Dear All,
The Religion and Society Research Centre
<http://www.uws.edu.au/religion_and_society>
at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend a Public Lecture:
‘Global Religion and the end of Secularization’
Speaker: Emeritus Professor Roland Robertson, University of Pittsburgh, USA and University of Aberdeen, UK
Date: Friday 7 June, 2013
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Venue: Bankstown Campus<http://www.uws.edu.au/campuses_structure/cas/campuses/bankstown>, Building 3 Room 55, Sydney, Australia
Please RSVP to e.garcia@uws.edu.au by 4 June.
Abstract In spite of or perhaps in part because of a wave of Western atheism – what some have called religious atheism – there appears to be a great wave of religiosity across much of the contemporary world. This is to be seen in various parts of Asian, Eurasia , the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. US American religiosity seems to be as strong as ever, in spite of the leading new atheists being themselves American or Anglo-American. These are, of course, very broad generalizations. Nonetheless, it is these that will form the context and the background for my presentation. Both the inter-societal and the intra-societal aspects of the global religious revival will be given attention. There will also be some consideration of extra-terrestrial factors.
Roland Robertson is Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, USA and Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Global Society, University of Aberdeen, UK. He is also Distinguished Guest Professor of Cultural Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China and he has held visiting positions in many countries. He is the author of many publications, his most influential ones being The Sociological Interpretation of Religion, Meaning and Change, and Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture (revised edition forthcoming). His major areas of specialization are cultural sociology, the sociology of religion, sociological theory, and global sociology. His present work deals with, inter alia, cosmology, antisemitism, dimensions and processes of civilization, the controversy over Southern theory, the cosmopolitanism debate, and the contemporary significance of glocality. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Voici le programme du colloque organisé par l’Association française de sciences sociales des religions (AFSR) à Paris (CNRS-Site Pouchet, 59 rue Pouchet, Paris 17e) les 4 et 5 février 2013 sur le thème :
LE RELIGIEUX SUR INTERNET.
N’hésitez pas à diffuser cette information et ce programme.
Bien cordialement,
Louis Hourmant,Secrétaire général de l’AFSR
The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) is very pleased to announce the NSRN Annual Lecture for 2012:
NSRN Annual Lecture 2012
In Spite of Christianity: Humanism and its Others in Contemporary Britain
By Matthew Engelke
What do we talk about when we talk about religion? What do we recognize as essential and specific to any given faith, and why? In this lecture, I address these questions by drawing on fieldwork among humanists in Britain, paying particular attention to humanism’s relation to Christianity. In one way or another, humanists often position themselves in relation to Christianity. In a basic way, this has to do with humanists’ commitment to secularism—the differentiation of church and state. In more complex ways, though, it also has to do with an effort to move “beyond” Christianity—to encourage a world in which reason takes the place of revelation—while often, at the same time, recognizing what’s worth saving and even fostering from the legacies of faith. All these various relations and perspectives suggest how we should understand social life in contemporary Britain as what it is in spite of Christianity—and not.
*** Matthew Engelke is a Reader in the Department of Anthropology and co-ordinates the School’s recently launched Programme for the Study of Religion and Non-Religion. His research career has focused on the connections between religion and culture (amongst other things) but he has recently completed pioneering ethnographic fieldwork working with British humanists. In this lecture, Matthew will reflect upon the various and complex dynamics between contemporary British humanism and Christian cultures, past and present.
The NSRN Annual Lecture for 2012 will be held at the Conway Hall in London on Wednesday 28 November at 6.30pm (doors from 6pm; the lecture will be followed by a drinks reception). This event is free to attend, but places are limited. To register, please email Lois Lee at l.a.lee@kent.ac.uk<mailto:l.a.lee@kent.ac.uk>.
Full details of the event can be found at the NSRN Online<http://nsrn.net/2012/10/30/nsrn-annual-lecture-announced-dr-matthew-engelke-in-spite-of-christianity-humanism-and-its-others-in-contemporary-britain/>. ______________________________________________________
Dr Lois Lee Associate Lecturer | Religious Studies and Sociology, University of Kent Founding director | Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN)<http://www.nsrn.co.uk/index.html>
Editor | NSRN Online<http://www.nsrn.net/>
Editor | Secularism & Nonreligion<http://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/>
Features editor | Studies in Ethnicity and
Nationalism<http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=1473-8481&site=1>
WESTMINSTER FAITH INTERVIEWS
I am pleased to tell you that the AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society Programme is organising a series of interviews on “Faith in Public Life”, as a follow-up to the successful “Westminster Faith Debates” which took place in the spring (video and audio of the Debates available here): http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/faith_debates
The first interviews will be with:
WEDS, 7TH NOVEMBER 2012 Professor Sir John Sulston (Nobel Prize Winner for his contribution to sequencing the genome), interviewed by Andrew Brown of The Guardian. This is to be held at RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET. http://www.sixtyonewhitehall.co.uk/contact/
WEDS, 21ST NOVEMBER 2012 Baroness Shirley Williams (previous MP and Cabinet Minister, now in the House of Lords, author of “God & Caesar: Personal Reflections on Politics and Religion”, interviewed by Clifford Longley of BBC Radio 4 Moral Maze etc. This is to be held in The Westminster Suite, at The Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE. http://www.qeiicc.co.uk/organising-an-event/our-location
WEDS, 5TH DECEMBER 2012 Delia Smith CBE (Cook, author, broadcaster and majority shareholder Norwich City FC), interviewer tbc This is to be held at the British Medical Association, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP. http://www.bmahouse.org.uk/bmahouse.nsf/Content/WhereToFindUs
ALL INTERVIEWS 5.30 – 7.00 FOLLOWED BY DRINKS. REGISTRATION FROM 5.00 P.M.
