Events
Past Events
Faith and Policy - Where Next for Religion in the Public Sphere?
AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme
with Faiths and Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths
1 July 2010, The British Library, London, UK
This one-day conference explored the rapidly changing relations of faith and policy. It asked 'where next?' for the policy rhetorics of the last decade - community, cohesion, and social capital; prevention of violent extremism/'radicalisation'; the 'sectoralisation' and 'mainstreaming' of faith-based work.
The participatory format was structured around lively debates between leading speakers representing different points of view, followed by facilitated debate from the floor.
The focus was on the UK, though comparative international perspectives were also welcomed. For further information click here.
Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe?
End of Programme Conference
4 June 2010, Cambridge, UK
This conference presented the key findings from Relemerge, an international academic research programme funded by NORFACE. The aim of the programme, which ran from 2007 to 2010, was to probe the current condition of religion in Europe against the background of European secularism and the re-kindling of religious activity brought about by the political and social changes in Europe of the past thirty years. The ten innovative and methodologically varied projects have looked at the significance of religion in contemporary social life and explored the social and cultural impacts of recent religious growth points, such as Pentecostalism and Islam. We invited you to join us for a lively debate marking the end of the programme.
Modest Fashion and Internet Retail: Interfaith Perspectives
AHRC Project Launch, Panel Discussion and Book Launch
The London School of Fashion, 25 May 2010
For further information please click here.
Innovative Methods in the Study of Religion
29-30 March 2010, London
Jointly sponsored by:
AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme
NORFACE: Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe?
The study of religion lends itself to methodological innovation. Religion is a complex phenomenon with various social locations and faces. Its forms are constantly changing, as has become very evident in recent decades. Growing interest in religion and a growing appreciation of its many dimensions – including the material and spatial, emotional and bodily, mediated and virtual, transnational and political – calls for fresh reflection on methods. This conference offered a unique opportunity for such reflection and exchange, and an edited volume will result from it.
Geographies of Conversion
Glopent Conference - 19-20 February 2010, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Convenors: André Droogers, Kim Knibbe, Cees van der Laan and Birgit Meyer
This conference called attention to Pentecostalism’s spatial discourses and practices. Pentecostalism may well be regarded as a social force that continuously wants to draw in more people and claim more territories through a politics of presence. This resonates with older Christian expansionist practices, embedded in the ventures of missionaries, in historical church-buildings and patterning of cities, in the linking of institutional structures with territories. How can we see the global expansion of Pentecostalism in relation to earlier modes of spreading the Gospel? What is specific to the ways in which Pentecostal churches and movements relate to territories, to borders and to transnational spheres? How can we characterize their approach as a modality of the globalization of religion? How can insight into these processes benefit from a more explicit focus on space? The conference was organized under the auspices of VISOR and the Hollenweger Center. It was made possible by the contributions of the department of Social and Cultural Anthropology and the department of Theology at the VU, and by NORFACE.
Secularisation Workshop - 15 January 2010, Lisbon, Portugal
Guest speakers:
Professor Hubert Knoblauch, The Technical University of Berlin
Professor Anton van Harskamp, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Dr Steffen Dix, University of Lisbon
This event followed up on ideas generated at our April conference and aimed at addressing the issue of secularisation in relation to the Relemerge programme.
Relemerge Conference - 22-23 April 2009, Goldsmiths, UK
The Relemerge programme probes the current condition of religion in Europe against the background of European secularism and the re-kindling of religious activity brought about by the political and social changes in Europe of the past thirty years. The ten innovative and methodologically varied projects take a look at the significance of religion in contemporary social life, as well as exploring the social and cultural impacts of recent religious growth points, such as Pentecostalism and Islam. This conference brought members of the ten projects together to share their work and to debate the issue of social force.
Exhibition: The Architecture of Contemporary Religious Transmission - 29 November 2008
The Centre for Urban and Community Research staged a one day exhibition event at North London Central Mosque (formerly Finsbury Park Mosque) displaying still photographs and video footage from its project The Architecture of Contemporary Religious Transmission. The project, based on migrant areas of London, Hamburg and Oslo, is funded by NORFACE.
