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Conference Announcement
Theme: Religious Toleration in the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800)
Subtitle: Historical Perspectives on Current Debates
Type: International Conference
Institution: Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra
Location: Pamplona (Spain)
Date: 22.–23.6.2015
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Enlightenment is not something of the past; many of the prominent
ideas that shape current Western culture were generated in the
context of the Enlightenment. Moreover, the history of the
Enlightenment is being continuously rewritten and constantly employed
in contemporary political, intellectual and religious debates. In
particular, the relationship between religious toleration and
Enlightenment has been the subject of numerous historical accounts
that carry a great deal of weight in contemporary discussion. Some
portray the Enlightenment as a celebration of the vast diversity of
religious beliefs and practices in the world; others, as the
discovery of a universal reason that tends to dissolve into
uniformity the old religious divisions. There are also those who
insist that the rise of toleration was not a matter of philosophical
ideas but rather of political and social developments of a more
practical nature. Discrepancies are even stronger with respect to the
role of religious belief. For some, it was the decline of religious
belief that gave birth to the modern idea of tolerance. For others,
on the contrary, many of the Enlightenment ideas on toleration have
clear religious origins.
For most scholars, toleration prior to the Enlightenment was no more
than a practical measure taken by governments that could not enforce
religious conformity. They argue that it was only during the
Enlightenment that this limited view of toleration was transformed
into freedom of religion understood as an inalienable human right.
There are, however, several scholars who insist on the importance of
ideas of religious freedom prior to the Enlightenment or consider
that, far from being a right of individuals protected by the state,
the religious tolerance advocated by Enlightenment thinkers was, in
fact, a tool for the state to limit the freedom of churches.
The Religion and Civil Society Project at the Institute for Culture
and Society is organizing on June the 22nd and 23rd an international
conference to engage this discussion along two main lines. The first
is to trace the many legacies of the Enlightenment present in the
prevailing discourses on religion and freedom. The second is to
reconsider the existing narratives about the place of the
Enlightenment in the history of toleration. This approach aims to
examine more critically the underlying presuppositions in recent
debates about religious freedom and will contribute to a more
rigorous and honest dialogue on this vital subject.
Programme:
Monday, 22 June
9.15
Introduction by Rafael García Pérez and Juan Pablo Domínguez
(Universidad de Navarra)
9.30
David Harris Sacks (Reed College)
"Erasmianism, Religious Peace and the Practices of Discovery in Early
Modern Europe"
10.30
María José Villaverde (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
"The Long way to Toleration: Emeric Crucé"
11.30
Coffee break
12.00
Andrew Murphy (Rutgers University)
"From Practice to Theory to Practice: William Penn from Prison to the
Founding of Pennsylvania"
13.30
Lunch
15.30
Juan Pablo Domínguez (Yale University)
"A State within the State: the Inquisition in Enlightenment Thought"
16.30
Marta García Alonso (UNED)
"Pierre Bayle: Sovereignty and Toleration"
17.30
Coffee break
18.00
Manfred Svensson (Universidad de los Andes)
"John Owen and John Locke on Toleration and Doctrinal Minimalism"
Tuesday, 23 June
9.30
Fabrizio Lomonaco (Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II")
"Jean Barbeyrac translator of Grotius and Noodt"
10.30
Diego Lucci(American University in Bulgaria)
"Deism, Freethinking and Toleration in Enlightenment England"
11.30
Coffee break
12.00
Benjamin Kaplan (University College London)
"Religious Violence in the Age of Enlightenment"
13.30
Lunch
15.30
Péter Balázs (University of Szeged)
"The (Difficult) Formation of the Tolerant Mind"
16.30
Lionel Laborie (Goldsmiths, University of London)
"The Dark Side of the Enlightenment"
17.30
Coffee break
18.00
John Marshall (Johns Hopkins University)
Title to be announced
19.00
Conclusions by Rafael García Pérez (Universidad de Navarra)
Venue:
Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona
Central Building - Room 30
For people attending the conference entrance is free.
For non speakers participating in the conference, having a
certificate and taking part in free meals the fee is 100 euros.
Contact:
Rafael García Pérez & Juan Pablo Domínguez
‘Religion and Civil Society' Project
Institute for Culture and Society
Main Library
University Campus
E-31009 Pamplona
Spain
Phone: +34 948 425600
Email: rgpe...@unav.es
jdfernan...@alumni.unav.es
Web:
http://www.unav.edu/en/web/instituto-cultura-y-sociedad/religion-y-sociedad-civil/actividades/religious-toleration-enlightenment
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InterPhil List Administration:
http://interphil.polylog.org
Intercultural Philosophy Calendar:
http://cal.polylog.org
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