To register, please contact Peta Ainsworth p.ainsworth@lancaster.ac.uk with the name, affiliation/institution (if applicable) and email address of each person who requires a place.
We hope to see you there, and please circulate this invitation to your colleagues.
With best wishes
Linda Woodhead and Charles Clarke
Professor Linda Woodhead Director, AHRC/ESRC Religion & Society Programme, Department of Politics, Philosophy & Religion, Lancaster University
The Rt Hon Charles Clarke
The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific
2012 Lecture series
presents
“Globalisation and Americanisation: Religious and Sporting Minorities; Mormons and Australian Basketball”
By Professor Fred Woods
Brigham Young University
May 10, 4-6 pm,
Monash University Caulfield campus
The Link Theatre bldg S 2.30
Melways p 68 (F,1)
Dr. Fred E. Woods completed a B.S. degree in Psychology (1981) and a M.S. degree in International Relations (1985) from Brigham Young University. In 1991 he earned a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible. He is a professor at Brigham Young University in the department of Church History & Doctrine. Dr. Woods has lectured at many universities in America and internationally and is the author of several books and many articles. Professor Woods is a bridge builder among peoples of varied cultures and faiths. His most recent books are Gathering to Laie (co-authored, 2011) and Mormon Yankees: Giants On and Off the Court (Spring 2012)
The UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific (UNCIIR-AP) supports and conducts policy relevant research in interreligious relations, promotes interreligious and intercultural understanding through seminars, publications and participation in policy debates, and direct involvement in efforts to reduce intergroup tensions. The UNCIIR-AP works with the United Nations – Alliance of Civilizations, and governments at all levels in the region. With Associates and Fellows in Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia the UNCIIR-AP works through UNESCO’s UNITWIN program to foster links among Universities in the region. The UNCIIR-AP is part of the School of Political and Social Inquiry.
The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies <http://www.uws.edu.au/cscms> at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend the third in its 2012 Public Lecture Series:
‘Religion, Immigration and Multiculturalism in Canada: The Next Generation’
Speaker: Professor Peter Beyer <http://www.cla-srs.uottawa.ca/eng/faculty/beyer.html>, University of Ottawa, Canada
Date: Tuesday 8 May, 2012
Time: 13:30-15:00
Venue: UWS Bankstown Campus<http://www.uws.edu.au/campuses_structure/cas/campuses/bankstown>
Building 1
Level 1 Room 117
Afternoon tea will served.
Please RSVP to e.garcia@uws.edu.au by Thursday 3 May.
Abstract
In this lecture, Professor Beyer will discuss the religious, cultural, demographic, political, and economic consequences of post 1970 immigration of Canada with special focus on the Canada-born and Canada-raised generations. The focus will be on immigration policy and its consequences, economic integration and marginalization, political participation, major subpopulation differences according to religion and cultural origin, public multiculturalism policy, and perception of multiculturalism and religious diversity among the second generation using religious difference and degree of religious involvement as primary variables.
Peter Beyer is professor of religious studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His publications include Religion and Globalization (Sage, 1994), Religions in Global Society (Routledge, 2006), Religion, Globalization, and Culture (ed. with L. Beaman, Brill, 2007), and Religious Diversity in Canada (ed. with L. Beaman, Brill, 2008). Since 2001 he has been conducting research on the religious expression of second generation immigrant young adults in Canada. From this research, he is principal author of the forthcoming volume, Growing Up Canadian: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists (McGill-Queen’s).
The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend the second in its 2012 Public Lecture Series:
‘The Significance of Islam in Modern Europe’
Speaker: Professor Grace Davie, University of Exeter, UK
Date: Wednesday 14 March, 2012
Time: 13:30-15:00
Venue: UWS Bankstown Campus Building 1 Level 1 Room 119
Afternoon tea will served. Please RSVP to e.garcia@uws.edu.au by Friday 9 March.
Abstract
There are now sizeable Muslim communities in many European societies. Their presence is a major topic of public debate, often for the wrong reasons. This paper considers the disquiet that lies behind these not very well-informed commentaries; it then places the discussion in a broader perspective. Several factors must be taken into account if we are to understand the significance of religion in modern Europe and the place of Islam within this. They include cultural heritage; vicarious religion (the old model); a shift from obligation to consumption (the new model); new arrivals (including Muslims); secular reactions; and a rapidly changing global context. Each of these factors will be taken in turn.
Grace Davie is professor emeritus in the Sociology of Religion in the University of Exeter. She is a past-president of the American Association for the Sociology of Religion (2003) and of the Research Committee 22 (Sociology of Religion) of the International Sociological Association (2002-06). In 2000-01 she was the Kerstin-Hesselgren Professor in the University of Uppsala, where she returned for the 2006-07 academic session and again in 2010. In January 2008, she received an honorary degree from Uppsala.
In addition to numerous chapters and articles, she is the author of Religion in Britain since 1945 (Blackwell 1994), Religion in Modern Europe (OUP 2000), Europe: the Exceptional Case (DLT 2002) and The Sociology of Religion (Sage 2007); she co-author of Religious America, Secular Europe (Ashgate 2008), and co-editor of Predicting Religion (Ashgate 2003) and Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe (2 vols) (Ashgate 2010 and 2011).