Dear Colleagues,
The Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions at SOAS invites applications for one PhD bursary for new dissertation projects on Japanese Religions.
The value of the bursary is £4000, which covers the fees for the first year of MPhil/PhD study at SOAS (UK/EU fees). If the successful candidate receives a grant to cover fees from another funding body the bursary may be used towards maintenance.Deadline for applications: 3 June 2013
Start of bursary: Fall semester 2013
Applications are invited from outstanding students of Japanese religions, regardless of nationality.
For further details on the application process and procedures, please visit our website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/csjr/bursaries/ For enquiries, please contact:
Email: scholarships@soas.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7074 5094/ 5091
Author Archives: SISR/ISSR General Secretary
5 PhD positions in the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" (University of Muenster)
Up to five PhD opportunities available in the Cluster of Excellence for “Religion and Politics” at the University of Münster, Germany
An exciting opportunity exists for potential PhD students to fill up to five positions by October 1, 2013 in the Graduate School within the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence for “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures” at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster – University of Münster, Germany. The Cluster involves a large number of academics from the areas of History, Catholic and Protestant Theology, Jurisprudence, Islamic Studies, Islamic Theology, Jewish Studies, Philosophy, Philology, Ethnology, Egyptology, Political Science, and the Sociology of Religion. Projects in the Cluster are grouped around four themes: Normativity, Mediality, Integration, and Violence. Further information about the research areas of the Cluster can be found at:
http://www.uni-muenster.de/Religion-und-Politik/en/forschung/forschungsfelder.html
Each of these positions is half an E13 TV-L position (approximately € 1.100 net salary per month, including health insurance). Initially the positions are available for two years, with an extension of up to one year possible. Besides from working on their own projects, PhD students are expected to participate in the planning and organization of at least one conference or workshop. These workshops or conferences are expected to cover such areas as theory, methods, and the interpretation of source material. PhD students must also participate in the Cluster’s Doctoral Studies Programme. Information about the Graduate School and its study program can be found at:
http://www.uni-muenster.de/Religion-und-Politik/en/graduiertenschule/index.shtml
We are seeking students who have demonstrated exceptional ability in the Humanities, Cultural Studies, Social Sciences, Law/Jurisprudence, or Theology/Religious Studies. Furthermore we are particularly interested in attracting students who have demonstrated high competence in interdisciplinary studies, have proven their ability to communicate their research to a variety of forums, and have the potential to establish themselves in international arenas. In order to facilitate communication and collaboration within the Graduate School, applicants who are not proficient in German will be encouraged to attend German language courses. Applicants are kindly requested to provide a five page description of their intended project (including a bibliography). It is expected that the project will complement the research aims and also one or more of the research areas of the Cluster. All doctoral projects will be supervised by Cluster professors.
Please send your application (including cover letter, CV, copies of transcripts, a project description, and two academic references) by May 15, 2013 to the Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence, Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, preferably by email (with an attached PDF file):
Prof. Dr. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics in Pre-Modern and Modern Cultures“
Johannisstraße 1-4D – 48143 Münster, Germany
Email: Julia.simoleit@uni-muenster.de
Please direct any further enquiries to the coordinator of the Graduate School, Julia Simoleit (Julia.simoleit@uni-muenster.de).
PhD Scholarship, Macquarie University, "Religion and Schools"
PhD Scholarship
RELIGION AND SCHOOLS
Scholarship Description
A Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (MQRES) is available in the Department of Modern History Politics and International Relations with Prof. Marion Maddox’s Future Fellowship FT110100198.
Prof. Maddox is seeking a highly-motivated candidate with first-class honours in religious studies, politics, sociology or education to undertake a PhD on religion in schools. The ARC funded study to which this project is attached examines schooling in relation to religion-state controversies in Australia, France and US; but the PhD candidate need not be limited to those three. Interested prospective applicants should contact Prof. Maddox in the first instance.
Please refer to http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_about/applications and quote allocation number 2012096 in your application.
Reference Number:6053
Study Subject: Religion in Schools
Web Address: http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_about/scholarships/hdr_scholarships_domestic_candidates_only
Provided By:Macquarie University
To be undertaken at:Macquarie University
Level:Post Graduate
Availability This scholarship is offered once only to one person. Open for applications until 31 May 2013.
Payment Information
The value of this scholarship is AUD23728 (per annum). This award is to be used for living expenses. This scholarship is paid fortnightly for the period of 3 and a half years.
Eligibility
This scholarship is for study in Australia for those who have achieved Honours 1 or equivalent. Only citizens of Australia or New Zealand may apply.
For Further Information
Intending applicants should discuss their plans with Prof. Maddox by contacting her, in the first instance, at marion.maddox@mq.edu.au
Faith-Based Participation in Civil Societies
Faith-Based Participation in Civil Societies
Call for papers – Consultative Workshop
Contrary to some expectations, on-going secularization in European societies has not led to a disappearance of religion. In many contexts religions are being rediscovered as tools of social cohesion and resources for social commitment According to José Casanova it is exactly the civil society (and not the sphere of politics) that can serve as the arena in which religions can have the opportunity to have a public presence. Religious communities in Europe, especially Christian Churches and Muslim communities can make their contribution in this arena drawing upon their different traditions for establishment of a common ground and society for all. This is also true for Christian and Muslim believers who through faith-based activism foster better understanding among different groups and call for joint actions.
Longstanding presence of faith-based Christian initiatives in the Western European countries is definitely a place from which to start and learn. Additionally with societal changes and immigration the Muslim communities are today increasingly striving not only for their own interests but for the common good, although not without hurdles and barriers. While in Germany Muslims aim strongly at a formal recognition by the State, in the UK a process of informal partnerships and participation within civil society stands more in the foreground. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there has been a long experience of coexistence of different faiths but a historic and cultural developments were such that today the civil society is still in the process of formation, and even more so in terms of faith based organizations (FBOs). A presence of “European Islam” in BiH which since the Ottoman and Habsburg periods has been strongly associated with the State is also an interesting phenomenon worth consideration by the Western European countries. Issues of balancing between the civil society ethics, religious commitments and beliefs, religious communities and the common good of all are to be subtly discussed and analyzed.
Therefore this consultative workshop is meant to bring together members of these religious traditions, scholars and activists and offer them an opportunity for a joint platform for dialogue and exchange of experiences present in different countries in this regard. In most cases these issues are currently debated at the level of national states thus neglecting the possibility to learn from different contexts. The consultative workshop will also be followed by visits to some faith-based organizations in Sarajevo. Subject to the availability of funds workshop proceedings might be published in a volume after the event.
PAPERS ARE INVITED TO ANY ASPECT OF FAITH-BASED PARTICIPATION IN CIVIL SOCIETIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT EXCLUSIVE TO:
– Demise of welfare state and possible role of faith-based organizations:
– The role of FBOs in promoting integrity and accountability in business, politics and public sector,
– Faith-based organizations and social cohesion.
Abstracts of up to 300 words and CVs should be sent to cns@bih.net.ba before 1 June 2013.
Successful applicants will be notified by 15 June 2013.
Full papers should be submitted before 10 September 2013. Working language (for the papers and the workshop) is English. Center for Advanced Studies from Sarajevo will host the consultative workshop and provide for food, accommodation and travel expenses. The workshop is generously supported by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, BiH.
For more information please contact: cns@bih.net.ba or +387 33 716 040.
Djermana Seta+387 (0)61 792 739
Muslims, Multiculturalism and Trust: New Directions, SOAS, , University of London
Conference:
Muslims, Multiculturalism and Trust: New Directions, SOAS, University of
London, June 1-2, 2013
Recent high-profile interventions by politicians in the West declaring the ‘failure’ of multiculturalism have had, as their very thinly disguised context, mistrust in those Muslim communities that have been growing in Western Europe and the United States since the end of the colonial era. The sense that multiculturalism has been a flawed experiment, that ‘unintegrated’ Muslims are evidence of this, has become a truism of much journalism and media coverage too.
