CSWR Resources: Religion and Politics

Religion and politics is an especially current and cross-disciplinary topic, and one which the Center for the Study of World Religions continues to develop as a major initiative by hosting lecturers from a range of related fields. When taking on "Religion in Politics: Complexity and Conflict" as the 2004-05 programming theme, CSWR faculty advisers hoped to counteract the oversimplification of this topic in the public arena, and to explore the complexities and nuances of given political situations and the role of religion therein. The CSWR plans to continue this work by providing a venue for Harvard faculty and other top scholars to respond to major world events, illuminating the multifaceted effects of religious thought and practice on the world's political landscape.

Lectures

• Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution, panel discussion (May 2007; video)
• From Periphery to Center: Pentecostal Christianity and the Retreat of the Secular State in Africa, by Simeon Ilesanmi (April 2007; audio)
• The Problematics of Buddhism, Society, and the State in Thailand, panel discussion (October 2006; audio)
• The Mists of Ramanna: The Legend That Was Lower Burma, by Michael Aung-Thwin (October 2006; audio)
• The Rise of Religious and Ethnic Mass Politics in Iraq, by Juan Cole (April 2005; video)
• Resolving the Conflict: A Remedy for the Civilizational Clash, by Sari Nusseibeh (March 2005; audio)
• The American Empire: Globalization, War, and Religion, by Chandra Muzaffar (September 2003; audio)

In the News

• Islam, Media, and the West, faculty panel discussion (February 2006; Harvard Gazette article)

Publications

• Religion and Nationalism in Iraq: A Comparative Perspective, edited by David Little and Donald K. Swearer (2007; volume of the April 2005 conference, "Religion and Nationalism")