Reflections

Wednesday May 16th, 2012 – EuropeinfoEurope – Brussels – rue Archimède 1

Comparative Religion as a subject at university is not new.

To compare has always been important. Not only concerning religions and cultures. [...]]]> AntwerpFVG. Faculty of Comparative religion. A presentation by Chris Vonck, Head of the Faculty.

Reflections

Wednesday May 16th, 2012 – EuropeinfoEurope – Brussels – rue Archimède 1

Comparative Religion as a subject at university is not new.

To compare has always been important. Not only concerning religions and cultures. About everything!

But can we compare religions?  Most of the time – no every time! – it’s done through our own eyes, through our own views and by our own culture.

Life is too short to compare in an objective way a religion. We can compare new religions and we can compare – more or less -  ancient religions but not active religions and thoughts – or let’s say philosophies!

Let’s be honest and start with the beginning. What is the difference between belief and unbelieve? I do not know. Somehow we all believe. We do not believe in Saint Nicolas, but children do. But we believe we exist. Existence is important.

People want to know (knowledge!) why other people think and act differently. Why are their rules and norms many times so different?

The lady of my pharmacy in Antwerp tells me: you are a protestant!  Why not become Catholic. If all people became catholic we would have a better world.

Should I argue? Should I say she is naief? May-be she is right.

In the AntwerpFVG we lecture. We lecture religion and we lecture religious traditions, rituals, religious music – J.S. Bach (Lutheran), W. Mozart (apocaliptic.demonically divine…), Ravi Shankar (Hindu) , Salif Keita (Muslim)! Music and art are many a time stronger than words.

We do not compare religions. We believe it’s actually impossible to compare religions. I believe theology divides, while religion unites.

I also could say: only one religion exist and that’s the Truth. While all the rest are manifestations. Manifestations of the Truth.

But religion is important!  It gives hope and hope results in life. Or better: we agree that we disagree and – practicaly – cooperate as collegues, as friends. The Jewish prof. teaches his/her tradition. The Buddhist his/her tradition. The Humanist his/her tradition,  and….Theosophy – under supervision of Dr. Hans Gerding of the University of Leiden -  is again an other important ‘source.

Today  our friend and student, Jan Jelle Keppler, is finishing his thesis on the possible ‘links between Theosophy and Antoinisme’!

By the way – nobody is too young and nobody is too old to study and do scientific research! Religion has to do with time. For, some Time everlasting.

In that way the AntwerpFVG is unique. The late Dr. Jan Sperna Weiland wrote in Dutch and Italian Journals – what is being done in Antwerp we cannot do in the

Netherlands. Antwerp is probably the right place for a Faculty as the FVG – by the way with a partnership with the Free University of Brussels (VUB) – Antwerp where Hindus live, Jains have a temple (and not a small one!), Buddhist are present, Jewish life is daily observed, Free Masions have their places, the town keeps one of the biggest Catholic Cathedrals of Europe, etc.

The AntwerpFVG was founded in 1980 and started with two students (a Muslim lady and a Jewish lady) and 43 books. Right now the FVG counts about 60 students and keeps a library with about 30.000 books all related to the study of the religious phenomina. The FVG signed 13 bilateral agreements with universities in India, Korea, Israel, Jordan, Iran, Russia, Thailand, etc.

By the way, two years ago the weekly magazine Vacature mentioned the best 20 diplomas resulting in a succesfull job. The FVG was number 14!

We need you! Some Institutions (religious Institutions) still believe they have monopoly of religions. Nobody keeps the monopoly of religions! We need you to back the FVG. To back freedom of faith (M. Luther), and freedom of thought (E. Kant).

Thank you

Chris Vonck

www.antwerpfvg.org

Globalized Religion and Sexuality: Policies, Voices and Contexts

This is a call for chapter submissions for an upcoming volume entitled “Globalized Religion and Sexuality: Policies, Voices and Contexts,” edited by Heather Shipley (University of Ottawa) which will be considered for publication in Brill’s International Studies [...]]]> Call for Chapter Submissions:

Globalized Religion and Sexuality: Policies, Voices and Contexts

This is a call for chapter submissions for an upcoming volume entitled “Globalized Religion and Sexuality: Policies, Voices and Contexts,” edited by Heather Shipley (University of Ottawa) which will be considered for publication in Brill’s International Studies in Religion and Society series, co-edited by Lori G. Beaman and Peter Beyer (University of Ottawa). Please submit one-page chapter proposals no later than August 1, 2012 to Heather Shipley (hshipley@uottawa.ca), to be considered in the volume. Notification will be sent out by the end of August 2012; accepted chapters in full (7,000-8,000 words) will be due by January 31, 2013.

