American Studies, member de CLIMAS (Culture et littératures du monde anglo saxon), Université Bordeaux Montaigne, France
  • Chris Vonck, professor in Religious Studies, Dean of the faculty of Comparative studies of religions, (FVG), Wilrijk (Antwerpen), Belgium

La publication des présentations sera envisagée sur les recommandations du comité scientifique. Nous insistons sur le fait que les textes seront soumis d’abord au comité organisateur avant d’être soumis à d’autres éditeurs.

Les détails sur l’inscription, l’hébergement, l’accès au lieu du congrès seront donnés ultérieurement.

Les conférenciers prennent en charge leurs frais de transport et d’hébergement.

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Call for Papers: The evolutions of Christian Science in scholarly perspective

Call for papers

The evolutions of Christian Science in scholarly perspective

April 23-24, 2015

Antwerp, Belgium
Organized by : The European Observatory of Religion and Secularism (Laïcité) in partnership with Faculty of Comparative Studies of Religions, CESNUR and CLIMAS (Bordeaux)

Venue: Faculty of Comparative Studies of Religions (FVG). Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium.

In 2015 Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures will be 140 years old. It lay the foundation of a healing church, Christian Science, that since then has spread to the whole world and has received thousands of testimonies on its spiritual and physical healing power. Yet Christian Science is much more than a healing church, it is a way of life, spiritually, socially and materially, and it has given birth to an original culture. Its values are displayed in the world famous Christian Science Monitor and in many more areas. With the mother Church of Boston, Christian Science is a major actor on the international religious stage that deserves to be reassessed today in a scholarly perspective. We thus invite religious studies scholars to join us in Antwerp to focus on its evolutions and possible transformations in its 140 years of existence.

The list of topics below is not exhaustive:

  • - Evolutions of the governance of the Church,
  • - Membership: numbers, growth, sociological profile. International expansion,
  • - Perception in the world as an American born religion,
  • - Judicial issues addressing its status and its healing techniques,
  • - Impact on art and culture in general,
  • - Media coverage,
  • - Influences: Christian Science impact on the religious community, including New Thought, Christian healing, Scientology… (In this regard, Gordon Melton has suggested a session on the role of Christian Science on the birth of New Thought).

Language of the conference: English and French

Send a 10 line abstract, with a 5 line résumé of your previous work to:

Régis Dericquebourg, Associate Professor at the FVG and President of the European Observatory of Religions and laïcité (secularism)

and/or to Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, professor at Université Bordeaux Montaigne, vice-president of the Observatory.

redericq@netcourrier.com

bcellard@numericable.fr

Papers will be considered for publication, with editorial details given during the conference. It is understood that presenters must submit their paper first to the organizers before submitting them to other publishers.

Detail on registration, housing, transportation will be given later

Deadline to submit your proposal: February 28, 2015

Unfortunately, no funding will be available to cover travel and accommodation expenses

Scientific committee:

  • Regis Dericquebourg, Associate Professor at the FVG and President of the European Observatory of Religions and laïcité (secularism), France and Belgium
  • Massimo Introvigne, CESNUR, Torino, Italy
  • Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor, Texas
  • Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, Professor in North American Studies, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, member de CLIMAS (Culture et littératures du monde anglo saxon), France
  • Chris Vonck, professor in Religious Studies, Dean of the faculty of Comparative studies of religions, (FVG), Wilrijk (Antwerpen), Belgium

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Appel à communications: “Religion et institutions publiques: nouvelles pratiques et dynamiques religieuses-séculières”

Dans le cadre de la 33e conférence de la SISR qui aura lieu à Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgique), du 2 au 5 Juillet 2015 nous lançons l’appel à communications suivant pour la Session STS 21.
Religion et institutions publiques: nouvelles pratiques et dynamiques religieuses-séculières

