Our Vision
The Theology and Religious Ethics Workshop is an intellectual forum that hosts vibrant conversations on topics related to theology and religious ethics. Our name reflects our particular interests in the questions of theology, broadly understood as the critical reflection on doctrines, texts, practices, and material cultures of religions, as well as ethical inquiry into the ways in which religious thought and practices influence human behavior and impact social and political life.
Though theology and religious ethics are two distinct areas of study, an important aim of the Workshop is to bring the relationship between the two disciplines into focus. We believe that theological reflection cannot disregard ethical considerations and, vice versa, that religious ethics cannot leave aside the theological content of the beliefs and practices it examines. We are aware, however, of the contentious nature of this statement. Therefore the relationship between theology and religious ethics and the potential tensions between these two disciplines will be a starting point and an important intellectual task for the Workshop this upcoming year (2015-2016). We encourage all presenters to make the nature of this relationship part of their concerns while participating in the Workshop, though it need not be addressed explicitly. All methodological approaches, historical periods, and geographical contexts are welcome for discussion. Interdisciplinary approaches are highly encouraged.
What the Workshop Offers
The Workshop promotes graduate student professionalization and offers a setting for student to receive critical feedback from faculty and their peers. In addition to a traditional conference-style format, the Theology and Religious Ethics Workshop also offer four additional “styles” for participation. We hope that by offering these different “styles” students will engage and experiment with different forms of intellectual inquiry. The Workshop also sponsors graduate student conferences and occasionally invites leading scholars from other institutions to present their work and enhance our discussion.
We support conversations regarding all religious traditions and strive for diversity among our leadership and presenters. We are open to suggestions of how to improve the workshop. Please feel free to contact us with your ideas.
Schedule & Participation (New and Improved!)
The Workshop meets in Swift Hall every other week during the academic quarter. For more information about meeting times, topics, and room locations, view our schedule.
We offer five different styles for our bi-weekly meetings. If you would like to present a paper, or join the conversation in another way, please contact us with a basic description of your paper/project/ideas and let us know which format you think might best fit with your topic or paper:
- Standard Conference-Style Format: papers are typically circulated before the meeting. Following a brief presentation by the author and a response from a colleague, the remaining time is devoted to discussion.
- “Tell us Your Story”: how did you get where you are? What questions lead you to develop your work in this way?
- Panel Discussion: two or more participants discuss their work in relation to each other. Rather than reading full papers, the emphasis is on discussion and intellectual exchange. Each presenter will have time for a brief summary of her or his argument followed by comments from the other participant(s). After a second round of discussion among presenters, the conversation is open to questions and comments from the rest of the audience.
- Intellectual Debate: special discussion involving an important topic or longstanding debate within theology or religious ethics, two or more participants representing differing viewpoints required.
- “Tell us Why it Matters”: the main goal here is to explain the audience why a particular author or theme has relevance today. We ask the presenters to think specially about the implications of the topic outside academia. We also encourage the presenters to consider different strategies to engage diverse publics.