Volume Description:

Controversies in the public arena regarding religion and sexuality often construct these categories as inherently oppositional or already in conflict. As state policies regarding sexuality and sexual diversity develop, promoting inclusivity and non-discrimination, it is imperative to develop a more nuanced discussion regarding the relationship of religion/ideology to sexual diversity and sexuality. What is the role of ideological commitments in promoting or arresting policies of inclusivity? How do policies become actualized within the environments they are intended for: i.e. education, health care, etc.?

The goal of this volume is to explore religion and sexuality from a range of countries across the globe, focusing on the theme of religious/ideological voices in state policies, such as same-sex marriage, identification, education, etc. This would include voices from religious or ideological perspectives (including atheism) whose support/opposition have been influential in either the policy decisions or in public perceptions about the relationship of religion/ideology to sexuality/sexual diversity.

Volume themes are listed below, submissions should indicate which theme they fit under:

 Policies: What policies are contested/controversial regarding religion/ideology and sexuality, and how are ideology and sexuality „involved‟ in policy debates?

ï‚· Voices: What does the research tell us regarding religious/ideology and sexuality, what data is there to demonstrate the voices of individuals/groups regarding religion/ideology and sexuality?

ï‚· Contexts: How can theoretical frameworks regarding identity help inform and promote better awareness regarding the relationship of religion/ideology to sexuality?

ï‚· Other topics not included in this list, but related to the theme of the volume and series, will be considered.

Series Description:

The Brill series, International Studies in Religion and Society (ISRS), publishes social scientific volumes that focus critically on research, debates, and theories in the forms, role, and relations of religion in contemporary society. Volumes have a transnational, multi-disciplinary, and often multi-sectional emphasis, bringing together insights from diverse fields such as history, legal studies, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, international relations, cultural studies, globalization, urban and gender studies. The series welcomes volumes that explore both neglected and much studied themes, seeking in each case to make a meaningful impact by breaking new ground, advancing current questions, and exploring new issues.

Heather Shipley, PhD

Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Département d’études anciennes et de sciences des religions

Department of Classics and Religious Studies

70 av. Laurier Avenue, #102

Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5

613-562-5800 ext. 2662

hshipley@uottawa.ca

www.religionanddiversity.ca

Religion, Gender and Sexuality Among Youth in Canada:

http://www.queensu.ca/religion/Faculty/research/dickeyyoung.htm

http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/air-rs/ or more directly to http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/air-rs/index.php?pg=subs

We have done our best to make the rates very reasonable:

Institutional Rate (Print and Online): $170.00/ £104.00/ €126.00 Institutional Rate (Online [...]]]> The second volume of Religion and Society: Advances in Research is now available. A table of contents is listed below. For information on subscriptions please go to:

http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/air-rs/ or more directly to http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/air-rs/index.php?pg=subs

We have done our best to make the rates very reasonable:

Institutional Rate (Print and Online): $170.00/ £104.00/ €126.00 Institutional Rate (Online Only): $153.00/ £93.00/ €113.00 Individual Rate (Print only) : $48.00/£28.00/€35.00 Student Rate (Print only) $25.00/ £15.00/ €20.00*

Volume 2

Contents

Introduction
Simon Coleman and Ramon Sarró: Dialogues and Trajectories

I. PORTRAIT – José Casanova

De-Privatization, the Public Sphere and Popular Religion Hubert Knoblauch

Public and Private in the Study of Religion: Innovative Approaches Grace Davie

Casanova, Asad and the Public Debate on Religion in Modern Societies Kim Knibbe

Toward a Post-Weberian Sociology of Global Religions Manuel A. Vásquez

From Modernization, to Secularization, to Globalization: An Autobiographical Self-Reflection José Casanova

II. ARTICLES

Encountering the Supernatural: A Phenomenological Account of Mind Julia Cassaniti and Tanya Luhrmann

The Case for Religious Transmission: Time and Transmission in the Anthropology of Christianity Vlad Naumescu

On and Off the Margin: The Anthropology of Contemporary Jewry Andrew Buckser

Inter-Publics’: Hindu Mobilization Beyond the Bourgeoisie Public Sphere Ursula Rao

Pentecostalism and ‘National Culture’: A Dialogue Between Brazilian Social Sciences and the Anthropology of Christianity Cecilia Mariz and Roberta Campos

