The Two Pluralisms: Toward a New Paradigm on Modernity & Religion

The Launch of a New Paradigm

April 10, 2015
635 Commonwealth Ave.

From Peter Berger, CURA Senior Research Fellow:

A new paradigm for the understanding of the relation between modernity and religion can be very succinctly stated: Contrary to the still widespread view, from the Pope down to the New Atheists, our age is not one of secularity, but of pluralism – the co-existence of different religious communities in the same society, as well as the relation of these communities to a secular discourse that necessarily dominates in important sectors of a modern society. The two pluralisms have enormous consequences for individual faith, for religious institutions, and for the state.

Under a grant from the Bradley Foundation, CURA has conducted several workshops on the phenomenon of pluralism. The public launch of the new paradigm took place at Boston University, where it was originally hatched. This event was funded with a generous grant from the Templeton Foundation. My book on this subject, The Many Altars of Modernity: Toward a New Paradigm for Religion in a Pluralist Age, was published in September 2014.

Schedule for the Day (Click the links for video)

Presentation of the Paradigm
Peter Berger, Boston University

Detlef Pollack, Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Muenster
Religious Pluralism: Undermining or Reinforcing Religiousity?

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Comments from Disciplines
From Sociology:
Jonathan Imber, Professor of Sociology, Wellesley College
The Etiquette of Pluralism

From Anthropology:
Robert W. Hefner, Director of CURA, Boston University
Going Global: An Anthropology of the Two Pluralisms

From History:
Jerry Muller, Professor of History, Catholic University
The Two Pluralisms: Historical Adumbrations and Emendations

From International Politics:
Adrian Wooldridge, Management Editor, The Economist
God is Back: Religious and Foreign Affairs

Questions about this event? Please email cura@bu.edu