Religious, Spiritual, Secular: Living in a Pluralistic Culture

May 24, 2020 - May 26, 2020
Registration Fee: $150 ($75 for Students) – Includes continental breakfast and lunch each day. Limited on-campus accommodations at Carey Centre are available at a rate of $99 per day at Carey Centre; information will be posted along with a registration form.
Vancouver School of Theology
VancouverBC
Canada

A Multi-Religious & Multi-Disciplinary
Academic Conference

Keynote Speakers:
Rabbi Ted Falcon & Imam Jamal Rahman
Co-authors of Getting to the Heart of Interfaith and Religion Gone Astray

Registration opens March 15, 2020

Call for Papers
Submissions open till February 15th, 2020

Conference Theme
75% of Canadians identify as religious or spiritual. What role do religion and spirituality play in public life, popular culture, and personal formation today? How do they strengthen our communal life? Or challenge it? Does political secularism support the flourishing of multiple traditions and belief systems? Can dissonances be addressed through public education, informed debate, and supportive policy? How do spiritual leaders and caregivers speak into this dynamic, pluralistic, sometimes individualistic culture? How do various cultures, traditions, and countries navigate these tensions? What is the future of an inclusive approach to faith?

Possible Paper Topics
Including but not limited to: role of interfaith education; religious freedom and human rights; conceptions of inclusivity or particularism in a tradition; threats to inclusivity; rise of spiritual but not religious perspectives; ideas or causes that inspire shared action; social role of atheism; religion as a public good; definitions of pluralism; religion and social cohesion; evangelism without colonialism; models of spiritual care; theologies of pluralism.

Conference papers can draw on multiple disciplines, including theology, sociology, political science, legal studies, philosophy, literature, history, the arts. Papers can explore dynamics within one tradition or society, or common to multiple traditions or societies. They can be grounded in any spiritual or non-theistic tradition. Our aim is to create a helpful conversation.

Submit papers to [email protected].

Categories: Culture/Theology  |  Programs  |  World Religions