This conference brings together leading experts from across the social science/humanities divide to examine the intersections and tensions between different approaches to questions of multi-culturalism and trust, and to explore the possibility of developing mutually informative interdisciplinary approaches to shed new light on this topic. The aim of the conference is to analyse current critiques of multiculturalism, measure them against other, perhaps more progressive interpretations, and consider the potential offered by lived experience and creative visions of intercultural exchange to offer new ways of envisaging multicultural experience.
Invited participants include: Rehana Ahmed, Valerie Amiraux, Claire Chambers, Sohail Daulatzai, Rumy Hasan, Salah Hassan, Tony Laden, Alana Lentin, Nasar Meer, Tariq Modood, Anshuman Mondal, Peter Morey, Stephen Morton, Jorgen Nielsen, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Amina Yaqin.
The conference is part of the ‘Muslims, Trust and Cultural Dialogue’ project: www.muslimstrustdialogue.org/
Admission: the event is free and open to the public.
Booking is recommend to guarantee a place: www.soas.ac.uk/csp/events/
Inquiries: centres@soas.ac.uk
Jane Savory
Centres and Programmes Office
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG tel +44 (0)20 7898 4892
email js64@soas.ac.uk
web www.soas.ac.uk/centres/
Positions, Kingston University, UK
The Department of Criminology and Sociology at Kingston University has three posts advertised which may be of interest. We have a wide remit for applicants to the Chair in Social Policy and will consider candidates with an international reputation in fields of Sociology that have social policy application. Colleagues working in the sociology of religion are most welcome to apply. Equally, the lecturer posts also have potential for applicants with expertise in the sociology of religion.
Best wishes,
Sylvie Collins-Mayo, Kingston University.
Chair in Social Policy
Salary: £52,396 – £67,962 Ref: 0787
You will use your expertise to provide intellectual inspiration to students and colleagues alike, as you provide leadership in strengthening our national and international research and educational partnerships. Building strong links with overseas bodies, you will also enable us to continue to attract international grant funding, and will contribute to the department’s reputation and strategic development.
This is a superb opportunity for a distinguished senior academic who is internationally recognised in the field of social policy. You will have a proven ability to attract external research funding, teach at undergraduate and postgraduate level, supervise doctoral students and liaise with policy-based organisations.
Lecturer in Sociology
Salary: £35,416 – £38,484 Ref: 0789
Adding your proven skills to a committed and forward-thinking team, you will teach undergraduates and postgraduates, supervise postgraduate research students, and deliver a personal programme of research and scholarship. You will strengthen the department’s academic management and profile, and will build links with other organisations to help us generate external income.
A highly experienced sociologist and researcher, you may have a track record of teaching in Higher Education. This will include experience of working with undergraduates and postgraduates, and knowledge of one or more of these areas: equality and social inclusion, policy evaluation, health and illness, social sustainability and quantitative research methods.
Lecturer in Criminology
Salary: £35,416 – £38,484 Ref: 0788
Teaching quantitative research methods to undergraduates and postgraduates, you will supervise postgraduate research students, and deliver a programme of research and scholarship. In addition, you will make a significant contribution to the department’s academic management, profile and reputation, and will help us generate external income by establishing links with other organisations.
This is a great opportunity for an experienced criminologist with a background of teaching in Higher Education and expertise in the area of criminal justice policy. You will have carried out high-profile and recent research, which you will have published in peer-reviewed publications. Finally, you must be comfortable working across disciplinary boundaries and communicating with a diverse range of audiences.