Les institutions publiques sont des lieux privilégiés pour l’observation du rôle changeant du religieux dans nos sociétés contemporaines. D’une part, leur analyse permet, telle une fenêtre, d’observer les implications pratiques, sociales et politiques des transformations globales contemporaines des dynamiques religieuses-séculières. Les institutions publiques reflètent, en miniature, les enjeux émergents que la croissante vitalité et variété religieuse pose dans la sphère publique. D’autre part, elles gagnent en importance comme des lieux de fabrication du champ religieux et de ses frontières. Dans ce sens, la présence de plus en plus forte de “spiritualités holistes” dans les institutions publiques telles que les prisons ou les hôpitaux illustre la perméabilité des frontières traditionnelles et nourrit de nouvelles pratiques à la limite du séculier. De plus, les micro-processus de négociation, contestation et accommodement autour de revendications religieuses dans ces institutions contribuent à redéfinir le rôle des Églises traditionnelles et des minorités religieuses dans nos sociétés. Cette session vise à faire rencontrer des scientifiques étudiant le rôle du religieux dans les institutions publiques telles que — mais non exclusivement—les hôpitaux, les prisons ou les écoles. Nous encourageons notamment la présentation de recherches empiriques adoptant une approche comparative internationale ou inter-institutionnelle.

Nous invitons les personnes intéressées par ces thématiques à nous faire parvenir une proposition de communication au plus tard le 15 décembre 2014 en utilisant le formulaire en ligne http://sisr-issr.org/Program/
Pour toute information, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter via email.

Irene BECCI (UNIL– Université de Lausanne, Switzerland: Irene.BecciTerrier@unil.ch)
Mar GRIERA (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain: mariadelmar.griera@uab.cat)
Lene KÜHLE (Aarhus University, Denmark: lk@cas.au.dk)

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Call for Papers: “Religion and Public Institutions: New Practices and Religious-Secular Dynamics”

Call for Papers:

In the frame of the 33rd ISSR conference to be hold in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), from 2-5 July 2015 we launch a call for papers for Session STS 21.

Religion and Public Institutions: New Practices and Religious-Secular Dynamics

Public institutions are crucial sites for exploring the changing role of religion in contemporary societies. One the one hand, they serve as windows to observe the practical, social and political implications of the current global transformations of the religious-secular dynamics. Public institutions reflect in miniature the challenges raised by the growing religious vitality and variety in the public sphere. On the other hand, they gain relevance as strategic places where the religious field and its boundaries are being reshaped. In this regard, the increasing presence of ‘holistic spiritualities’ in public institutions such as prisons or hospitals evidences the blurring nature of traditional boundaries and foster new practic es at the limit of the secular. Moreover, the micro processes of negotiation, contestation and accommodation of religious claims within these institutions contribute to redefine the role of historical churches and religious minorities in current societies.This panel aims to bring together researchers studying the role of religion in public institutions such as—but not restricted to—hospitals, prisons or schools. We particularly welcome papers with strong empirical foundations and those taking a cross-instiutional or cross-country comparative approach.
We invite paper proposals related to this topic to be submitted no later than December, 15th 2014. Proposals should use the online form (http://sisr-issr.org/Program/)

For any information, please contact us via e-mail:

Irene BECCI (UNIL– Université de Lausanne, Switzerland: Irene.BecciTerrier@unil.ch)
Mar GRIERA (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain: mariadelmar.griera@uab.cat)
Lene KÜHLE (Aarhus University, Denmark: lk@cas.au.dk)

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Call for Papers: European Sociological Association, Prague, 25 – 28 August 2015

ESA 2015 – Call for Papers – 12th Conference of the European Sociological Association — Prague, Czech Republic, 25 – 28 August 2015

ESA – RN 34 Sociology of Religion

Religion, Social Inequalities, Differences, and Sociological Imagination

Coordinator: PD Dr. Heidemarie Winkel, Technical University of Dresden
heidemarie.winkel@mailbox.tu-dresden.de

After decades of critical discussion, the social significance of religion in Europe is an accepted and empirically grounded fact today. Whether it concerns political attitudes, economic orientation or other social fields of life like education, culture and the media or the private sphere, manifold empirical studies demonstrate the sustaining influence of religion on preferences, practices and identity formation. At large, it is undisputed that (structural) secularization does not diminish, but rather nourishes religious pluralization as well as the development of new spiritualities and popular forms of
religion in Europe.

This development is – among other things – a consequence of global dynamics; they accelerate social, cultural and economic transformations, and more recently radical political changes. This raises questions about how religion is involved and affected by these changes in the neo-liberal era (whether on the local, the national or the supranational level) and how religion reacts to these all-encompassing transformations and turmoil.

A particular interest concerns religion’s social forms of organization and practice that respond to the increase of social inequalities and asymmetries; the latter are often trapped in power relations like in the case of neo-liberal economics and politics.

