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Below you find descriptions of the programme sessions:

1: Religion and Public Theology in Europe

Monday September 10, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Linda Hogan, (ISE, Trinity College Dublin / Ireland)

This lecture will discuss the contours of the liberal polity with specific reference to the role of Christian voices therein. It suggests that the contemporary European context is simultaneously secular and religious, and notes that the con-text in which European societies must function is one in which there is no prospect of religion disappearing nor of citizens agreeing on the fundamental principles of justice and of social order. This lecture highlights the range of theological perspectives through which the relationship between religion and politics can be considered, with a specific focus on the extent to which agreement on fundamental ethical principles can be achieved. It will end with a consideration of the role that human rights politics can play in the search for this agreement, and argues that a Christian public theology can be pursued through this idiom.

Linda Hogan is Vice-Provost/Chief Academic Officer, and Professor of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin. Her primary research interests lie in the fields of Christian ethics, human rights and gender. Amongst her recent publications are Religious Voices in Public Places, Oxford UP, 2009 (ed. with Nigel Biggar); Religions and the Politics of Peace and Conflict, Prince-ton Theological Monographs, 2009 (ed. with Dylan Lee Lehrke); Applied Ethics in a World Church, Orbis, 2008 (ed.) which received the 2009 Catholic Book Award from the Catholic Press Association of the USA & Canada. She is also the author of Confronting the Truth: Conscience in the Catholic Tradition, Paulist Press, 2000; and From Women’s Experience to Feminist Theology, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1995/8.

 

1: Religion and Public Theology in Europe

Monday September 10, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. András Máté Tóth, (University of Szeged / Hungary)

Central and Eastern Europe can be seen as a laboratory for the social scientist and for religious scholars as well. Since the political and economical turning point of 1989 / 1991 we observe turbulent processes which may be analyzed within the theoretical frameworks of the academic study of religions. After first clarifying some terms e.g. region, religion and paradigm; I will outline four theoretical approaches, which are especially suitable for analysis of the contemporary regional processes. First, and most frequent, paradigm of secularization; second, the collective effervescence of Durkheim and the theory of social drama from Victor Turner; third, „civil religion” from Bellah; fourth, the „empty signifier” from the field of critical discourse analysis of Laclau and Mouffe. To conclude, I will round off with some methodological and practical consequences for the regional study of religion in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, for a deeper understandding of religious and social processes in countries with Orthodox Christian majority.

András Máté-Tóth (b. 27.07.1957 in Kalocsa, Hungary). Studied theology at the Theological Seminary Szeged 1975-82; PhD in practical theology at the University of Vienna 1991; habilitation in practical theology 1996 at the University of Vienna. PhD in Science of Communication at the University of Pécs 2011. Since 2000 he is Head of the Department for the Study of Religions at the University of Szeged, Faculty of Arts. At the University of Szeged he has taught (1991-6) history of continental philosophy, (1992-) academic studies of religion and qualitative methodology. Main research interests: contemporary processes of religion and churches in Central and Eastern Europe; history of the academic study of religion in Hungary; new religious movements and catholic renewal movements in Hungary. He is author and/or editor of 15 books and 100 scientific articles in Hungarian, German and English.

 

3: Orthodox Christianity and New Democracies / Orthodox Christian Theological Responses to Nationalism

Monday September 10, 2012, 15:00 – 16:30
Dr. Mihail Neamtu, (Institute for the Investigation of the Communist Past and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, Bucharest, Romania)

A culture of memory is an indispensable part of our effort of coming to terms with the last century’s traumatic events. First, we should air the ethical concerns of the victims. Eastern Europe is a region where the hammer and sickle flag brought to death millions of lives. The stories emerge from the former Communist bloc exceed the ordinary powers of imagination. Labor camps and prisons, forced exiles and hecatombs require, without doubt, a very close attention to detail. Historians of different methodological persuasion have brought to light the physical and psychological terror experienced in the gulag. Still, one cannot view Communism simply as a graveyard of global proportions. The unspeakable evil of any dictatorship is measured by its killings, but these do not explain the genesis of its particular totalitarian ideology or its subsequent unfolding. One ought to probe into the seductive nature of the Communist ideology (psychology of masses; of the economic, social, and moral failures triggered by the egalitarian instinct); and, the motivation for surviving under, resisting against, or pro-actively cooperating with the totalitarian system. How does the transfer from utopia to dystopia take place?

Dr. Mihail Neamtu holds a degree in Continental philosophy and Ph.D. in theology & religious stu-dies from King’s College, University of London. He held a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at New Europe College (2005-2007) and is the author of three books on the history of ideas, which focus upon the en-counter between religion and modernity. In addition to other scholar-ly studies, essays and articles, he has produced weekly columns for the Romanian daily Cotidianul (2007-2009). Neamtu is currently writing about the ethical meaning of the Gulag experience in the Eastern European literary imagination.

 

5: Religious Expressions of Post-Yugoslav Nostalgia

Tuesday September 11, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Mitja Velikonja, (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)

‘Yugonostalgia’ is a set of beliefs and activities, often materialized in products, that celebrate lost socialist Yugoslavia: its leader Tito; popular culture and everyday life of those times; and of course, positive achievements of that regime (social security, health-care, free schooling). Some of them aquire distinctive religious connotations and dimensions (veneration, admiration, pilgrimages, categories of sacred etc.); and must be analysed in the same manner, with the same approaches and methods as all other religous phenomena. The ambition of the presentation is to show, briefly describe and then analyse some of the most interesting examples and processes of that kind.

Dr. Mitja Velikonja is professor of Cultural Studies at the School of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, and head of Center for Cultural and Religious Studies. His main research topics are mentality changes, new ideologies, street cultures and nostalgia in post-socialist transition in the Balkans. His recent books include “Titostalgia – A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz” (2009, http://mediawatch.mirovni-institut.si/eng/mw20.html, ) “Eurosis – A Critique of the New Eurocentrism” (2005, http://mediawatch.mirovni-institut.si/eng/mw17.htm, ), and “Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina” (TAMU Press, 2003).

 

7: Public Theology in Europe’s (Post)secular Societies

Wednesday September 12, 2012, 09:00– 10:00
Prof. David Cheetham (University of Birmingham/ UK)

This lecture will aim to address the problem of doing theology in the ‘public’ spaces of Europe. Firstly, it will seek to critically engage with the meaning of secularism and post-secularism by looking at key contributions in recent scholarship – both philosophical and theological. Secondly, it will attempt to address the question ‘what kinds of voice does theology have in contemporary Europe?’ Apologetic? Prophetic? Aesthetic? Moral? Continuous or discontinuous with society? Whilst critiquing the strongly post-secular options, the lecture will conclude by reviewing theology as a voice of meaning and beauty for 21^st European society.

David Cheetham is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK. He specializes in the philosophy and theology of religions. He is the author or editor of the following: John Hick (Ashgate, 2003), Contemporary Practice and Method in the Philosophy of Religion (Continuum, 2008) and numerous articles in journals including The Heythrop Journal, Sophia, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and Studies in Interreligious Dialogue and other articles in the Westminster Dictionary of Theology (Westminster/ John Knox Press, 2008) and The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Theologians (Blackwell, 2010). He is currently completing a new book in the theology of religions.

 

8A: Secularization of Turkish Political Structure: Complications of a Secular State

Wednesday September 12, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Rahim Acar (The University of Marmara, Istanbul / Turkey)

In contrast to the Ottoman state, modern Turkish Republic abolished the office of the caliph and affiliation of the state with a certain religion, i.e., Islam. It meant a clear departure from the Ottoman heritage as well as firm affiliation with the civilized Western world. Apparently by abolishing the affiliation of the state with a religion the modernizers wanted to put the state at equal distance to all its citizens regardless of their religious affiliation and thus maximize freedom of conscience regarding religious beliefs. However, it seems that with the new position assigned to the state apparatus vis a vis religion, none of the major groups within Turkish society have been content.

Rahim Acar works as an associate professor of philosophy of religion, at Marmara University Divinity School. He received his Ph.D from the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department at Harvard University in 2002. His publications include Talking about God and Talking about Creation: Avicenna’s and Thomas Aquinas’ Positions, Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2005; “Reconsidering Avicenna’s Position on God’s Knowledge of Particulars,” in Interpreting Avicenna: Science and Philosophy in Medieval Islam, ed. Jon McGinnis, Leiden & Boston: Brill, 2004; “Avicenna’s Position Concerning the Basis of the Divine Creative Action,” The Muslim World, 94/1 (2004), pp. 65-79; “Avicenna,” in Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, ed. Chad Meister & Paul Copan. London: Routledge, 2007.

 

8B: Religious Liberty in Romania

Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Nicolae Durã, (“Ovidius” University in Constanta, Romania)

On May 31, 2005, 16 of the 18 recognized Cults signed the Project of the law on religious Cults. The two religious Cults that did not show up to sign the Law Project were the Jehovists, self-titled „the Religious Organization of Jehova`s Witnesses” and the Greek Catholics, self-titled „the Roman Church united with Rome, the Greek-Catholic Church”. Jehova`s Witnesses did not come on the grounds that their religious doctrine (teaching) forbids them to have relations with the State, and the Greek-Catholics declared that this law must be adopted after the retrocession of their mobile and non-mobile patrimony by the State and by the Romanian Patriarchate and, as such, only in that moment could they sign it. After the signing of the Law Project by the 16 Cults recognized by the State, its text was sent by the Government to the Romanian Parliament in order for the law to be adopted on 13/12/06. This law regar-ding the religious liberty and the general regime of the Cults was promulgated by the President of the Romanian State by Decree no. 1437 of 27/12/06. On 28/12/06, the Parliament of Romania registered it under no. 489/2006 and sent it to the Official Journal of Romania for publication. On 08/01/08 the Law of the Cults (also intended to be the Law regarding religious freedom) came into force. This was the first time in the history of Romania that the text of a law regarding religious liberty was published; and when such a law regarded the juridical regime of religious Cults.

Prof. Univ. Dr. Nicolae Durã is the Vice-rector of the “Ovidius” Univer-sity of Constanta. He is Doctor of Theology, major in Canon Law – the Theological Institute of University Rank in Bucharest; Utriusque Juris Doctor(Civil and Canon Law) – Pontifical University of Toulouse (France); Member of the “Society of the Law of the Oriental Churches”, based in Vienna; Member of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Milan (2009); Professor Durã published numerous books, studies, articles, notes, reviews according to the transdisciplinarity of his preoccupations in the field of scientific research.

 

9: Orthodox Theology and Politics

Prof. Razvan Ionescu, (“Ovidius” University in Constanta, Romania)
Thursday September 13, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00

The constant reference to biblical truth of our Savior’s teachings, to the Holy Tradition, and to the spiritual dimension of the patristic teachings has always the gift of refreshing and of confessedly illuminating the paradoxical perspective on the eternal Kingdom which, even though "is not of this world" (John 18:36), "is within you" (Luke 17:21). Indeed, as com-pared to the history of the world, the history of salvation represents a paradoxical path. Although it is narrow, its opening is headed to the universal. Although fragile, it hides within itself a maximum concentration. As much as it is reduced in volume and deeds, it may interpret and save the history of mankind. The later then, is carried on "outside" the history of salvation, but, at the same time, gradually, is influenced and penetrated by it. On the one hand, the history of the world serves the history of salvation as a pedestal; on the other hand, it is situated in its horizon, since Jesus Christ – Master over time – is the heart of the whole temporal reality, by embracing with His power of spreading out, the entirety of human history. The greatest error of profane history remains one which allows us to imagine that, during its course, it may bring about the Kingdom of God on earth.

Razvan Ionescu is a Bachelor of Theatre and Theatre Science and Bachelor in Theology. In ‘03 he gained the scientific title of Doctor in Theatre Science (PhD) of The National University of Theatre and Film Arts “I.L. Caragiale” of Bucharest (Suma cum Laude); in ‘10 he gained the scientific title of Doctor in Theology (PhD) of “Ovidius” University of Constanta (Magna cum Laude), with the dissertation “Theology and Politics. Traditions, Errors, Icon details, Historical Testimonies in the connection between Theology and Politics from the Christian viewpoint”. Formerly actor of The National Theatre “I.L. Caragiale” of Bucharest until 2009; currently Professor of “Ovidius” University in Constanta, The Faculty of Orthodox Theology. Publications include over 300 daily press articles; over 70 articles in periodicals (Romania & abroad). Books include: The Time of the Man within The Eternity of The Lord (Nemira, 2003); When the Saints Used to Go to the Theatre – Echoes from a Different Bezants (Curtea Veche, 2007); “A Forgotten Bishop and His Books” (Kron-Art, 2007). He is one of the founders of “The Romanian Association for Religious Studies”; member of “The International Society for the Study of the Historical Rhetoric”; and “The European Society for Science and Theology Study”.

 

 

10: Orthodoxy and Nationalism

Thursday September 13, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Victor Roudometof, (University of Cyprus / Greece)

Orthodox Christianity’s engagement with nationalism has a long history. It arguably predates the modern period. However, the most visible manifestation of the relationship between Orthodoxy and nationalism is observed after the 18th century. In the various national movements of the Balkan peoples Orthodoxy has served as a major cultural marker for the construction of modern national identities. The same relationship is confirmed in the territories of the former Soviet Union after 1989, albeit under very different circumstances. The modern synthesis of Church and Nation has by now spread throughout the Orthodox religious landscape. Contemporary challenges to this intertwining are several and their strength varies across contexts. But none of them appear capable to shake off this historically constituted intertwining.

Victor Roudometof is associate professor of Sociology at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus (see www.roudometof.com). His interests include globalization, nationalism, transnationalism and the study of Orthodox Christianity. His publications include over 100 books, articles, chapters, and other writings. His most recent volume is Orthodox Christianity in 21st Century Greece (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010). Currently, he is working on a monograph about globalization and Orthodox Christianity.

 

11: Islam and Nationalism in Southeast Europe

Thursday September 13, 2012, 17:00 – 18:30
Dr. Gyorgy Lederer, (Budapest)

The paper aims at a critical rethinking of the often claimed connection of Islam and Nationalism in Southeast Europe. Turkish nationalist discourse in Bulgaria tends to be markedly secular, and so are most Albanian and Kosovar political leaders too. Despite the undeniable historical Muslim dimension of Albanian identity, the influence of those who stress it today is not significant, except perhaps for Macedonia.  Bosniak nationalists refer to an uncertain nation. Many Bosniaks (Bosnians of Muslim ancestry) do not regard themselves as a genuine nation, let alone as part of a worldwide Muslim community. The limited spread of Islamic consciousness in post-socialist Eastern Europe has been provoked by transnational (Mid-eastern) proselytizing efforts, rather than nationalism.

