secularism

Posted on September 25, 2012 by katieaston News and Events

‘As an atheist I feel like a second class citizen’ Lorna Mumford: doctoral student, University College London

Lorna Mumford is presenting her research on nonreligious communities at the Leicester Speaks event, more details of the event can be found on the site and a programme is below:

Leicester Speaks Week
8-14^th October, 2012
Contributions from Leicester Secular Society (LSS) and Leicester Sea of Faith (SoF)
For more information please contact allan-hayes@ntlworld.com, 0116 241 8747

In Secular Hall, Humberstone Gate, LE1 1WB

Monday 8th October 7.30pm (LSS)
Why people of faith should embrace secularism not fear it
Terry Sanderson, President National Secular Society (http://goo.gl/UECDe)

Tuesday 9^th October 7.30pm (LSS)
‘As an atheist I feel like a second class citizen’
Lorna Mumford: doctoral student, University College London
researching non-religious value systems and notions of “the good” (http://goo.gl/qbCqj)

Thursday 11th October 7.30pm(LSS)
Multiculturalism ‘past its sell-by date’(http://goo.gl/7Mvf0)
Professor Ted Cantle CBE
The Cantle report into the northern riots of 2001 drew attention to the “segregated” communities living ‘parallel’ lives. His new book, Interculturalism: The New Era of Cohesion and Diversity(http://goo.gl/i0zk), confronts the failures of multiculturalism and establishes a new concept for managing community relations in a world defined by globalization and super-diversity.

Friday 12th October 7.30pm(LSS)
Is the Welfare State an impossible Dream?
Stephen Lloyd: leading solicitor in charity law (http://goo.gl/uk32E) ;
Stephen made a forceful contribution to a recent St Paul’s Institute seminar (http://goo.gl/mX21g).

Sunday 14th October 6.30pm for a 7pm start (LSS)
Woody Guthrie: Hard Times and Hard Travellin’
Will Kaufman (http://goo.gl/F3mDC)
Tickets £8 guests / £6 members and concessions, from Mike 07722 782727

in Leicester Adult Education College 2 Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL

Saturday 13th October 10.30am (LSS)
One Humanity – making a better future together
Dr Allan Hayes FRSA (board member and past president, Leicester Secular Society; trustee, British Humanist Association; trustee, Sea of Faith Network; humanist representative on Leicester Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education; humanist on St Philips Religion and Belief Roadshow; life member, National Secular Society)

Saturday 13th October 2 pm (SoF)
The Church is for Sceptics too!
A conversation with audience participation between
Rev David Jennings (Rector of Burbage with Aston Flamville, Canon Theologian at Leicester Cathedral) and
Rev Tony Windross (Vicar of Hythe, Kent, author of ‘The Thoughtful Guide to Faith’ )
Recent writings: http://goo.gl/e9u77 and http://goo.gl/gD1Uq

Posted on September 15, 2012 by katieaston News and Events

Events: IWM events in the period September 17 – October 7, 2012

Below you will find information on the IWM events in the period September 17 – October 7, 2012 for which some of you may be interested in attending. Please, let them know if you would like to attend an event by emailing upcomingevents@iwm-list.at and indicating the title or date of the selected event(s). Alternatively, you could call them at 01/313 58-0.

Tuesday, September 18, 6:00pm

Monthly Lecture

Nicolas de Warren

Professor of Philosophy at the University of Leuven, Belgium and IWM guest

THE ELDER ZOSIMA’S SECRET.

Patočka and Monotheism

[ more information… ]

Tuesday, October 2, 6:00pm

Vortrag Reihe “Beyond Myth and Enlightenment. Re-thinking Religion in the Modern World”

Jean Greisch

Philosoph und Theologe, Guardini Stiftung, Berlin

ÜBERDENKEN UND EINGEDENKEN.

Zu Jacques Derridas Religionsbegriff

Mit Unterstützung des Österreichischen Wissenschaftsfonds FWF

Friday, October 5, 4:30pm

Series “Colloquia on Secularism”

Andreas Andreopolous

Reader in Orthodox Christianity and Programme Leader of the MTh in Orthodox Studies, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Winchester

SACRED AND SECULAR GEOGRAPHY.