Another concern is how religion is acting on the various forms of social difference and discrimination that are recently unfolding with new life. For example Islamophobia is one of the new ways in which racism is expressed in contemporary Europe next to older forms of discrimination like anti-semitism, sexism and the growth of right-wing extremism. This finally leads to the question how religion itself has become a (constant) source of social friction and exclusion, whether on a macro or on a micro scale, for example regarding access to political, economic and civil rights. This is intertwined with an interest in the social practices of religious actors and the ways they strive to strengthen their agency in European societies under the conditions of growing inequality and social discrimination.

All these questions concern politically and morally contested issues. This additionally centers the focus of interest towards how religious groups, organizations and individuals are included in civic debates about social discrimination and inequality, i.e. poverty and inequality of income, unemployment, the cutback of the welfare system.


Authors are invited to submit their abstract either to the general session or any specific session. Please submit only to one session. After abstract evaluation, coordinators will have the chance to transfer papers between sessions where applicable.

Abstracts should not exceed 250 words. Each paper session will have the duration of 1.5 hours. Normally sessions will include 4 papers.

Abstracts must be submitted online to the submission platform, see below. Abstracts sent by email cannot be accepted. Abstracts will be peer-reviewed and selected for presentation by the Research Network; the letter of notification will be sent by the conference software system in
early April 2015.

Abstract submission deadline: 1st February 2015
Abstract submission platform: www.esa12thconference.eu

If you have further questions on the conference, please visit the conference website. For
further information on the Research Network, please visit www.europeansociology.org

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Workshop: “Varieties of Religious (Super) Diversity” at Univ of Birmingham, 26 Nov, 2014

Varieties of Religious (Super) Diversity

University of Birmingham

Wednesday 26th November  — 10.30-4.30 — Room 420, Muirhead Tower

————————————————————————–

You are invited to attend a workshop exploring current research on religious diversity in the UK.

The aim of the workshop is to draw together a series of insights from different disciplines on the nature and study of religious (super)diversity in the UK today. During the morning we will build up a picture of the range of  research being undertaken in this field. After lunch we will begin to identify where there may be gaps, and then go on to ask where individuals and research groups could be working together to fill these gaps. We hope to end by identifying a number of projects that might be possible to build for the future.

This workshop is being organised by the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) and in association with the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) and the Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion (CPUR).

Current contributors include:

  • Linda Woodhead (Lancaster) who is coming to offer a sociological insight,
  • Martin Stringer (Birmingham) brings an anthropological and ethnographic perspective,
  • David Cheetham (Birmingham) will bring views from the theology of religions,
  • Helen Hall (Cardiff) works in the field of religion and law,
  • Chris Baker (William Temple Foundation) does detailed work on urban theology,
  • Sarah Hall (Birmingham) will offer an insight from the context of education and
  • Chris Allan (Birmingham) is a leading expert on Islamaphobia and religious hatred.

We would welcome contributors from any of these subject areas and from other disciplines that would provide something interesting to add to the conversation.

For further information please contact Martin Stringer at m.d.stringer@bham.ac.uk and to register for the event please contact Sheba Saeed at s.saeed@bham.ac.uk

 

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Two Postdoctoral Fellowships: Rice University

The Department of Sociology at Rice University is offering two postdoctoral fellowships (two years in length) to begin July 2015.  Applicants are encouraged to pursue their own research agenda during their fellowship, but we will give priority to applicants who also establish a collaborative research plan on a topic of mutual interest with one or more of our faculty members (http://sociology.rice.edu).

For one of the two positions special consideration will be given to those working in one or more of the following subareas: urban sociology, environmental sociology, and stratification. Teaching responsibilities are limited to one undergraduate course during the two years. In addition to an annual salary of $52,000, the fellowship provides office space, computer equipment, and a $1,000 annual travel account. The application deadline is January 15th 2015, but applications will be considered until the position is filled.

Applications must be submitted in a two-step process. First, applicants must apply online through Ricework at:

https://jobs.rice.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp.

  In addition to providing the basic application information, applicants must upload their curriculum vitae (including a list of references), and a 2-5 page proposal for research to be conducted during the postdoctoral period, to this website. Second, please email a PDF copy of at least one recent publication to soci@rice.edu, along with three letters of recommendation (submitted separately by the letter writers to this email address).

Questions about the postdoctoral fellowship should also be emailed to soci@rice.edu.

Equal Opportunity Employer – Females/Minorities/Veterans/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.

