A conference on “Ready for Democracy? Religion and Political Culture in the Orthodox and Islamic Worlds” will be held at Indiana University Bloomington, Feb. 28-March 2, 2013. The conference – sponsored by the Russian and East European Institute (REEI) at Indiana University Bloomington – will examine common assumptions about the limits to democratic practices in societies that are largely Orthodox or Islamic. Within this comparative framework, the organizers aim to move beyond generalities about religion, religious institutions, and politics to consider what specifically might be the relationship between religion and political culture.
The organizers hope that this conference will offer scholars – from a variety of disciplines interested in these two religious traditions and their political contexts – an opportunity to compare notes and perhaps develop common frameworks for speaking about religion’s place in the debates about democracy that have become more intense in the wake of the Arab Spring and the recent Russian protests. Publication of a volume based upon the conference will be considered.
Direct inquiries to Padraic Kenney, Director, REEI, at pjkenney(at)indiana.edu and further details may be found at this website.