For more information and to apply for any role, visit www.kingston.ac.uk/jobs
RELIGIOLOGIQUES, Mutations des croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes : rejets, retours et réinventions
RELIGIOLOGIQUES
APPEL À CONTRIBUTION
Numéro thématique :
« Mutations des croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes : rejets, retours et réinventions »
Description
À la remorque des trajectoires migratoires des individus, le croire et la pratique religieuse se retrouvent, à leur tour, migrants. Détachées de leurs contextes d’origine, les croyances, les pratiques, les identités, les organisations et les institutions religieuses migrantes se voient interpelées inlassablement par les nouveaux environnements dans lesquelles elles s’inscrivent et par les pratiques sociales et culturelles inédites avec lesquelles elles doivent dorénavant interagir.
La pérennité des formes et des structures du croire et des pratiques religieuses s’en trouve alors ébranlée par un processus de réinscription dans de nouvelles réalités sociale, politique, économique et culturelle, processus qui entraîne d’inéluctables reconfigurations des croyances et des pratiques religieuses individuelles et collectives selon les aléas de leurs diverses expériences de continuité ou de discontinuité, de déracinement ou d’enracinement.
Mais qu’en est-il de ces croire et religieux, patries « portatives » (Bastenier), inscrits dorénavant au cœur d’un processus de recomposition identitaire « ethnoconfessionnelle » (Rousseau ; Castel) ? Ce processus s’opère aux niveaux des croyances, des pratiques, des identités, des représentations, voire des organisations et des institutions, et cela, en fonction des attitudes ou stratégies identitaires (Berry ; Camilleri) déployées par des individus et des communautés déracinées de leurs terreaux d’origine, mais en quête de renouvellement d’unité de sens. Se profilent alors à l’horizon plusieurs modalités de réinscription de cette unité de sens : multiples rejets, retours variés, et réinventions innovatrices (Rouvillois) dont les exemples sont innombrables, notons, pour n’en donner qu’un, l’exemple des nouvelles pratiques « croyantes » (Hervieu-Léger) des musulmans de deuxième génération en France (Saint-Blancat).
Ce numéro thématique se propose d’explorer, entre autres, les critères, les structures, et les théories de transformation, de mutation, de reconfiguration et de réinvention de croyances et de pratiques religieuses aux prises, d’une part, avec le déplacement, la dislocation, la (re)diasporisation, ou l’errance et, d’autre part, l’implantation, l’insertion, l’intégration ou la réinscription sociale, tout cela dans des contextes de dynamiques d’interactions qu’elles entretiennent avec les nouvelles pratiques sociales et culturelles des environnements dans lesquelles elles se retrouvent. Parmi les pistes possibles mais non exhaustives d’exploration, notons les suivantes :
– Enculturation, acculturation, déculturation du croire migrant
– Déterritorialisation et translocalisation de l’autorité religieuse
– Mutations du religieux, du croire et des appartenances transplantés
– Nouvelles croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes
– Religion migrante, genre, politique, et éthique (« intersectionalité »)
– Processus de recomposition et stratégies identitaires religieuses
– Nouveaux réseaux transnationaux et construction de sens
– Réinscription dans une « ligné croyante » en contexte minoritaire
Longueur des articles
Les articles devront être de 6,000 à 8,000 mots et soumis en format WORD (.doc) à l’adresse courriel suivante religiologiques@uqam.ca. Pour les consignes de présentation des textes, voir « Soumission d’articles » sur le site de la revue (http://www.religiologiques.uqam.ca)
Échéances
Les manuscrits devront être soumis pour évaluation, au plus tard, avant la fin du mois de novembre 2013. La version finale des articles retenus devra être acheminée, au plus tard, avant la fin du mois d’avril 2014 (pour publication automne 2014 / printemps 2015).
Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez contacter
Roxanne D. Marcotte
Département de sciences des religions
Université du Québec à Montréal
Courriel : marcotte.roxanne@uqam.ca
* * * * * * *
INFORMATION sur la revue RELIGIOLOGIQUES
RELIGIOLOGIQUES est une revue de sciences humaines qui s’intéresse aux manifestations du sacré dans la culture ainsi qu’au phénomène religieux sous toutes ses formes. Elle s’intéresse également au domaine de l’éthique. Les articles qu’elle publie font l’objet d’une évaluation (à double insu et minimum de deux évaluateurs) des comités de lecture spécialisés, indépendants de son comité de rédaction.