The Depiction of Space in 14th Century Maps and Icons

[ more information… ]

____________________________________

All events take place in the IWM library if not stated otherwise.

Please register via phone: 0043 (1) 313580, or e-mail: mailto:events@iwm.at

For further details on all IWM events please see the Calendar of Events.

You can also join us on Facebook.

Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen

Institute for Human Sciences

Spittelauer Lände 3

A – 1090 Wien

tel.: (+43 1) 313 58 – 0

fax: (+43 1) 313 58 – 60

Posted on August 23, 2012 by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

Call for Submissions: Special Issue: Islamist Spring? Islamists and the State: New Paradigms and Engagements (American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, AJISS)

The topic of particular interest to the group includes explorations of the reactions of liberal and secular actors to the ascendancy of Islamists, and how the interaction between the two camps is impacting the democratization process

Special Issue: Islamist Spring? Islamists and the State: New Paradigms and Engagements (American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, AJISS)

Guest Editors: Dr. Abdelwahab El-Affendi (University of Westminster), Dr. Anas El-Sheikh Ali (IIIT, London), and Dr. Nader Hashemi (University of Denver)

The demise of “Political Islam” has been foretold many times before, and a “post-Islamist” era has been said to have already arrived. The recent Arab Spring of “cluster revolutions” was also seen to present a more decisive arrival of a new alternative paradigm for both authoritarianism and Islamism. However, post-Arab Spring elections, from Rabat to Kuwait, have swept Islamist parties to power. In many other Muslim countries, from Malaysia and Indonesia to Turkey, Islamism is also a strong player on the political and social fields. This raises a number of important and urgent questions about the new rise of Islamism. Are these the same old Islamist parties, or have they changed? Are they destined to monopolize governance, or do they form an integral part of an emerging democratic ‒ even a post-Islamist political order? How do the ascendant Islamist parties and groups see the role of the state in their Islamizing projects? How do the competing and rival Islamist groups relate to each other and to the wider political spectrum? Which visions are more likely to dominate and flourish, and how stable will the emerging political order be? A special issue dedicated to the theme of “Islamists and the State” will allow for a timely reflection on the accomplishments and challenges of these times. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences invites:

1. Research papers (from the various disciplines of the social sciences and humanities), which reflect on all aspects of the theme of Islamists and the state are welcomed.
2. Book reviews on relevant books are also welcomed.
3. Shorter reflection pieces of two thousand to three thousand words are also invited.

Possible Topics:

• theoretical papers examining the impact of the Arab Spring on the fortunes of Islamist movements and the ramifications for wider Muslim politics
• case studies, qualitative interviews, and comparative studies of Islamist groups across the spectrum or across borders
• critical and in-depth examinations of the shifts in Islamist views and practices on the state and democracy and their methods of engagement with various social groups
• critical studies of variations in Islamist attitudes toward women and minorities
• critical studies of the impact of particular scholars or leaders on the Islamist scene
• studies of the role of new actors and leaders (women, youth, professionals, etc.) within the emerging Islamist movements and what impact it may be having
• critical examinations of the views of Islamists on regional and international issues, including attitudes toward the West and Israel
• critical engagement with current scholarship on Islamism and on Western official attitudes to Islamic movements
• critical studies of the post-Arab Spring state, the regional order, and the impact on various political forces, including Islamists
• critical explorations of the impact the new democratic atmosphere is having on the tendencies, visions, and programs within Islamism, and whether it is favoring radical or moderate groups
• critical studies of the fortune of radical or violent Islamist groups in the post-Arab Spring era
• in-depth explorations of the evolution of Islamist political thought, including comparative perspectives across movements and regions
• critical assessment of intra-Islamist debate, in particular generational and ideological divisions on all matters political
• critical studies of the impact of existing “Islamist” experiments ‒ such as those in Iran and Sudan ‒ on the evolution of thinking, attitudes, and priorities of Islamist groups across the world
• in-depth explorations and forecasts of emerging trends and possible directions in the thinking and practice of Islamist groups and the significance and likely impact of these trends
• historical studies of underlying structural forces in contemporary political change, or previous efforts at democratization
• explorations of the reactions of liberal and secular actors to the ascendancy of Islamists, and how the interaction between the two camps is impacting the democratization process
• examination of the changing discourse of the West toward the various Islamic movements and vice-versa, before, during and after the “revolutions”

