The Melikian Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at Arizona State University is pleased to announce an international symposium on “Post-Atheism” in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, to be held on the ASU campus in Tempe, Arizona, February 7-9, 2013. The symposium will feature presentations by international visiting scholars from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, and elsewhere from the region.
The symposium is designed to address one of the most fascinating and controversial issues of the post-communist world—namely, the new public role of religion in East European and Eurasian society. Is there separation of church and state in today’s Eastern Europe, Russia or Eurasia? Are Iranian-like theocracies a possibility in some regions? Is the forceful entry of religion into the public sphere a fleeting fashion or a deeper phenomenon of lasting importance? How does this recovery of religious identity intersect with prevailing theory on secularization? How has religion been reintroduced into the Academy and public education? How are the relationships between dominant religious faith traditions and minority confessions (often stigmatized as “destructive sects”) affected in the region?
The conference is intended to generate sustained debate and discussion on a variety of perspectives relating to all the major faith traditions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism) of the region, from Central and Southeastern Europe to Russia, Ukraine, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, and Mongolia. Conference lodging will be provided, and limited funding will be available to support international travel.
For more details, visit this website.