RELIGIOLOGIQUES est la revue phare de la recherche francophone en sciences des religions en Amérique du Nord publiée de 1990 à 2005, avec ses plus de 31 numéros dont plusieurs disponibles en ligne sur le site de la revue (http://www.religiologiques.uqam.ca).
RELIGIOLOGIQUES s’apprête donc à publier, de nouveau, deux fois l’an et ainsi poursuivre sa tradition de publication de numéros thématiques, tout comme d’articles hors thèmes (acceptés en tout temps) et de numéros réguliers. RELIGIOLOGIQUES
UQÀM, Département de sciences des religions C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville Montréal, Québec H3C 3P8
Téléphone : (514) 987-4497 Télécopie : (514) 987-7856 Courriel: religiologiques@uqam.ca
Futuribles, nouveau numéro
“Futuribles. L’anticipation au service de l’action”, mars-avril 2013, numéro 393.
Themes:
Les transfert entre générations
L’impact social et politique des religions
Religion et valeurs en Europe
L’Europe sécularisée?
La place de l’islam
Les fondamentalismes
Authors:
Hugues de Jouvenel, André Masson, Luc Arrondel, Stéphane Cordobes, Philippe Estèbe, Martin Vanier, Francois Mabille, Pierre Bréchon, Philippe Portier, Franck Frégosi, Jean-Paul Burdy, Jean Marcou, Jean-Francois Mayer, Jean-Francois Drevet
CFP – Mutations des croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes
RELIGIOLOGIQUES APPEL À CONTRIBUTION
Numéro thématique :
« Mutations des croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes : rejets, retours et réinventions »
Description: la remorque des trajectoires migratoires des individus, le croire et la pratique religieuse se retrouvent, à leur tour, migrants. Détachées de leurs contextes d’origine, les croyances, les pratiques, les identités, les organisations et les institutions religieuses migrantes se voient interpelées inlassablement par les nouveaux environnements dans lesquelles elles s’inscrivent et par les pratiques sociales et culturelles inédites avec lesquelles elles doivent dorénavant interagir.
La pérennité des formes et des structures du croire et des pratiques religieuses s’en trouve alors ébranlée par un processus de réinscription dans de nouvelles réalités sociale, politique, économique et culturelle, processus qui entraîne d’inéluctables reconfigurations des croyances et des pratiques religieuses individuelles et collectives selon les aléas de leurs diverses expériences de continuité ou de discontinuité, de déracinement ou d’enracinement.
Mais qu’en est-il de ces croire et religieux, patries « portatives » (Bastenier), inscrits dorénavant au cœur d’un processus de recomposition identitaire « ethnoconfessionnelle » (Rousseau ; Castel) ? Ce processus s’opère aux niveaux des croyances, des pratiques, des identités, des représentations, voire des organisations et des institutions, et cela, en fonction des attitudes ou stratégies identitaires (Berry ; Camilleri) déployées par des individus et des communautés déracinées de leurs terreaux d’origine, mais en quête de renouvellement d’unité de sens. Se profilent alors à l’horizon plusieurs modalités de réinscription de cette unité de sens : multiples rejets, retours variés, et réinventions innovatrices (Rouvillois) dont les exemples sont innombrables, notons, pour n’en donner qu’un, l’exemple des nouvelles pratiques « croyantes » (Hervieu-Léger) des musulmans de deuxième génération en France (Saint-Blancat).
Ce numéro thématique se propose d’explorer, entre autres, les critères, les structures, et les théories de transformation, de mutation, de reconfiguration et de réinvention de croyances et de pratiques religieuses aux prises, d’une part, avec le déplacement, la dislocation, la (re)diasporisation, ou l’errance et, d’autre part, l’implantation, l’insertion, l’intégration ou la réinscription sociale, tout cela dans des contextes de dynamiques d’interactions qu’elles entretiennent avec les nouvelles pratiques sociales et culturelles des environnements dans lesquelles elles se retrouvent.
