Religion, Civil Religion, and the Common Good

20-21 June 2012

Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation (CSRCC)

Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP)

The conference is financially supported by the Mind Association, the Religion and Politics Standing Group of the European Consortium for Political Research, the journal, Democratization, and the Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations, London Metropolitan University

ONLINE BOOKING NOW OPEN

1. Final Programme
2. Theme
3. Objectives
4. Online Booking

1. Final Programme

Wednesday 20th June 2012

9.00	Conference registration and tea & coffee
9.30	Welcoming remarks: Prof. Jeff Haynes (CSRCC) London Metropolitan University
9.35	PLENARY 1 Dr. Patrick Riordan Heythrop College, University of London Talk of the Common Good: Promises and Prospects Discussant: Dr. Jeffery Nicholas, Providence College, Rhode Island
11.00	Tea and Coffee
11.30	Panel 1 Religion, Economics and Common Goods (Chair: Prof. Andrius Bielskis) Dr. William Dixon & Dr. David Wilson Daniele Morici Helly Chahal Liberalism and the Common Good Dr. Helen McCabe Dr. Terri M. Murray Dr. Jonathan Garthoff
13.15	Lunch
14.15	PLENARY 2 Prof. Ronald Beiner University of Toronto Secularism as a Common Good
15.30	Panel 2 Catholic Social Teaching 1 Dr. Marian Kuna Tobias Schaffner Civil Religion and the Public Sphere 1 (Chair: Dr. Jeff Nicholas) Prof. Andrius Bielskis Dr. Sante Maletta
16.45	Tea and coffee
17.15	PLENARY 3 Lord Glasman of Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill London Metropolitan University Faith, Citizenship and the Politics of the Common Good (Chair: Dr. Anja Steinbauer, Philosophy Now magazine)
18.30	Drinks reception, sponsored by the journal Democratization
19.30	Conference dinner

Thursday 21st June 2012

9.00	Day registration
9.30	PLENARY 4 Prof. Timothy Chappell Open University The Goods and the Persons they are Good For Discussant: Dr. Tom Angier, University of Kent
10.45	Panel 3 Civil Religion and the Public Sphere 2 (Chair: Dr. Joel Warden) Prof. Jeff Haynes Renée Wagenvoorde Theology and the Common Good (Chair: Dr. William Dixon) Dr. Chris Ryan Gavin Keeney
12.00	Tea and coffee
12.15	PLENARY 5 Prof. Brian Girvin University of Glasgow Religion, Liberalism and the Search for a Common Good (Chair: Dr. Hilary Kalmbach, University of Oxford)
13.30	Lunch
14.30	Panel 4 Between Historical and Religious Utopias and Communicative Action: The Ethics of Common Good 1 (Chair: Helly Chahal) Dr. Willy Pfändtner Dr. Lovisa Bergdahl Religion and Secularism (Gavin Keeney) Dr. Emmanuel Nartey Sebastián Rudas Neyra
15.45	Panel 5 Catholic Social Teaching 2 (Char: Dr. Sante Maletta) Dr. Jeffery Nicholas Dr. Joel Warden Between Historical and Religious Utopias and Communicative Action: The Ethics of Common Good 2 (Chair: Kim Redgrave) Dr. Mohammad Nafissi Dr. Tolis Malakos
17.00	Tea and coffee
17.15	PLENARY 6 Prof. Jeremy Carrette University of Kent Global Power, Pluralism and the Common Good: Critical Perspectives from Religious NGO's and the UN (Chair: Prof. Jeff Haynes, London Metropolitan University)
18.30	Closing remarks Prof. Jeff Haynes (CSRCC) & Dr. Kelvin Knight (CASEP) London Metropolitan University

To access the panel papers please click here to be redirected to our dedicated panel papers page.

2. Theme
RELIGION, CIVIL RELIGION, AND THE COMMON GOOD

Secularization was once presumed progressively to marginalize religion. Now, religious actors successfully refuse political marginalization. Some do so because they believe that modern, western individualism is contrary to the common good; others, because they believe it important to promote the idea of a common good of rights-bearing citizens. Without an idea of the common good, it is claimed, we risk the dismantling of welfare, or even of society. Where the state was often deified as the guarantor of a common good, the concept is now being reclaimed by more traditional, including religious, proponents. Nonetheless, the term – common good – is seldom clearly defined, whether in theological, political or philosophical discourse. Often, it is identified with the public interest or reduced to the aggregation of individual utilities or choices. When it is defined more substantively, it invariably proves contentious.

The conference seeks to engage with the issue of civil religion and the common good. Rousseau coined the phrase ‘civil religion’ in The Social Contract. There, he sets out what he sees as the core features of a civil religion: the existence of God, the life to come, the reward of virtue and the punishment of vice, and the exclusion of religious intolerance. Beyond this, all other religious opinions are outside the cognisance of the state and may be freely held by citizens. To what extent, if at all, does a conception of civil religion exist in modern, democratic societies? To what extent, if at all does the concept of civil religion connect to the common good? To what extent is it possible to define and operationalise ‘civil religion’ and the ‘common good’ in modern, diverse, plural societies?

The two-day conference will focus on the following issues:

What is the common good?
How, if at all, can religions contribute to the common good?
What may be learned about the common good from Catholic, Protestant, Judaic or Islamic traditions, or from any past or present theorist?
How are disputes about the common good best resolved?
Does the very fact of religious pluralism entail that religion is now more an obstacle than an impetus to the common good?
How might particular communities or subsidiary institutions contribute to a wider common good?
What are the prospects — in local communities, in the British state, and elsewhere — of actualizing the common good?

The conference is organized jointly by the Centre for the Study of Religion, Conflict and Cooperation and by CASEP, the Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics. It will be held in London Metropolitan University's Faculty of Law, Governance and International Relations at 16 Goulston Street, London, E1 7TP.

3. Objectives

‘Religion, Civil Religion, and the Common Good’ seeks to examine the sometimes ambivalent roles of religious ideas, leaders, organisations and communities in public life. Examining the attitudes of and involvement in public life of religious leaders and religious communities in the UK and elsewhere towards the goal of the ‘common good’ constitutes a new and forward-looking perspective, which the international conference will project and pursue. Overall, it is expected that the conference will serve as a trigger for new impulses both for essential academic research and for new government initiatives. The conference will also raise public awareness, in London, the UK and beyond, about the resources that religious leaders and communities can bring to bear in the pursuit of the ‘common good’.

‘Religion, Civil Religion, and the Common Good’ is designed as an interdisciplinary forum for both academic discourse and public debates. Keynote addresses, expert panel discussions, and considered views of practitioners and government figures will take place over two days, 20-21 June 2012. The overall aim is to cover various notions of faith, of civil religion and of the common good in the context of a postsecular environment where numerous religious communities now seek to make their way in diverse and plural religious and political environments. As such, it welcomes papers from underrepresented groups in academia and the wider community.

4. Online Booking

Our online booking page is now open. Please click here to be redirected to our dedicated eshop page.

Conference fee: £60 (£35 for one day)

Concessions available for postgraduate students and the unwaged at £20 for one day and £30 for two days

If you require any assistance with your booking or have any non - academic queries please contact Claire Keefe via c.keefe@londonmet.ac.uk