Regular research papers should be between seven thousand and ten thousand words (7,000‒10,000). All submissions should conform to AJISS guidelines: original, unpublished research, and presented as double-spaced and single-sided. Please send all contributions as an attachment in MS-Word, with a 250-word abstract and a short biography, simultaneously to:

a.el-affendi@westminster.ac.uk
anas@iiituk.com
nader.hashemi@du.edu

Submission Deadline: January 15, 2013
Publication Date: July 2013

For more on AJISS guidelines, please go to:
http://www.amss.org/AJISS/NotestoContributors.aspx. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, and interdisciplinary journal published by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America and the International Institute of Islamic Thought. AJISS publishes a wide variety of peer-reviewed scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world: politics, history, economic philosophy, metaphysics, psychology, religious law, and Islamic thought ‒ employing both empirical and theoretical analysis. AJISS aims to provide a forum for high-quality original research and critical dialogue and discussion, advancing both application of social sciences to the study of Islam and the Muslim world and an analysis of the social sciences. In addition, AJISS includes insightful reviews of published books of interest to our subscribers, as well as forum articles and conference reports.

Zakyi Ibrahim
Comparative Religion department
California State university, Fullerton
Phone; (657)278-8241
Email: zibrahim@fullerton.edu
Visit the website

Posted on August 7, 2012August 7, 2012 by katieaston Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: Media and Religion: Interdisciplinary Takes on Four Aspects of a Complex Relationship

Workshop on 14 September 2012 by Dr. Britta Ohm

Institut für Sozialanthropologie, Bern University, Länggassstrasse 49a, CH-3000 Bern 9

A workshop of interest to the network, including input speakers on Secularism – Dr. Nanna Heidenreich, innstitute for Media Research, Academy of Fine Arts,Braunschweig and Antje Glück (PhD candidate), Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, University of Bielefeld

The call for papers inlcudes four key themes, (In)Visibility, Practise, Secularism and Democracy

For more details please see the the website or read the call for papers.

Posted on July 16, 2012 by katieaston News and Events

Event: Women, Authority and Leadership in Christianity and Islam Conference

Details below of a conference looking at the role of women, representation and participation within the traditions of Christianity and Islam, posting for the stream relating to Secularism and women’s rights.

Dates of Event

10^th September 2012 – 12^th September 2012

The role of women is one of the most challenging issues facing Christianity and Islam today. This international, interdisciplinary conference will bring together leading academics, religious leaders and representatives of Muslim and Christian communities to explore questions of women’s representation, participation and leadership, and to look at diverse responses to these issues within the two traditions.

Academic Conference:

10th and 11th September

The first two days will be for academic participants. We invite offers of papers and expressions of interest.

Dialogues and Encounters:

12th September

A day of workshops, discussions and seminars involving conference participants and invited representatives of religious communities
Conference Themes

Revelation and interpretation: women, authority and leadership in religious texts.
Women interpreters of the Bible or the Qur’an.
Theological and doctrinal issues relating to the role of women.
Historical and contemporary perspectives on women as leaders, religious representatives, spiritual figures or role models.
Women’s devotional practices in relation to institutions and authority structures.
Secularism and women’s rights.
Women’s religious communities and societies.
Women imams, preachers, priests and ministers.

Key Note Speakers Confirmed to Date

Professor Tina Beattie, Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Roehampton

Dr Simonetta Calderini, Reader in Islamic Studies and World Religions, University of Roehampton

Revd Dr Essie Clark-George, Presiding Elder, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Gary District, Indiana, USA

Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam, University of Glasgow

Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector, St James’s Piccadilly, London

Professor Amina Wadud, Professor Emerita of Islamic Studies, Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley and Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Professor Ursula King, Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol

Professor Fatima Sadiqi, Senior Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies, University of Fez, Morocco, Director of the Isis Center for Women and Development, and President of the National Union of Women’s Organisations

This event has been made possible by a generous grant from Southlands Methodist Trust.

Last Booking Date for this Event: 3^rd September 2012

Description

International Conference Monday 10th September to Wednesday 12th September 2012.

Held at Southlands College, University of Roehampton, 80 Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5SL, UK.