Parmi les pistes possibles mais non exhaustives d’exploration, notons les suivantes :
Enculturation, acculturation, déculturation du croire migrant
Déterritorialisation et translocalisation de l’autorité religieuse
Mutations du religieux, du croire et des appartenances transplantés
Nouvelles croyances et pratiques religieuses migrantes
Religion migrante, genre, politique, et éthique (« intersectionalité »)
Processus de recomposition et stratégies identitaires religieuses
Nouveaux réseaux transnationaux et construction de sens Réinscription dans une « ligné croyante » en contexte minoritaire
Longueur des articles
Les articles devront être de 6,000 à 8,000 mots et soumis en format WORD (.doc) à l’adresse courriel suivante
religiologiques@uqam.ca.
Pour les consignes de présentation des textes, voir «Soumission d’articles» sur le site de la revue (http://www.religiologiques.uqam.ca)
Échéances Les manuscrits devront être soumis pour évaluation, au plus tard, avant la fin du mois de novembre 2013. La version finale des articles retenus devra être acheminée, au plus tard, avant la fin du mois d’avril 2014 (pour publication automne 2014 / printemps 2015).
Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez contacter
Roxanne D. Marcotte
Département de sciences des religionsUniversité du Québec à Montréal
Courriel : marcotte.roxanne@uqam.ca
INFORMATION sur la revue RELIGIOLOGIQUESRELIGIOLOGIQUES
est une revue de sciences humaines qui s’intéresse aux manifestations du sacré dans la culture ainsi qu’au phénomène religieux sous toutes ses formes. Elle s’intéresse également au domaine de l’éthique. Les articles qu’elle publie font l’objet d’une évaluation (à double insu et minimum de deux évaluateurs) des comités de lecture spécialisés, indépendants de son comité de rédaction.
RELIGIOLOGIQUES est la revue phare de la recherche francophone en sciences des religions en Amérique du Nord publiée de 1990 à 2005, avec ses plus de 31 numéros dont plusieurs disponibles en ligne sur le site de la revue (http://www.religiologiques.uqam.ca).
RELIGIOLOGIQUES s’apprête donc à publier, de nouveau, deux fois l’an et ainsi poursuivre sa tradition de publication de numéros thématiques, tout comme d’articles hors thèmes (acceptés en tout temps) et de numéros réguliers.
RELIGIOLOGIQUES
UQÀM, Département de sciences des religions
C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville
Montréal, Québec H3C 3P8
Téléphone : (514) 987-4497
Télécopie : (514) 987-7856
Courriel: religiologiques@uqam.ca
SISP Conference (Florence, 12-14 Sept. 2013)
The standing group on ‘Politics and Religion’ of the Italian Political Science Society (SISP) organizes four panels in English at the next annual conference of the association that will be held in Florence (Italy) on 12-14 September 2013.
Conference website: http://www.sisp.it/conference
Deadline: 15 May 2013
To propose a paper, send an abstract of about 200 words to the chairs (see addresses below, for each panel).
LIST OF PANELS:
1) Religious organizations in the local political sphereChairs: Xabier Itçaina (x.itcaina@sciencespobordeaux.fr) and Alberta Giorgi (albertagiorgi@ces.uc.pt)
Abstract: The relationships between religion and politics are a topic usually dealt with from a national or international perspective. Nevertheless, the changes in the contemporary political systems, in Europe and abroad, reshaped the hierarchies between the local and the national spheres on a number of policies. Specifically, the processes of devolution and subsidiarization of policies, as well as the cooperation between private and public organizations (especially in the field of social services) under the horizontal governance perspective, increased the importance of local politics. For instance, the local scale is particularly relevant as constituting the arena where public authorities, private actors, religious and secular “third sector” organizations manage – or not – to constitute efficient
networks of governance in the welfare field. These local arrangements constitute an implicit form of regulation of public life by religious actors that, in some cases, might not coincide exactly with the sociopolitical preferences of the religious central authorities. In addition, politicized controversies on symbolic issues often take place at the local level –the debates over the localization of mosques in Italy, for example, and, more broadly, the issues dealing with religion in public life. Moreover, grassroots religious organizations and associations have an important and increasing political role – in Italy (movements for public water and against discrimination, renewed engagement of religious associations in politics,…), and abroad (Indignados, Arab Spring…). This panel aims at exploring the political involvement of religious associations and organizations at the local level. Papers’ topics include (but are not limited to): religious associations and political movements, third-sector religious organizations and local policies, interactions between religious and political identities. Papers dealing with empirical cases are more than welcome.
