Lecture: ‘Les religions monothéistes au risque de la mondialisation’ – 04/01/2016 (Le Mans)

The third lecture of the cycle ‘Approches universitaires du fait religieux en milieu croyant et non croyant’ (academic approaches of religion in religious and non-religious environments) will take place at the baptist Protestant Church of Le Mans, the 1rst of April 2016. This lecture will be given by Haoues Seniguer, lecturer at Sciences Po Lyon, on the theme ‘Les religions monothéistes au risque de la mondialisation’ (monotheistic religions under the threat of globalization).

This lecture cycle, organized by the IPRA with the assistance of the SRI (Service national pour les Relations avec l’Islam), the Ligue de l’enseignement (FAL 72) and the Eglise protestante Baptiste du Mans, was funded by the fonds interministériel de la prévention de la délinquance (FIPD) and the Agence nationale pour la cohésion sociale et l’égalité des chances (ACSE).

Summary: Temporary or permanent migration, continuous flow of information, internationalization of diplomatic and humanitarian causes, the fact of engaging in war or engaging for peace “in the name of God” and the complexity of the education course are all elements that have profoundly changed the religious landscape in a few decades. Now, there are Muslims in Sweden, Buddhists in Tunisia, Christians in Kuwait, Hindus in Trinidad, Baha’is in Canada.
This phenomenon could be an extension or a reactivation of a fluidity that already existed in ancient times, around the Mediterranean and the China Sea, for example. But ir is not the case. The novelty of the contemporary situation is the parallel development of a secularization process (a process of religious detachment), which is not linear. This distancing of religious norms is also questioning the global forms of knowledge, and causing a crisis of religious authorities, of these men who speak “in the name of God”. Christianity and Islam, two religions whose universal vocation was claimed by their followers for centuries, represent just over half of the world population.

In the new context that has just been sketched, this conference will focus on some of the challenges that will be faced in this early 21rst century: How to think about the past in all its complexity ? How to live with one who believes or thinks differently? How to accept an authority which is not part of a religious tradition? Our analysis will be based specifically on the case of Islam, including its politicized forms through an analyse of the way in which some public figures express themselves.

Practical information:

• Place: Eglise protestante baptiste du Mans (62 avenue de la Libération- tram : arrêt “Lafayette”/ Bus: ligne 6 arrêt “Libération”)
• Date: vendredi 1er avril, 20h30
• Free entry
• Contact: Anna Christophe (anna.christophe@univ-nantes.fr, tel : 02 43 83 36 52 ou 06 85 45 01 42)
• Please note that this lecture will be held in French

Poster:

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