Gyorgy/George Lederer is a Hungarian-Canadian Arabist and Islamicist. His PhD is from Budapest Eotvos University. After years of studies in the Arab world, mostly North Africa, he published on Islam and Islamism in post-socialist Eastern Europe.  He was affiliated with various academic institutes in both Hungary and Canada. Currently in Budapest, he runs a private foundation focusing on dialogue with, and research on, Muslims in the region and beyond.

 

12: Orthodoxy and the [O]rthodoxy Religions and Faiths Strive For

Friday September 14, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00
Prof. Ioannis Kourempeles, (“Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

The lecture attempts to present the dogmatic framework, in which orthodox theology could include human religiosity. In this regard, doctrinal teachings are considered in general to reduce human beings to soteriological exclusivity. But, is there a theological manner of emphasis on the whole humanity? If so, how and why? What is the attitude of the orthodox good will of understanding towards religions and to its other? This way of thinking rests on the modern questions of exclusivity and pluralism. It implies acceptance of pluralism as a reality, whether or not seen as an agent of relativism. We also have to consider whether religion upholds a confused soteriology? Or, might we support the need for exclusivity of different kinds of faiths and closed soteriologies? Is there a more honest way in Orthodoxy? What’s the meaning of the Christological event for the Christian relation-ship to the diversity of religious faiths? What does it mean for the resistance against exclusivity and relativism in this field of faith? These theological and anthropological challenges are read from a systematic-dogmatic point of view, and discussed in a creative dialogue with contemporary issues.

Prof. Dr. Ioannis Kourempeles (b. 28^th March 1965, Athens). Studied orthodox theology (Faculty of Theology, “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki); specialized in Erlangen and Heidel-berg. Received his PhD in 1998 with a thesis, "Romanos’s the Melodian Chris-tology, and it’s Soteriological Signifi-cance", Fac. of Theology “Aristotle” U. of T. Jan. ‘98 – Nov. ‘01 he worked as teacher of religions in various ecclesiastical secondary schools. Nov. ‘01 – Oct. ‘04 was Lecturer at the Dept. of Pastoral and Social Theology, Fac. of Theology, “Aristotle” U. of T., teaching "Symbolic Theology: Orthodox and inter-Christian Relations". Since Oct. ‘04 he is Professor of Dogmatic and Symbolic Theology, Fac. of Theology “Aristotle” U. of T. He has published numerous articles in the field of history of dogma and dogmatic theology, with particular interest in the challenges of ecumenical importance, and contemporary theological reflection.

 

13: The Margins of Orthodoxy: Heterodox and Heretical currents in Eastern Christianity and Islam

Friday September 14, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Yuri Stoyanov, (University of London / UK)

The lecture will explore the main heterodox and heretical currents in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (focusing in particular on the Balkans) and their interrelations with trends of Islamic heterodoxy during the Ottoman period. It will highlight some of the major historical cases of outbreaks of Christian heresy, its suppression and reconstructions of its perceived relations with Islam as well as a discussion of the theological and polemical attitudes behind the construction of the notion and rhetoric of heresy and the heresiarch in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Dr. Yuri Stoyanov (PhD, The Warburg Institute, University of London) is based at the Department of the Near and Middle East, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem. His publications include: The Hidden Tradition in Europe (Penguin, London, 1994), The Other God (Yale UP, London & New York, 2000), Defenders and Enemies of the True Cross (Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Vienna, 2011); he has also co-edited Christian Dualist Heresies in the Byzantine World c.650-c.1450 (Manchester UP, Manchester & New York, 1998).

 

14: Rethinking [O]rthodoxy: between Ecumenical Claims and Confessional Ties

Friday September 14, 2012, 15:00 – 16:30
Prof. Leonhard Hell, (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz / Germany)

The presentation tries to reflect on the manifold dimensions of the semantics of “orthodoxy”. This important theological concept, although not known to the biblical authors, emerged in the era of the “old church”, but received its most significant engagement in times of schism, controversy and lasting division between the churches. At last, it became the name of an important group of Christian denominations, known since as “the Orthodox churches”. Nevertheless “orthodoxy” remains a common challenge for them, as for all Christian churches and communities.

Prof. Leonhard Hell was born 1958 in Hilpoltstein (Germany), and is Professor for Dogmatic and Ecumenical Theology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (2001-). He was also Research Assistant at the University of Freiburg (1990-1997). Prof. Hell studied Catholic Theology and German Literature at the Uni-versities of Tübingen and Munich receiving his Dr. Theol. (1991, Tübingen). Author of: Entstehung und Entfaltung der theologischen Enzyklopädie (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern 1999).