2) Religion in Secular International Contexts: Religious Norm Entrepreneurs and International Institutions
Chair: Gregorio Bettiza (Gregorio.Bettiza@EUI.eu)
Abstract: Over the past decades an exponential growth in religious advocacy and lobbying has occurred towards international institutions that are deeply embedded and anchored to the secular structures of the ‘international liberal order’ (Ikenberry). These institutions range from the United Nations, the European Union, and the International Financial Institutions. This panel theoretically interrogates and empirically investigates the discourses, strategies and mechanisms adopted by transnational religious norm entrepreneurs to advance their concerns within secular international institutions. The panel seeks to address, among others, the some of the following questions. When, under what circumstances, and which religious norm entrepreneurs succeed in their advocacy efforts? Which type of religious norms have, and have had, the greatest chances of being diffused and why? In which ways and how have international institutions changed, if al all, to accommodate religious norm entrepreneurs? What distinguishes international institutions that are more accommodating to the claims of religious actors from those who are less?
3) Religion and democracy in Italy’s ‘second republic’
Chairs: Luca Ozzano (luca.ozzano@unito.it) and Marco Marzano (marco.marzano@unibg.it)
Abstract: Italy is a very interesting case in terms of relation between religion and democracy, both because of the presence in Rome of the Vatican (which has always implied peculiar relations between the Catholic Church and the Italian state) and for the decades-long rule of the Christian Democracy (DC) party. In the latest decades, however, the role of religion in the Italian political system has experienced changes that have been only partially acknowledged by the literature: both as a consequence of wider socio-economic processes, such as secularization and migration flows (which have turned the country from predominantly Catholic to increasingly pluralistic); and as a consequence of the demise, at the beginning of the 1990s, of the old party system (including DC) because of a wide bribery scandal. With the collapse of the party, and the fragmentation of Catholics in left-wing and right-wing factions and parties, a new era seemed to start. To begin with, the Catholic Church started to play a direct role in politics through the so-called ‘cultural project’ of the CEI, the organization of the Italian bishops. On the other hand, new political actors, both from the left and from the right wing of the political spectrum, started to exploit religious and moral issues (albeit with different frames) in order to garner the votes of the Catholic constituency. Several moral issues, from the presence of the crucifix in public offices, to gay unions, have thus become points of contention in the Italian public debate. The panel will take into account these subjects, in order to cast a new light on the role of religion and religious issues in Italian democracy after the beginning of the
so-called ‘second republic’. Qualitative as well as quantitative empirical studies are welcome, as well as comparative ones, both written in English and in Italian.
4) Islamism in the Arab world: between elections, street politics and armed struggle
Chairs: Francesco Cavatorta
(Francesco.cavatorta@dcu.ie)
Abstract: The Arab Spring has once again led analysts and policy-makers to focus their attention of Islamist movements and parties, which have become the main beneficiaries of the changes of the last two years in the region. However, different groups have responded differently to the new opportunity structures that the Arab Spring opened up. The purpose of this panel is to examine the theoretical and comparative perspectives on the ways in which Islamist groups acted in the wake of the Arab Spring and what explains their specific strategy and choices. How have some movements come to the decision to participate in elections? Conversely how have other movements in a similar setting decide to continue with street protests, refusing to engage with the new institutions being built? What explains the choice of military struggle as in Syria? Was it the inevitable response to regime’s repression or did other factors come into play?