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Appel à communication: “Les écoles confessionnelles face à la diversité : transformations, stratégies et résistances”

33e Conférence SISR: “Éprouver le religieux”
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique, 2-5 juillet 2015
http://www.sisr-issr.org/

Appel à communication
ST 29 : “Les écoles confessionnelles face à la diversité : transformations, stratégies et résistances”

Organisatrices de la session :

Sara Teinturier, GSRL (EPHE-CNRS), Paris, sara.teinturier@ephe.sorbonne.fr
Julia Martinez-Arino, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity,martineza@mmg.mpg.de
Sabrina Pastorelli, GSRL (EPHE-CNRS), Paris, pastorelli.sabrina@gmail.com

Résumé

Depuis le milieu du XXe siècle, les sociétés démocratiques sont marquées par la diversité culturelle et religieuse. Or, les écoles confessionnelles se construisent généralement autour d’une tradition religieuse principale. Quelles transformations et défis cette situation a-t-elle engendrées ? Plusieurs niveaux d’analyse peuvent être retenus pour en prendre la mesure : observe-t-on dans ces établissements une ouverture aux autres confessions (accueil d’élèves de diverses confessions religieuses, enseignement inter-religieux, accommodement des pratiques religieuses … ) ? Au contraire, est-ce l’occasion de l’affirmation d’une identité religieuse forte pouvant être l’expression d’une résistance à la pluralisation du corps social ? Comment les enseignants et les directions des établissements prennent-ils en compte cette nouvelle situation dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques et la mise en oeuvre des activités scolaires ? Lorsque des fédérations scolaires existent au niveau national, des réflexions sont-elles menées autour de ces questions ? D’autres acteurs – syndicats, autorités religieuses, parents d’élèves… – peuvent également proposer leurs propres interprétations et solutions : que manifestent-elles ? Cette section thématique ambitionne d’approfondir les questions soulevées par Robert Jackson dès 2004 (RethinkingReligious Education and Plurality), en se limitant aux seules écoles confessionnelles et en privilégiant les stratégies et les pratiques des acteurs. Sans se restreindre à l’étude d’une seule situation nationale, elle entend proposer des perspectives comparatives et mieux comprendre les liens à l’oeuvre entre éducation, religion et identité.

Soumission de votre proposition : Les propositions de communication doivent être soumises en ligne(http://sisr-issr.org/Program/), avec un titre et un résumé (350 mots maximum), avant le 15 décembre 2014.

Pour toute information sur cette session thématique, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter aux adresses électroniques indiquées ci-dessus.

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Call for Papers: Session on “Faith based Schools facing diversity: Transformations, Strategies, and Resistances”

33rd ISSR Conference: “Sensing Religion”
Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), 2-5th July, 2015
http://www.sisr-issr.org/

Call for papers – in either English or French
TS 29: “Faith based Schools facing diversity: Transformations, Strategies, and Resistances”

Session organisers:
Sara Teinturier, GSRL (EPHE-CNRS), Paris,sara.teinturier@ephe.sorbonne.fr
Julia Martinez-Arino, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, martineza@mmg.mpg.de
Sabrina Pastorelli, GSRL (EPHE-CNRS), Paris,pastorelli.sabrina@gmail.com

Abstract:

Democratic societies are characterised in the last decades by cultural and religious diversity. However, faith-based schools are usually structured around a particular religious tradition. What transformations and challenges does this plural situation generate for such institutions? Different analytical levels can be considered in order to better understand the implications. Do we witness an openness of these schools to other faiths (reception of students from different religious backgrounds, interfaith teaching of religion, accommodation of religious practices…)? Or do we, in contrast, observe the affirmation of a strong religious identity as an expression of the resistance to the pluralisation of society? How do teachers and school boards take into account this new situation in their pedagogical practices and the implementation of school activities? Are school federations at the national level reflecting upon these issues? What are the interpretations and solutions provided by other actors involved, such as trade unions, religious authorities, and parents? The objective of this thematic session is to deepen the questions raised by Robert Jackson in 2004, limiting the scope to faith-based schools and giving priority to the strategies and practices of the actors. With the aim of better understanding the links between education, religion and identity, both national studies as well as comparative perspectives are welcomed in this session.

Deadline: Please use the online form (http://sisr-issr.org/Program/) to submit your paper proposals (title and abstract, 350 words max) by December 15, 2014.

For any information about this thematic session, do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail.

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