A three-day conference bringing together academics and community organisers to explore key issues concerning the role of women in Christianity and Islam today.

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Chris Publications

Podcast with Tariq Modood on the Crisis of European Secularism

The Religious Studies Project have published a half hour podcast with Professor Tariq Modood on the Crisis of European Secularism, recorded at this year’s SOCREL Conference in Chester:

http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/2012/05/28/podcast-tariq-modood-on-the-crisis-of-european-secularism/

You can download this interview on iTunes.

Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at the University of Bristol. He is founding Director of the University Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, and co-founding editor of the international journal, Ethnicities. As a regular contributor to the media and policy debates in Britain, he was awarded a MBE for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in 2001 and elected a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2004. He also served on the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, the IPPR Commission on National Security and on the National Equality Panel, which reported to the UK Deputy Prime Minister in 2010.

His recent publications include Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain (Edinburgh University Press, 2005), Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea (Polity, 2007) and Still Not Easy Being British: Struggles for a Multicultural Citizenship (Trentham Books, 2010); and as co-editor, Secularism, Religion and Multicultural Citizenship (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Is There a Crisis of Secularism in Western Europe?, which expands considerably upon the issues in this interview, is now available at http://www.bris.ac.uk/ethnicity/news/2012/36.html.

NSRN subscribers might also be interested in Linda Woodhead’s podcast on the Secularisation Thesis, and Bjoern Mastiaux’s essay on the same topic.

Posted on March 11, 2012March 11, 2012 by katieaston Publications

Publication: Islam and the Politics of Secularism and Varieties of Secularism in Asia

Islam and the Politics of Secularism

The Caliphate and Middle Eastern Modernization in the Early 20th Century

Nurullah Ardic

Published 16th January 2012 by Routledge – 394 pages

This book examines the process of secularization in the Middle East in the late 19th and early 20th century through an analysis of the transformation and abolition of Islamic Caliphate. Focusing on debates in both the center of the Caliphate and its periphery, the author argues that the relationship between Islam and secularism was one of accommodation, rather than simply conflict and confrontation, because Islam was the single most important source of legitimation in the modernization of the Middle East.

Through detailed analysis of both official documents and the writings of the intellectuals who contributed to reforms in the Empire, the author first examines the general secularization process in the Ottoman Empire from the late 18th century up to the end of the 1920s. He then presents an in-depth analysis of a crucial case of secularization: the demise of Islamic Caliphate. Drawing upon a wide range of secondary and primary sources on the Caliphate and the wider process of political modernization, he employs discourse analysis and comparative-historical methods to examine how the Caliphate was first transformed into a “spiritual” institution and then abolished in 1924 by Turkish secularists. Ardiç also demonstrates how the book’s argument is applicable to wider secularization and modernization processes in the Middle East.

Deriving insights from history, anthropology, Islamic law and political science, the book will engage a critical mass of scholars interested in Middle Eastern studies, political Islam, secularization and the near-global revival of religion as well as the historians of Islam and late-Ottoman Empire, and those working in the field of historical sociology and the sociology of religion as a case study.

Varieties of Secularism in Asia

Anthropological Explorations of Religion, Politics and the Spiritual

Edited by Nils Ole Bubandt, Martijn Van Beek

Published 29th September 2011 by Routledge – 261 pages
Varieties of Secularism is an ethnographically rich, theoretically well-informed, and intellectually coherent volume which builds off the work of Talal Asad, Charles Taylor, and others who have engaged the issue of secularism(s) and in socio-political life. The volume seeks to examine theories of secularism/secularity and examine concrete ethnographic cases in order to further the theoretical discussion.

Whereas Taylor’s magisterial work draws up the conditions and problems of a belief in God in Western modernity, it leaves unexplored the challenges posed by the spiritual in modernity outside of the North Atlantic rim. This anthology seeks to begin that task. It does so by suggesting that the kind of secularity described by Taylor is only one amongst others. By attending to the shifting relationship between proper religion and ‘bad faiths’; between politically valorised and embarrassing spiritual phenomena; between the new visibilities and silences of magic, ancestors, and religion in democratic politics, this book seeks to outline the particular formations of secularism that have become possible in Asia from China to Indonesia and from Bahrain to Timor-Leste.