European Institute

 23 November 2011

Workshop 1: European Legacies, European Challenges 23 November 2011 3-7pm Chadwick LT G08 UCL Main Campus WC1E 6BT

Negotiating Religion: Inquiries into the History and Present of Religious Accommodation

In 2011-12, a series of four workshops will discuss the complex processes through which religious communities create or defend their place in a given commonwealth, both in history and in our world today.

The focus is on communities' ability to formulate and present their claims, to identify potential spokespeople and their addressees, to secure their institutions and assert their physical and political presence, as well as on the epistemological, political and social conditions facilitating or complicating processes of negotiation. The workshops thus intend to focus on the agency of both sides in processes of negotiation, broadly understood as all societal and political interactions that not only concern a religious community but directly involve it.

The main objective is to stimulate a debate about the complex relationship between religion and society. Throughout their history, European commonwealths have been shaped by religious identity, community, and conflict. Constitutions and legal systems to this very day are deeply affected by religious traditions. Secularization has reduced religious tension within Western societies. However, these find their spiritual and cultural identity challenged by communities marked by stronger religious commitment, notably communities belonging to the world of Islam. Instead of reducing present day conflicts to essentialised notions of religious community, the workshops aim to explore the impact of religious legacies in European history and to contribute to a more precise understanding of the role of the multilayered processes of moderation and negotiation in the shaping of contemporary societies. 

For information on the next upcoming workshop, see here.

Workshop 1: European Legacies, European Challenges

23 November 2011

This first workshop addressed the history of religious conflict and accommodation, and gauges the impact of religious skepticism and secularization in Europe.

After a keynote on the relationship of public reasoning and religious commitment, discussing the role of forgiveness in economic relations and the impact the notion of the journey of the soul has for setting health care priorities, four papers reflected on historical examples of religious communities and attitudes negotiating their place in state and society.

The concluding panel discussion engaged a group of outstanding experts and the public in a discussion on a more visible and proactive investigation of the relationship between religion and society at UCL.

PROGRAMME:

Convener:
Dr François Guesnet (UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies)