Signs of the Times: Interdisciplinary Responses to Religious Nationalism

March 20–22, 2025 | University of Notre Dame

Conference Description

The 2025 CST conference remembered the 60th anniversary of two significant Vatican II texts, Gaudium et spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) and Dignitatis humanae (Declaration on Religious Freedom). Released on the final day of Vatican II, these texts together invited serious consideration of the role of the church and other religious communities in relation to the state. The conference took up Vatican II’s invitation to discern “the signs of the times” and to attend to the roles of church and state within civil society with a view toward the common good. These central CST themes warrant further exploration as Christian and other forms of religious nationalism represent a significant sign of the current time in particular national and international contexts. This interdisciplinary conference invited historical, constructive, and comparative approaches as participants considered the ecumenical, interfaith, and transdisciplinary challenges of religious nationalism.

Keynotes

In the first keynote, the institute’s Margaret Pfeil, Ph.D., moderates a panel in the question What is Christian Nationalism? Panelists include Anthea Butler, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, Reggie Williams, Ph.D., of St. Louis University, Gary Adler, Ph.D., of Penn State University, and Ryan Burge, Ph.D., of Eastern Illinois University.

In the second keynote, Notre Dame’s David Lincicum, D.Phil., moderates a lecture on the Bible and human security by Drew Strait, Ph.D., of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Kristin Kobes du Mez, Ph.D., of Calvin University and Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., of the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies respond.

In the third keynote, Notre Dame’s David Lantigua, Ph.D., moderates a panel on ideology and Christian nationalism with Emilce Cuda, Ph.D., of Loyola University Chicago and Janna Hunter-Bowman, Ph.D., of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary.

In the fourth keynote panel, moderated by the institute’s Suzanne Mulligan, panelists Ellen Van Stichel, Ph.D., from KU Leuven, Belgium, and Ferenc Hörcher, Ph.D., from Ludovika University of Public Service, discussed the rise of religious nationalism in Europe, with a response from Clemens Sedmak, Ph.D., of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the Keough School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame.

In the fifth keynote, Notre Dame’s Jean Porter, Ph.D., moderates a lecture by Abdullahi A. An-Naim, Ph.D., of Emory University School of Law on political and legal perspectives.

In the sixth and final keynote, Notre Dame’s Rev. Hugh R. Page, Jr., Ph.D., and the institute’s Keona Lewis, Ph.D., discuss living into the beloved community as an alterative to religious nationalism.

Art Exhibit

Throughout the conference, attendees could engage with the various artworks around the conference space. When the arts are utilized for justice, they show us the realities of injustice while providing visions of what a just world might look like. Art can provide an insight into others’ worldviews that we may not be able to see or understand otherwise.

Schedule

In addition to the keynotes and art exhibit, the conference featured numerous breakout panels.

Notre Dame Co-sponsors

Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, Center for Philosophy of Religion, Center for the Study of Religion and Society, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, Democracy Initiative, Department of History, Department of Theology, Ethics Initiative, Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, Center for Philosophy of Religion, Center for the Study of Religion and Society, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, Democracy Initiative, Department of History, Department of Theology, Ethics Initiative, Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Office of Institutional Transformation, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Office of Institutional Transformation, Office of the Provost

Co-sponsor

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary was a co-sponsor that played a significant planning role.