 

Religion and European Foreign Policy

Monday September 17, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00
Prof. Michael Däumer, (European Commission, Brussels)

While being a secularly-oriented Union with 27 Member States, the EU through the Lisbon Treaty (Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – TFEU) maintains an open, transparent and regular dialogue with Churches, religious communities and philosophical non-confessional organisa-tions. This dialogue with religious communities and associations of conviction as actors and opinion-shapers in our European societies is not one on theology or philosophy but one on values of democracy and freedom that are central concepts in Europe. Meeting with European faith leaders on May 30, 2011, Commission President José Manuel Barroso – linking the dialogue with foreign policy – emphasized the significance of sharing “our ambitions” to promote these values in Europe’s closest neighbourhood” in view of the unfolding events in North Africa and the Middle East, commonly referred to as the “Arab Spring”. This presentation thus will deal with three major themes: 1. The importance of the religious communities and associations of conviction; 2. Why religion matters in foreign policy; 3. EU Foreign Policy: Considering the Religious Factor.

Michael Däumer (b. Osnabrück, Germany, May 12, 1955) studied political science and public administration at the universities of Bonn, Pittsburgh and Harvard. From 1984 to 1987 he served in the Political Section of the United States Embassy in Bonn, Germany. Following five years as lecturer at Harvard University in Boston (1987-1992), he joined the staff of the Prime Minister of the German State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1992-1993); worked in the CDU Party Headquarters, Bonn in the re-election campaign of Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1993-1995); and, as deputy international secretary of the CDU (1995-1996). In 1996, he assumed his first government position as deputy state secretary for European Affairs in the Free Hanseatic State of Bremen. Following the state elections in Hamburg in 2002, Mr. Däumer was appointed deputy director of the Hamburg State Office, Berlin – responsible for political coordination of federal legislation. From 2003 until 2009, he served as resident representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s office, Madrid – responsible for Spain and Portugal; and in Amman, Jordan. In 2010, he joined the European Commission’s DG for External Relations and was transferred to the European External Action Service in January, 2011.

 

17: The Religions of SE Europe: Insights from Work Experience

Monday, September 17, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15

Prof. Erhard Busek, (Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe, Vienna / Austria)

The European Union is in the process of creating the EUSDR. In this context, the coming closer of cultures is of great importance. Interestingly, the Danube not only connects countries; citizens; regions; but also religions. In historic tradition it has a great importance because wars up and down the river have been fought. At present, it is a place where Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims are situated. The Danube is very much influenced by the Black Sea Area, but also by the opportunity of passage – through Istanbul – to the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Besides history and the current situation, migration is has had and continues to make a great impact. On the other hand, some nationalistic trends are observable, for instance in Hungary; but also Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and so on. All parties advocate dialogue, but remain perplexed with regards to the approach. It might therefore be necessary to develop a strategy on this subject.

Dr. Erhard Busek has acted as Minister for Science and Research; Minister for Education; Vice-Chancellor of the Republic of Austria and Special Representative of the Austrian Government for the Enlargement of the European Union, as well as Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. Currently he is Chairman of the Institute for Danube Region and Central Europe in Vienna, Coordinator of the "Southeast European Cooperative Initiative", President of "Europäisches Forum Alpbach", Rector of Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and Jean Monnet Professor ad personam.

 

19: Muslims in the Balkans and the Discourse on a “European Islam”

Tuesday September 11, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00
Prof. Ina Merdjanova (Trinity College Dublin / Ireland)

The notion of a “European Islam” has been increasingly recurrent in the political vocabulary in all parts of Europe. Still far from being sufficiently conceptualized, it is becoming a working idea, especially with regard to continuous efforts for the accommodation and institutionalization of Islam throughout the Old Continent. The paper will outline various setbacks and opportunities related to the project of a “European Islam”. It will challenge assumptions that Islam and Muslims are alien to Europe (and to the so-called “European identity”, which is itself in the process of construction) by focusing on the Balkans, where Muslim communities have lived for more than six centuries, and have generally developed effective models of social integration.

Ina Merdjanova is a Marie Curie Fellow at the Irish School of Ecumenics/Trinity College Dublin. She previously served as director of the Center for Interreligious Dialogue and Conflict Prevention at the Scientific Research Department of Sofia University, Bulgaria (2004-2010). She received her PhD from Sofia University, and has held visiting fellowships at Oxford University and other institutions in the UK, the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, and USA. She is the author and editor of six books in Bulgarian as well as of a monograph in English entitled Religion, Nationalism, and Civil Society in Eastern Europe—The Postcommunist Palimpsest (Edwin Mellen Press, 2002). Dr. Merdjanova has recently published a co-authored manuscript with Patrice Brodeur of Montreal University Religion as a Conversation Starter: Interreligious dialogue for Peacebuilding in the Balkans (Continuum, 2009), and is currently completing a book on Islam in the Balkans.