III. DEBATE SECTION: RELIGION AND VIOLENCE

Religious Violence as Folklore
William T. Cavanaugh

Reflections on ‘Religious Violence’: Reconsidering Durkheim Wendy James

Religion and Civil War in Africa: Durkheim and Douglas Revisited Paul Richards

IV. AN AUTHOR MEETS HER CRITICS

Around Ruth Marshall’s Political Spiritualities: The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria

Comments
John Peel, Daniel Smith, Joel Robbins, Jean-François Bayart

Response to Comments
Ruth Marshall

V. TEACHING ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION

The Anthropology of Religious Controversy: A Masters Level Course Peter Collins and Yulia Egorova

VI. NEWS

VII. BOOKS AND FILMS REVIEWS
___________________________________________

The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies and the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend a seminar by Professor James T. Richardson:

“Engaging the Media on Controversial Topics Involving Religion”

James [...]]]> a seminar by Professor James T. Richardson:  “Engaging the Media on Controversial Topics Involving Religion”

The Centre for the Study of Contemporary Muslim Societies and the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at the University of Western Sydney invites you to attend a seminar by Professor James T. Richardson:

“Engaging the Media on Controversial Topics Involving Religion”

James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno

Date: Wednesday 23 May, 2012

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Venue: Bankstown Campus, Building 1 Level 1 Room 119

RSVP to a.possamai@uws.edu.au by Monday 21 May.

This seminar will focus on experiences with media representatives over several decades of research dealing with controversial topics on which Professor Richardson has conducted research. Included are areas of study such as the “Satanism Scare” of a decade or so ago, the People’s Temple/Jonestown tragedy, the Waco episode involving the raid against and burning of the Branch Davidian compound with large loss of life, the Heaven’s Gate suicides in San Diego, raids by authorities in Australia against The Family and other groups in the 1990s, coverage of so-called “cults” accused of “brainwashing” participants, the more recent raid on the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints community in Texas, and other media related experiences. Also, research on media coverage of some of these topics will be discussed, including from Australia, as well as what some professional organizations have done to deal with issues raised when media coverage of controversial topics occurs in the realm of religion.

James T. Richardson, J.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies and Director of the Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. He also is Director of the Judicial Studies graduate degree program for trial judges, a program offered in conjunction with the National Judicial College and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, both of which are headquartered on the University campus. His research focuses mostly on comparative studies of law and religion and on use of expert evidence in legal systems. Recently he has been conducting research on treatment of religion and religious groups in judicial systems such as constitutional courts and the European Court of Human Rights. He is the author of many books including Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe (Kluwer, 2004).

Professor Richardson’s visit is supported in part by a UWS IRIS Grant.

Monday 10th – Friday 14th September, 2012

The AHRC’s Care for the Future research theme emphasises the importance of studying the ‘ethical, moral, cultural and [...]]]> An intensive residential training programme for doctoral students and early career researchers run by the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society, University of Kent in conjunction with the RSA

Monday 10th – Friday 14th September, 2012

The AHRC’s Care for the Future research theme emphasises the importance of studying the ‘ethical, moral, cultural and social landscapes’ of contemporary life. How do we engage with this challenge conceptually, though, or practice research in ways that engage effectively with these complex phenomena? What public audiences do these questions matter to and how can we communicate our work in creative and useful ways?

This week-long intensive training workshop, delivered in conjunction with the RSA, will provide doctoral students and early career researchers with a unique opportunity to address these questions through workshop sessions with a range of experienced researchers. The programme content will include a range of disciplinary perspectives and will aim not so much to provide a comprehensive framework, but diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives which can act as a stimulus for participants’ future research.

Speakers at the event will include Louisa Bolch, Abby Day, Adam Dinham, Lois Lee, Gordon Lynch, David Morgan, and Linda Woodhead. Specific areas to be covered in the programme will include:

• forms of ‘belief’ in everyday life
• visual and material culture as media of moral life
• understanding the contemporary moral landscape through literature and the arts
• the good life and the ‘social brain’
• the contemporary significance of the sacred and the profane
• new forms of ritualization in contemporary society
• the policy context for understanding the contemporary moral landscape

Other training sessions will also explore different approaches to public engagement through print, digital and broadcast media.

The event will run from the morning Monday 10th September until the end of the afternoon on Friday 14th September at the RSA’s offices just off the Strand in central London. There is no registration fee. Lunch and dinner will be provided free of charge, and free overnight accommodation will also be provided in central London for those participants who require it. Delegates’ travel costs within the UK will also be met.

