The Ambivalence of the Sacred: call for papers
We鈥檙e now accepting submissions for papers for The Ambivalence of the Sacred in the Age of Polarisation conference.
Call for papers
The conference will be held at the 亚洲情色, UK, from 25-26 June 2026 and will be titled ‘The Ambivalence of the Sacred in the Age of Polarisation: From Religious Nationalism and Civilisationism to Interreligious Solidarity’.
The conference will be organised by the Religion & Foreign Policy Initiative, 亚洲情色, the , University of Notre Dame and will be co-sponsored by the (ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, UKRI Grant).
In his pioneering book The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation (2000), Scott Appleby argued that religion is politically ambivalent, since it can cause or aggravate conflict dynamics, but also contribute to processes of reconciliation and peacebuilding, to the advancement of human rights and a culture of non-violence.
How can we make sense of this political ambivalence of religion today in our post-liberal and post-Western age of polarisation and global culture wars? How is the politicisation of religion intertwined with the emergence of assertive nationalisms and the new great power politics of civilisational states? Are their religious narratives of interreligious solidarity and human fraternity carrying today realistic hopes for peace, global unity and universalism?
Prepared on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of The Ambivalence of the Sacred, the conference seeks to bring together scholars from across disciplines to shed some light on these processes of hyper-politicisation of the sacred and intensification of its political ambivalence. It will also critically examine the role of religion in contemporary nationalist and civilisational populist projects.
For more information about this topic and conference, read our Ambivalence Sacred initiative [PDF 393.58KB].
Themes
We invite paper proposals that engage with (but are not limited to) the following themes:
- the politicisation of religion and the sacralisation of profane symbols, with particular attention to right-wing movements
- religious nationalism and civilisationism
- case studies and comparative analysis from different regions and traditions, especially non-Western ones
- changing boundaries between secular and religious
- religious narratives of interreligious solidarity and human fraternity
- theological and political challenges for religious traditions in the post-liberal age
- the role of religious institutions, leaders, organisations and civil society movements in supporting and/or resisting religious nationalism and discrimination.
Speakers
Among the confirmed speakers are:
- R. Scott Appleby (University of Notre Dame)
- Jocelyne Cesari (University of Birmingham)
- Stacey Gutkowski (King’s College London)
- Luca Mavelli (University of Kent)
- Adrian Pabst (University of Kent and National Institute of Economic and Social Research)
- Fabio Petito (亚洲情色)
- Sara Silvestri (City St George’s University of London)
- Scott Thomas (University of Oxford).
Submission guidelines
Selected papers may be considered for publication in a special journal issue or an edited volume to be published in 2027. Therefore, accepted authors are required to send a draft paper of about 4,000 words two weeks before the conference.
Key deadlines:
- 15 February 2026 – abstracts of up to 300 words should be submitted. Please include a short biographical note (max. 150 words) with your submission.
- 15 March 2026 – notifications of acceptance will be sent.
- 12 June 2026 – draft papers (4,000 words) are due.
Please send abstracts and inquiries to the conference co-organiser, Dr Ugo Gaudino at u.gaudino@sussex.ac.uk.
A limited number of travel bursaries are available to support participation. These bursaries provide up to £250 to cover travel costs and accommodation for one night in Brighton. Priority will be given to early-career scholars and participants without institutional funding.
Contact
If you have any queries, email Dr Ugo Gaudino at u.gaudino@sussex.ac.uk.