 

20: New Identities in the West: Culturalist Discourse in Turkey-EU Relations

Tuesday September 18, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Talip Küçükcan, (Marmara University, Istanbul / Turkey)

Modern nation states face a formidable challenge in the face of globalization, migration and cross-cultural relations. Based on the notion of homogenizing the political community, nation states either ignored plurality or suppressed religious, linguistic and ethnic diversity. Essentia-lizing social and cultural identities fol-lowed state-led ideological inculcation policies and practices. Europe as a cultural and political entity is constructed on the basis of shared values and ideals drawn on Greek, Roman and Judeo-Christian heritage. Enlargement of the European Union seems to have respected this spirit when a non-Western and a largely Muslim country applied to become a full member in the Union. Not only Turkey’s applica-tion but also presence of a significant num-ber of Muslims of immigrant origin led to the rise of culturalist discourse. Cultural roots of European identity are remembered and re-emphasized vis-à-vis growing di-versity and distinct new identities. Today, Europe is faced with a dilemma: preser-ving the European identity by keeping Turkey outside the Union, or allowing the growth of diversity by letting Turkey in. Europe’s decision on Turkey’s application is a test case. This paper will look at how the culturalist discourse might impact Turkey-EU relations.

Talip Küçükcan is Professor of Sociology and Religion at Marmara University, Istanbul; Research Coordinator at the SETA Foundation & Senior Advisor to the President of Higher Education Council of Turkey, Ankara. He received an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies, U. of London; PhD in Ethnic Relations from the U. of Warwick. He worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, U. of Warwick, conducted research as a Visi-ting Fellow at the Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic Rela-tions, Stockholm U. Before moving to Marmara University he was a Senior Re-search Fellow at the Center for Islamic Studies in Istanbul. Professor Küçükcan works on freedom of religion, comparative secularism, state policies towards religious minorities, Muslim communities in Europe and the role of higher education in intercul-tural relations. Publications include Politics of Ethnicity, Identity and Religion: Turkish-Muslims in Britain, Avebury: Ashgate (1999); EuroTurks and Turkey-EU Relations: The Dutch Case, (co-authored with V. Gungor), Amsterdam: Turkevi Research Centre, 2006; Turks in Europe: Culture, Identity, Integration (co-ed. with V. Gungor), Amsterdam: Turkevi Research Centre, 2009; State-Religion Relations in Europe (co-edited with Ali Kose), İstanbul: Centre for Islamic Studies, 2008 (in Turkish).

 

21: Religion in a (Post-) Secular Europe: the Case of Orthodox Christianity

Tuesday September 18, 2012, 15:00 – 16:30
Prof. Evert van der Zweerde, (Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands)

The process of European integration is often perceived as a "secular" or even "secularist" project. As such, it has met with resistance and skepticism from the side of religious traditions, in particular Orthodox Christianity. While for some Orthodox majority countries, the EU has become a reality, for others it hasn’t. This offers perhaps threats, but also opportunities for Orthodoxy to define itself. At the same time, it also offers a much-needed occasion for "Europe" to rethink and re-gauge itself. How should it, how should we relate to this alleged "secularity"? And is the topic, or even project, introduced by Habermas and others, of a "post-secular" society applicable to the EU as well? Would that take away reservations on the part of Orthodoxy? In order to come to grips with these questions, a first step should be to focus on the notion of "the secular" in its own right. This is the point of departure of my presentation.

Evert van der Zweerde (1958) is professor of Political Philosophy at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands. He wrote his PhD on a branch of academic philosophy in the former USSR. Since, he has worked on Russian philosophy, notably Vl. Solov’ëv; Orthodox Christianity in relation to politics; politics and religion (including Islam); as well as on the topics of civil society, democracy, and European political community. He is affiliated to the academic journals Studies in East European Thought; Religion, State & Society; Journal of Eastern Christian Studies; LIMES; Transcultural Studies; Solov’ëvskie Issledovanija.

 

23: Left, soft and green interreligious encounters?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00
Prof. Kajsa Ahlstrand, (Uppsala University / Sweden)

Interreligious encounters are not only religious; they always take place in specific political and cultural contexts. The presentation discusses some of these frameworks and the various possibilities and obstacles that religious and non-religious factors play in interreligious encounters in Europe.

Kajsa Ahlstrand is Professor in World Christianity and Interreligious Studies, Uppsala University. She has written on Hindu-Christian and Buddhist-Christian relations, religion and modernity, religious identities, and ecumenical topics. She is particularly interested in combining empirical and systematic theological methods.

 

24: Orthodox Christianity and Globalization

Wednesday September 19, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Prof. Victor Roudometof, (University of Cyprus / Greece)

The multifaceted engagement of Orthodox Christianity with globalization covers almost an entire millennium. In different historical eras, Christianity was adopted or glocalized into several distinct forms of global-local or glocal hybrid forms. Orthodox Christianity emerged in the course of this broader hybridization of Christianity. There are several variants of this broader pattern – ranging from indigenization to transnationalization. During the pre-modern past, Orthodox Christianity was subject to indigenization, whereby the faith assumed a close relationship with specific empires and rulers, via the establishment of autocephalous churches. In the modern period, Orthodox Christianity was subject to nationalization and transnationalization, via the establishment of autocephalous national churches and also the extension of these churches’ jurisdiction into immigrant communities outside of the historical Orthodox heartlands.

