Call for Proposals

This Group especially welcomes precrafted panel proposals (convenor, 3–4 papers, and respondent) that address any topics touching upon violence or peace-building. We are particularly interested in the following topics:

• Chicago as a site for religious mobilization, conflict, and peace-building (labor, social work, civil rights, etc.)
• Religion and/in the Occupy Movement
• Theorizing religion and/in conflict/peace studies programs/institutes
• Religion and the “responsibility to protect” (antigenocide)
• Nonviolence and peacemaking as spiritual practice
• Cosponsored sessions with the North American Religions Section and/or the Teaching Religion Section may be developed

Mission

Relationships between religions and the causes and resolution of social conflict are complex. On the one hand, religion is a major source of discord in our world, but on the other, religious agents have often played a central role in developing and encouraging nonviolent means of conflict resolution and sustainable peace. While religion as a factor in conflicts is often misunderstood by military and political leaders, it is also the case that the popular call for an end to injustice is quite often a religious voice. We seek to add a critical dimension to the understanding of how religion influences and resolves social conflict. We want to develop and expand the traditional categories of moral reflection and response to war and also to investigate kindred conflicts — terrorism, humanitarian armed intervention, cultural and governmental repression, ecological degradation, and all of the factors that inhibit human flourishing. We also hope to encourage theoretical and practical reflection on religious peace-building by examining the discourses, practices, and community and institutional structures that promote just peace. Through our work we hope to promote understanding of the relationships between social conflict and religions in ways that are theoretically sophisticated and practically applicable in diverse cultural contexts.

Anonymity of Review Process

Proposals are anonymous to Chairs and steering committee members until after final acceptance/rejection.

Questions?

Jon Pahl
Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
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Megan Shore
University of Western Ontario
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Method of Submission