We anticipate a high degree of interest in this programme, and the deadline for applications is Monday 4^th June.

Further information on the programme, and how to apply for it, is available at http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/researchcentres/crcs/moral_landscape.html

Gordon Lynch

Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology

Department of Religious Studies

University of Kent

June 7-8-9, 2012

University of Padova, Italy

Pentecostalism emerged on a global scale in the twentieth century as one of the most influential religious movements and the most important recent development in Christianity.

With its new styles of religious leadership, powerful communication strategies, [...]]]> Pentecostal Politics of Space and Power  A Global Perspective.

June 7-8-9, 2012

University of Padova, Italy

Pentecostalism emerged on a global scale in the twentieth century as one of the most influential religious movements and the most important recent development in Christianity.

With its new styles of religious leadership, powerful communication strategies, and widespread urban proliferation, Pentecostalism is creating new social orders and religious spaces while reshaping cities into battlegrounds of spiritual warfare. Massive Pentecostal crusades and religious events are transforming the nature of contemporary religious experience in many parts of the world. With the power of their charisma, messages and promises of salvation, deliverance, healing, and prosperity, women and men pastors have been steadily gaining influence in social, urban, religious and political spheres and challenging the power of mainstream religions and governments.

The conference brings scholars from Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US together for a comparative analysis of the social, aesthetic and religious impact of Pentecostalism on global cities and societies. Plenary speakers include some of the leading thinkers in these areas.

Conference Program and website: http://www.pentecostalaesthetics.net/

Enzo Pace and Annalisa Butticci, Convenors

Call for Papers

for a special issue for the Journal of Muslims in Europe Guest editors: Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen

We are seeking [...]]]> « Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe »

Call for Papers

for a special issue for the Journal of Muslims in Europe Guest editors: Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen

We are seeking papers for a special issue of the new double blind-peer reviewed Journal on Muslims in Europe by BRILL to come out in Spring 2013. This special issue seeks to take up tensions in conflicting stories about and different perspectives on Europe’s history and identity that present Europe without Muslims or contrastingly portray Muslims as part of Europe’s past and present.

Under the headline “Europe with or without Muslims – narratives of Europe” we aim to bring together a number of perspectives from multiple disciplinary fields such as history, religious studies, cultural anthropology, political science and sociology in an analysis of diverging accounts and notions of Europe over time and places throughout the continent, open as well to external perspectives. The initial question thereby is, what role Islam and Muslims have played and still play in the imagining of what Europe means. (See more details on different possible themes for contributions below.)

This way we aim to direct our view at the nexus between constructions of Europe and developments within contemporary European Islam providing space both for a critical review of academic approaches and the development of new impulses for future research.

Besides empirical papers we strongly encourage theoretical papers that challenge current research on Islam and Muslims in Europe and reflect on the own position of the researchers and his or her contributions to the construction of Europe and the role and function of Islam and Muslims.

We invite papers that address one of the topics of two sessions described below. Deadline for sending your abstracts: July the 1st, 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>. Accepted participants will be notified by July 20, 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>. If your paper is accepted, you must submit the final paper (max 10,000 words inclusive of footnotes) by 20 October 2012<https://secure.mail.ibt.ku.dk/owa/UrlBlockedError.aspx>.

Applications to submit a short paper should include: 1. Proposer’s name and affiliation, 2. a title for the paper, 3. a ca. 500 word abstract.

All abstracts and paper should be written in English.

Time frame:
Deadline for abstracts (ca. 500 words) 1.July 2012
Deadline for sending final papers 20.October 2012
Publication 15.March 2013

Paper proposals should be send electronically in Microsoft Word formats to Göran Larsson, University of Gothenburg: goran.larsson@religion.gu.se<mailto:goran.larsson@religion.gu.se> and Riem Spielhaus, University of Copenhagen: rsp@teol.ku.dk<mailto:rsp@teol.ku.dk>.

For this special issue we invite papers on the narratives imagining Europe with and without Muslims analyzing contents, actors and setting of those narratives that relate to one or several of the following questions:

1. Localizing debates connecting Europe and Islam:

• In what way are debates about Europe and its identity mentioning the European past with reference to Muslim’s presence in Europe on the local, regional, national or European Union level? How do these different levels (local, regional, national, transnational) intersect?

2. Imagining Europe without Muslims:

• What are the main patterns of the dominant constructions of Europe’s heritage like notions of a Judaeo-Christian heritage? Where and by whom are these narratives told? To what extent are they embedded in European integration or projects of community or nation-building?