Victor Roudometof is associate professor of Sociology at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus (see www.roudometof.com). His interests include globalization, nationalism, transnationalism and the study of Orthodox Christianity. His publications include over 100 books, articles, chapters, and other writings. His most recent volume is Orthodox Christianity in 21st Century Greece (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010). Currently, he is working on a monograph about globalization and Orthodox Christianity.

 

25: Middle Eastern Orthodoxies: Arabic Christians or Ethnic Communities?

Wednesday September 19, 2012, 15:00 – 16:30
Prof. Herman Teule, (Radbout University, Nijmegen / Netherlands)

The Christian communities of the Middle East have specific linguistic and ethnic identities: Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Greek etc. Though this distinct cultural identity constitutes a richness reflected in an abundant theological and spiritual literature, it may also lead to isolation form and even refusal of the present-day Arabic and Arabo-Islamic reality of the Middle East. The different communities give different answers to this problem. In my lecture I will 1. formulate a status questionis, a presentation of the dilemma; 2. compare different solutions and analyze the discussions around this issue within the Greek Orthodox, the Syriac Orthodox as well as the Assyrian and Chaldean communities of the Middle East; 3. discuss the role of the Diaspora in this debate.

Herman Teule (1948) is head of the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (Nijmegen) and professor in the faculties of Religious Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen and the Catholic University of Louvain; and consultor of the Vatican Congregation of the Eastern Churches. His research is focused on the interaction between Syriac Christianity and Arabic-Islamic culture and religion. His also works on modern developments and the position of the Christian communities in the present day Arabic society. His publications include Les Assyro-chaldéens, Chrétiens d’Irak, d’Iran et de Turquie (Turnhout 2008). He recently co-edited a work on the “Syriac Renaissance” (Louvain, 2011).

 

26: Middle Eastern Orthodoxy Between Religious Migration and Globalization

Wednesday September 19, 2012, 17:00 – 18:30
Prof. Heleen Murre-van den Berg, (Leiden University, Netherlands)

Earlier phases of globalization, through colonialism and missionary activities, considerably changed the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches of the Middle East, introducing Western political, cultural and religious concepts that were to be of great influence on the modernization processes of the twentieth century. Mission and colonialism also contributed to the large-scale migration of Christians from the Middle East, creating huge diaspora communities that especially in the later twentieth century, the classic era of globalization, began to have a reverse impact on those that had remained in the Middle East. Easy and efficient ways of long-distance communication, ranging from cheap flights, telephone and satellite TV to communal websites and social media, transformed the way these churches communicated with their members in the Middle East and elsewhere, but also how these expatriate members in turn influenced the politics and social emphases of those in the Middle East. The lecture will sketch how these forces of globalization affected churches in the Middle East by looking closely at the Syriac churches, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Assyrian Church of the East and their Catholic counterparts, the Syriac Catholic Church and the Chaldean Church, which can be considered to be among the most transnational churches worldwide.

Prof. Heleen Murre-van den Berg teaches modern history of global Christianity at the Institute for Religious Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands. Her research & post-graduate teaching focus on the Middle East: its Oriental and Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal Christianities. She published widely on Syriac Christianity; Missions in the Middle East, and (co)edited two volumes, New Faith in Ancient Lands. Western Missions in the Middle East in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (Leiden: Brill, 2006); with J.J. van Ginkel and T.M. van Lint (eds), Redefining Christian Identity. Cultural Interaction in the Middle East since the Rise of Islam [OCA 134] (Louvain: Peeters 2005). See references, http://www.hum.leiden.edu/religion/organisation/institute-staff/murre-van-den-berg.html#contact , or http://69422.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/.

 

27: Religious Pluralism: Challenges and Opportunities (Dobrudja example)

Thursday September 20, 2012, 09:00 – 10:00
Mufti Muurat Yusuf, (Constanta / Romania)

In Romania the Muslim community has been living since the twelfth century and is privileged with religious freedom extended by the Romanian government. So far, we, the Muslims, who number about 67 000 persons living in the south-east part of Romania, have represented a good model of life, of mutuality with the majority Christian population, and with other ethnicities as well. This model is called the Dobrudjan Islamic model which is based on tolerance and respect for each other: characteristics inherited from the Ottoman Empire and, at the same time, which can be found among our religious principles. If we go back to the 19^th century, when the Turkish and Tatar Muslims were the majority in Dobrudja, the Muslim mayor of Medgidia contributed substantially to the building of a church. Nowadays, this history is reprised, as the Christian mayors of the Dobrudjan towns contribute to the building of mosques and minarets. These are only a few aspects of the mutual living and understanding between Muslims and peoples of other religions and faiths.

Mufti Muurat Yusuf (born 18.08.1977) is Head of the Muslim Cult in Romania since 2005. He graduated from the Faculty of Theology, Samsun, Turkey; holds a Master degree in Pastoral mission from the Faculty of Orhodox Theology at Valahia Univer-sity, Targoviste. His PhD is in Canonical Law, at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ovidius University Constantia, entitled “Human Rights in accordance with the Islamic Law and the Canonical Law.” The Mufti is also member of the National Commi-ssion for elaboration of the analytical syllabus of theological subjects (since 2001); Councillor of Cult, Muftiate of the Muslim Cult (2001-2005) in Romania and has previously taught Islamic Education.

