Date: February 19-21, 2018

Venue: Kents Hill, Milton Keynes, UK

Themes:  Education, Media, Pilgrimage, Politics, Ritual, Spirituality

Bringing historical perspective to the contemporary role of religion in the public sphere, this conference will include contributions from practitioners and third-sector organizations, who bring their perspectives to the academy to consider the public impact of Religious Studies.

– At a time when the public role of the University is under increasing scrutiny, how can we ensure that research and teaching about religions reaches new publics?

– What can we do to enhance religious literacy both within and beyond religious and non-religious communities?

– How is ritual and performance involved in communication between religious communities, the academy, policy makers and the broader public?

– Are there ways in which we can learn from the past in better understanding such channels of communication?

Keynote Speakers

• Bettina Schmidt, University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The contentious field of the study of religious experience: The challenging influence of Rudolf Otto, Andrew Lang and other founding fathers

• Stephen Sutcliffe, University of Edinburgh

Playing the Long Game: The Predicament of the Scholar of Religion/s between Academic Researcher and Public Intellectual

• Philip Williamson, Durham University

Remembrance day: the British churches and national commemoration of the war dead since 1914

For any enquiries, please contact the Conference Organizers Paul-François Tremlett and David G. Robertson on ours@open.ac.uk.

Source: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University