European Academy of Religion (EuARe) Lectures – serie

Diversity characterises internal dynamics and external relations of all religious groups in their different dimensions: texts – in their origins, exegesis, hermeneutics, critical editions; cults – in their anthropology, aesthetics, adaptations; norms – in their sources, implementation, collection; doctrines – with their languages, narratives, transmissions; practices – in their motivation, evolution, connection or antagonism with other societal actors. A complex system with multiple variants which finds its most visible reasons and outcomes in the way societies transform and represent it into their political, juridical, social systems, but also in the ways that the faith communities generate dialogue or conflict within themselves and towards other communities (religious and non-religious). The four lectures here presented offer insights on some of these outcomes: the power balances between majoritarian, privileged communities and minoritarian, discriminated ones; the role of religious education for today’s European society; the challenges faced by academia in understanding change in religion and theology; the chances that religions may offer in supporting agency and resilience for refugees.

How does the powerful effect that religion has on public and personal life relate to the various spheres of our culture? Is the relationship between power and religion always negative or can religion also affect individuals and societies positively? This volume of the EuARe Lectures, edited by Herman Selderhuis, collects the texts of the lectures delivered at the Third Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion (2020) on the topic “The Power of Religion / Religion and Power”. Scott Appleby explores the connection, in the religious imagination, among glorifying the divine, sanctifying the mundane and exercising political and cultural power. Cyril Hovorun addresses the issue of the politicization of religion, focusing in particular on Eastern Christian cases. Susanne Schröter offers an insight into the current debate on Islam in Germany. Finally, Kristina Stoeckl analyses the complex relationship among Europe’s new religious conflicts, Russian orthodoxy, American Christian conservatives and the emergence of a European populist right-wing.

Are religions like everything else in the world subject of permanent change – in their practices and their doctrines – or are they the perhaps only stable element for people in a world of permanent change? Within the wide field of this discourse alternative, the five authors – Rowan Williams, Judith Wolfe, Guy G. Stroumsa, Vassilis Saroglou and Azza Karam – of the book are discussing various constellations, in which the relation of religion and change with its diverse aspects is illuminated.

Religion from the inside looks different in different religious traditions. Within some, the inside view is engaged mainly with questions of theology: the contemplation of the divine and all things in relation thereto. Within others, it is preoccupied with the conforming of human action to a more-than-human law. In yet other, an emic perspective focuses on the practice and experience of ritual. Reflection on sacred texts is common to many traditions, and often differs from external consideration of the same documents.

Constant change is a permanent feature of contemporary European societies – not least in relation to their religious landscapes. This transformation is driven by various religious and socio-cultural factors, some of which are intertwined, in conflict, or mutually dependent upon each other: ongoing individualization, issues of gender identity and sexual orientation, digitalization and artificial intelligence, and ecological crises.In this context, religion is caught in the tension between several – sometimes opposing – forces, and progressive secularization meets the increasing public visibility of religion due to migration and  religious pluralization. How can religions, with their moral, cultural, and symbolic reservoirs, contribute to holding diverse communities together, beyond national identity? Can religions promote the social cohesion of European societies? Can the imagination that drives different religious traditions provide religious and non- religious Europeans with resources to promote individual and collective change for the better?This 8th volume in the series EUARE LECTURES contains the six keynote lectures dealing with these – and many other – questions as these lectures were presented at the European Academy of Religion’s Annual Conference, organized by the Research Centre Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society at the University of Vienna. Authors of these papers are Franz Fischler (Former EU Commissioner and President of the European Forum Alpbach), Grace Davie (University of Exeter), Isabella Guanzini (Catholic Private University of Linz), Rik Torfs (KU Leuven), Tariq Modood (University of Bristol), Hans Schelkshorn (University of Vienna).

This 7th volume in the series EUARE LECTURES contains the four keynote lectures presented at the European Academy of Religion’s Seventh Annual Conference held in Palermo, Italy, May 20-23, 2024 as it was organized by FSCIRE. The overarching theme of the conference was “Paradigm Shifts”, and four keynote lectures were invited to speak about the topic from their original point of view: Prof. Alberto Melloni (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), Prof. Alexander Kulik (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Prof. Elisabeth Gräb-Schmidt (Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen), and Prof. Vincent Goossaert (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes).The expression “paradigm shift can be fruitfully applied to scholarship regarding religion to flesh out and highlight when and how the multiple disciplines of the broader field of religious studies found ways to change their own perspectives and the manner of defining, reading and analyzing the objects of their analyses.  The lectures deal with paradigm shifts that result from the positive or conflictual engagement with major historical events, the use of innovative theoretical lenses, the adoption of brand new or established technologies  or simply from renewed reading of religious sources often inspired by the results of academic research.