28: Documentary Film “Our People in Stanboul”

Thursday September 20, 2012, 10:15 – 11:15
Elizabeta Koneska, (National Museum of Macedonia, Skopje)

MACEDONIANS IN ISTANBUL

The participants in this film belong to a small community whose ancestors left the territory of Macedonia and settled in Istanbul by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, mostly during the last decades of the Ottoman Empire. They now comprise several generations of well established and educated people who belong to the upper middle class of the Turkish society. They are also due representatives of the old citizens of Istanbul. Unburdened by their ethnic origin and unprejudiced towards all the others, they are a remarkable example of a relaxed civil awareness in this historically cosmopolitan milieu. Actually, they are, most of all, citizens of the world.

Elizabeta Koneska is an ethnologist, born and living in Skopje. Studied in Belgrade; with a Master degree in Istanbul. Since 1985 she works at the National Museum of Macedonia. Her topics of research and scientific interest: Coppersmith and Tinsmith crafts; Traditional food; Slavic Orthodox community in Istanbul; Turkish and other Muslims ethnic and religious communities in R.Macedonia, (Yuruks, Bektashi, Rufai). Researched and realized about 13 ethnological film projects in Macedonia and Turkey.

Select Filmography (screenplay and directing) : The Iron Church Above the Water (1993/4, 55 min.); As We would Go to Istanbul (1994, 25 min.); Profession in Motion – Tinsmiths from Krusevo (1997, 28 min.); The Sound of Hamer (2000, 18 min.) At the 9.Interantional Ethnographic Film Festival, Belgrade 2000 – won award for ‘Best Camera’; The Belgrade Coppersmith ( 2002, 15 min.); Adak / Oath (2003, 43 min.); Rsalii ( 2004, 26 min.); The Day of Asure (2005, 24 min.); Bektashi – enter and see (2006, 35 min.) At the 1.Yilmaz Guney Festival for Culture and Art, Projection of short films, Istanbul 2008 – won Honorary award; Peace for All – (shared shrines) (2007, 26 min.) At the 16.Interantional Ethnographic Film Festival, Belgrade 2007 – won award Grand Prix; Friends, Frode Storaas, Elizabeta Koneska, (2010, 34 min.).

 

31: Fluid Religion and New Modernity: Context and Source of Orthodox Theology

Friday September 21, 2012 , 10:15 – 11:15
Dr. Patelis Kalaitzidis, (Volos Academy for Theological Studies, Volos / Greece)

Mainly for historical reasons, the Orthodox world did not organically participate in the phenomenon of modernity. It did not experience the Renaissance, the Reformation or the Counter-Reformation, religious wars or the Enlightenment, the French or the industrial revolution, the rise of the subject, the human rights or the religiously neutral national state. What has been recognized as the central interests of modernity seem to have remained alien to Orthodoxy. For many this explains its difficulty in communicating with the contemporary (post-) or (new) modern world. This post-modern world – for many Orthodox but a revenge of religion against modernity – has been characterized (by contrast to the classical “Modern” paradigm) by multiple narratives, partial truths, non-continuous flow of historical time, the motto “anything goes” in the context of a dominant cultural and religious relativism that idolizes diversity, the revenge of desire and instincts against the demands of a “disciplinarian” Reason, fragmentation of the subject etc. Generally, “fluidity” seems characteristic of every aspect of contemporary social life including religion. In this new “fluid” religious landscape, stability and clear demarcation of religious beliefs continue to lose importance, attended by increasing disengagement of many from official religious institutions. Orthodox theology, to date has operated almost exclusively within traditional contexts, borrowing its forms and representations from the agrarian society with which its liturgical symbolism is connected, and to which its theological and rhetorical examples as well as the structure of Church administration are referred. It has to articulate a new and adequate discourse inspired by its eschatological vision, its pneumatological tradition and the theology of Godmanhood. This may highlight the liberating and enlightening dimensions of the ecclesial event, thus creating the preconditions for a real Christian self-knowledge and for a substantive dialogue with modernity and post-modernity already with us, as well as allowing modernity and post-modernity to realise their debt to the Christian past.

Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis is the Director of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies in Greece. Author of over 50 papers in Greek, French, English, German, Russian, Byelorussian, Romanian, Serbian, and Arabic. His research currently focuses on the eschatological dimension of Christianity; dialogue between Orthodox Christianity and Modernity; theology and modern literature; religion and multiculturalism; religious nationalism and fundamentalism in Orthodox context, Post-modern Hermeneutics on Patristics. In the past a visiting scholar at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Boston, Princeton Theological Seminary; has taught at St. Sergius Institute, the Hellenic Open University and the University in Thessaly (Volos). Latest book Orthodox Christianity and Modernity. An Introduction Indiktos Publications (2007) in Greek; and EIKON (Cluj-Napoca, 2010) is currently being translated into English, French and Serbian.