Narrative and Navigation
Interfaith Dialogue and Regenerating the Public Square View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Peter Admirand
This paper focuses on how interreligious (or interfaith) dialogue is a crucial component in establishing a robust and pluralist public square (or sphere). Building on my work in Jewish-Christian dialogue (as the Irish Co-Chair of Christians and Jews) and atheist-theist dialogue (Seeking Common Ground, 2021), and my role as the Director of Ireland’s only academic centre focused on interreligious dialogue, I examine why and how such dialogues and partnerships can contribute to healing both the stigma and perceived reality of a toxic public square, often characterised by group conflicts and echo-chambers. Charting the deeply encouraging changes in Jewish-Christian relations since the Shoah (focusing on texts like the 10 points of Seelisberg, Nostra Aetate, “Dabru Emet,” and “The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable,” I show how groups that had once seemed like bitter enemies have made deep and lasting strides in partnership, mutual trust, and stronger theological and social connections. Less heralded, but also promising, are the growing developments of atheist and humanist voices involved in interfaith dialogue from local to international platforms. Here I focus on the work of humanists in Ireland involved in the Dublin City Interfaith Forum and my co-written book on theist-atheist shared values with atheist philosopher, Andrew Fiala. Drawing upon these overlapping but distinct dialogues, I highlight five values that these dialogues hone and develop which can help regenerate and heal the kinds of ruptures that fracture our public square.
Christian Conservative Uses and Abuses of Historical Narrative View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jason Whitehead
Narratives constitute the social and political identity of Christian conservatives as they do for other groups. In particular, Christian nationalist narratives about the American founding have come to dominate Trump-era Christian conservative identity. Christianity has always played a significant role in American civil religion, with sometimes liberating results. On this view, the Christian story is a powerful redemptive metaphor, shaping political life symbolically, and generating political principles--like equality, fair treatment, and moral dignity--that can be interpreted and appropriated in different ways. By contrast, Christian nationalists see the Christian history of the nation more as a blueprint, and they seek to reconcile contemporary American reality as literally as possible to this true and only identity. The shift from civil religion to Christian nationalism poses dangers to American liberal democracy, as illustrated during the 2020 election and its aftermath. This paper first describes the redemptive and reconciliatory approaches to historical narrative, drawn from the work of key narrative theorists. Second, the paper explains the differences between the uses of history in the American civil religious tradition and the Christian nationalist movement, correlating those differences with the redemptive/reconciliatory distinction. Third, the paper tests the redemptive/reconciliatory distinction by seeing if it makes sense of empirical studies of Christian nationalism, including my own ethnographic fieldwork with Christian conservatives.
Consumption and Ritualization in Daoist Practices: Women’s Spiritualization in Ming-Qing China View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sara Elaine Neswald
For the feminist scholar, the Ming-Qing period saw three periods of significant, extended social transformation, the transition from Yuan to Ming1229 China; the transition from Ming to Qing China; and, the long century of degradation and disruption leading up to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. These periods formed key historical windows of transition in women’s religious practice and the social and spiritual meaning of women’s religious performance. Between these periods of transformation, there arose discrete messaging and consumption patterns in and around women’s religious roles on the one hand and religious symbolism on the other. Ritualization patterns – some more rote action than overt, oblique canonized rituals -- became objects of scrutiny, identification formation and dynamic symbolic transformation. Consumption of religious symbols and symbolism formed symbiotic patterns laying the groundwork for a revalorization and de-valorization of ritualism and women’s ritual performance. Focusing particularly on the last of these windows of transition, this paper explores the dynamics invigorating these significant changes, and their significance for a feminist understanding of the religious history of Daoism.