3. Narratives of Europe inclusive of Muslims:

• In what cases is the Muslim history of Europe used as counter narrative to question the construction of Europe as a Christian continent? What groups of people insist on an imagination of Europe with Muslims? How are these narratives used to strengthen a feeling of belonging and responsibility of current Muslims?

4. Contextualizing Islam debates in European history of thought:

• Is it possible to make any comparison between current debates about Islam and Muslims and previous debates about ties between religions and national identities e.g. different Christian denominations in early modern Europe?

5. Imagining Europe from outside:

• How is the relationship between Europe and its Muslim inhabitants viewed beyond the Mediterranean? Do accounts of European history and presentations of the contemporary Europe from within and without bear considerable differences?

Tibet is burning.

Self-Immolations in Tibet: Ritual or Political Protest?

14-15 May 2012 / Provisional Program

Monday 14 May

Chair: R. Barnett

09h00 – Opening speech by Mr. Denis Pelletier, President of École pratique des Hautes Études

09h15 – K. Buffetrille (EPHE) Self-Immolation in Tibet: Some Reflections on an Unfolding History

09h45 – M. Vovelle (Sorbonne-Paris I) Title to be announced

10h15 – [...]]]>

Tibet is burning.

Self-Immolations in Tibet: Ritual or Political Protest?

14-15 May 2012 / Provisional Program

Monday 14 May

Chair: R. Barnett

09h00 – Opening speech by Mr. Denis Pelletier, President of École pratique des Hautes Études

09h15 – K. Buffetrille (EPHE) Self-Immolation in Tibet: Some Reflections on an Unfolding History

09h45 – M. Vovelle (Sorbonne-Paris I) Title to be announced

10h15 – Morning break

11h00 – J.A. Benn (McMaster University) Multiple Meanings of Buddhist Self-immolation, a

Historical Perspective

11h30 – H. Stoddard (INALCO) Offering the Body in Buddhist tradition: Texts and Images

12h00-14h00 – Lunch

Chair: J. Benn

14h00 – F. Macé (INALCO) Immolation: the Japanese Case

14h30 – F. Cavard (EHESS) Self-immolation by Fire as a Conditional Martyrdom: the Case of

Bouazizi in the Arab Revolutions

15h00 – M. Biggs (Oxford University) Self-immolation in Context, 1963-2012

15h30 – Morning break

16h00 – F. Jagou (EFEO) Chinese Policy Towards Tibet versus Tibetan Expectations for Tibet: A

Divergence Marked by Self-Immolations

16h30 – Chung Tsering (INALCO) On Some Opinions about Self-immolation Expressed in Exile

Tibetan Social Medias

17h00 – D. Berounsky (Charles University) The Kirti Monastery of Ngaba (Rnga ba): Its History and

Recent Situation

17h30 – Discussion

Tuesday 15 May

Chair: M. Biggs

09h30 – T. Shakya (UBC) Self Immolation: Transforming the Language of Protest

10h00 – E. Sperling (Indiana University) Conversations and Debates: Chinese and Tibetan

Engagement with the Broader Discussion of Self-Immolation in Tibet

10h30 – Morning break

11h30 – D. Avon (Université du Maine-Le Mans) Immolation in a Global Muslim Society. Revolt

Against Authority, Transgression of Strict Religious Laws

12h00 – O. Grojean (Université Aix-Marseille) Self-immolations by Kurdish Activists in Turkey and

Europe (1982-2011)

12h30-14h00 – Lunch

Chair: E. Sperling

14h00 – M. Lecomte-Tilouine (CNRS) Self-immolation by Fire and Other Forms of Suicide for

Cursing, Harming or Protesting in Hindu Nepal and India

14h30 – R. Barnett (Columbia University) Political Self-Immolation by Tibetans as Exemplary

Behaviour in China: The Lessons of Popular Culture

15h00 – L. Noyontsang (INALCO) Immolations in Tibetan Exile Poetry

15h30 – F. Robin (INALCO) Fire, Flames and Ashes. How Tibetan Poets Talk About Self-

Immolations Without Talking About Them

16h00 – Discussion and closing

17h00-19h00 – Screening of “Red River Valley” (Hong Hegu) by Feng Xiaoning (China, 1997)

Venue: Collège de France, Salle 5, Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris

Métros: Cluny La Sorbonne, St-Michel, Odéon

Information: www.ephe.sorbonne.fr/actualites/