Religious Revival Is Lecture Topic at JHU SAIS

The recent outpouring of religious sentiment in Great Britain surrounding the death of Princess Diana is evidence of persistent religious sensitivities in Northern Europe -- supposedly one of the most secular regions of the world.

Dr. Grace Davie, senior lecturer in Sociology at the University of Exeter, will discuss this and other examples of a worldwide religious revival during a public lecture, "European Religion: A Memory Mutates," at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, Monday, September 29, 1997, at 5:30 p.m..

The lecture is the sixth in a series, "The Impact of Religious Conviction on the Politics of the 21st Century," sponsored by the Foreign Policy Institute of SAIS and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Specifically, this series of lectures addresses the following: What are the origins of the revival of religious fervor at the end of the 20th Century? How far and how long will this revival go? What are the chief elements of the critiques of the secular order mounted by the various religions and ethical traditions enjoying a resurgence of Popularity? To what degree are the religion-based critique rooted in common assumptions and compatible responses to the perceived shortcomings of secularity? What is the implications of this phenomenon, particularly as they relate to international politics: prospects of war and peace, economic development, and the definition of human rights and social justice?

The project, which will consist of eight lectures in all, is funded by the William and Mary Greve Foundation. The lecture will be held in the Rome Auditorium of the SAIS Rome Building at 1619 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, and is free and open to the public. The next scheduled presentation in this series will be on November 17 at 5:30 p.m. The speaker will be Dr. Tu Wei Ming of Harvard University. He will discuss religion in China.

For more information on the project, contact Alysia Banks at the Foreign Policy Institute, (202)663-5772, or William Brailsford of the Ethics and Public Policy Center at (202)682-1200.

For more information, contact Felisa Neuringer Klubes at the SAIS Public Affairs Office at 202.663.5626 or [email protected].