“Religious Diversity in Chinese Thought”

Symposium at the Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics”

Over the past three decades, the question of religious diversity – in particular the question of how the different religious traditions relate to the fact of religious diversity – has attracted enormous attention and advanced to one of the central issues within the global discussion in academic areas as theology and religious studies. So far, however, the experience of religious diversity and the discourse about it in pre-modern, modern and contemporary China has not been taken adequately into consideration. This will be the topic of a symposium of internationally renowned specialists, which has been jointly organized by Prof. Joachim Gentz, University of Edinburgh, and Prof. Perry Schmidt-Leukel, University of Münster.
Conference Fees: 50,- Euros (reduced students’ rate: 35,-)
Fees do not include accommodation or meals. Hotels need to be booked privately. The keynote lecture (27. Oct, 18.15-19.45) is public and free of charge.

Registration: There are only a limited number of spaces available. Registration via e-mail to Mrs. Claudia Ruediger.

Symposium on Religious Diversity in Chinese Thought
27.–31.10.2011

Conference venue: Liudgerhaus, Überwasserkirchplatz 3, 48143 Münster

Program

Thursday, 27/10/2011
17.00–17.45	Introduction to the Conference Theme	Perry Schmidt-Leukel, University of Münster
18.15–19.45	Public Keynote Lecture: Why Chinese Thought on Religious Diversity Matters	Judith A. Berling, Graduate Theological Union Berkeley, Respondent: Gregor Paul, University of Karlsruhe, German China Association
Friday, 28/10/2011, Section I: Perspectives from Premodern China
9.00-10.00	Daoist Approaches to Religious Diversity	Livia Kohn, University of Boston
10.30-11.30	Confucian Approaches to Religious Diversity	Yao Xinzhong, King's College London
11.30-12.30	Buddhist Approaches to Religious Diversity in China	Shi Zhiru, Pomona College, Claremont
14.30-15.30	Diversity in Three-Teachings (sanjiao) Discourses	Joachim Gentz, University of Edinburgh
16.00-17.00	Muslim Approaches to Religious Diversity in China	Murata Sachiko, State University of New York
17.00-18.00	Nestorian Approaches to Religious Diversity in China	Matteo Nicolini-Zani, Bose Monastery, Italy
Saturday, 29/10/2011, Section II: Transformations in Modernity
9.00-10.00	Early Sino-European Contacts and the Birth of the Modern Concept of Religion	Nicolas Standaert, University of Leuven
10.30-11.30	The Transformation of the Concept of Religion in Chinese Modernity	Rebecca Nedostup, Boston College
11.30-12.30	Chinese Communist/Maoist Thought on Religious Diversity	Robert Weller, Boston University
15.00-18.00	Cultural Program
Sunday, 30/10/2011, Section III: Contemporary Perspectives
9.00-10.00	Do Chinese Religions Need a Pluralist Theory of Religion?	Wang Zhicheng, Zhejiang University Hangzhou
10.30-11.30	Contemporary Chinese Religions and the Challenge of Religious Diversity	Philip Clart, University of Leipzig
11.30-12.30	Christian Discourses on Religious Diversity in Contemporary China	Lai Pan-chiu, The Chinese University of Hongkong
14.30-15.30	The Politics of Religion in Contemporary China	Liu Peng, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing
16.00-17.00	New Religious Movements and the Issue of Religious Liberty	Barend ter Haar, University of Leiden
17.00-18.00	Concluding Discussion