CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANELS
The President and the Steering Committee of ICLARS are pleased to announce that the 7th ICLARS Conference will be held at University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA, from 21 to 23 October 2024. It will be organized jointly by the Religious Liberty Initiative of the University of Notre Dame Law School and by the International Centre for the Study of Law and Religion at Brigham Young University Law School. This call can be freely circulated among all persons and institutions that may be interested in it.
The theme of the conference is: The Accommodation of Religion or Belief in the Public Sphere: Undeserved Privilege or Fundamental Right? Culture wars are being played out the world over. Some argue for the complete removal of religion from the public sphere, and its containment to the soul, the home, or a recognised place of worship, whereas for others religious identity is permanent and enduring and cannot be confined to the private sphere. While some insist that specific rules for religions are a privilege that should be granted sparingly by legislators and courts, others claim that religion and belief are part of each person’s identity and their accommodation - as much as possible - should be a priority when enacting new laws or resolving legal conflicts. This conference will focus on this dissonance, seeking proposals from experienced academics and young scholars on all sides of the argument. The aim of the conference is to examine different contemporary discourses on how religion, belief and personal ethics can or must be accommodated in the legal and operational structures of States across the world. Is the traditional discourse based on religious exemptions idiosyncrasy of the Western understanding of religious freedom? Is it adequate to face the demands of freedom of religión or belief conceived as a universal human right? Cross-disciplinary and comparative papers are particularly welcomed.
Potential sub-topics within the overall theme of the conference may include:
• International norms on the accommodation of religion or belief in the public sphere
• Accommodation of religion - lessons from the coronavirus pandemic
• Local and regional practice on the accommodation of religion
• Neutrality, pluralism and secularism - constructive ambiguity or concealment strategies?
• Negotiating equal treatment and common citizenship in countries with a tendency to overprotect religion, a particular religion, or secularism.
• The demands of freedom of religion or belief in comparison with those of other fundamental rights
Proposals for papers and panels
Members of ICLARS and scholars from all over the world are invited to submit proposals either for individual papers or for panels co-ordinated by specific institutions or research groups.
Proposals for panels are especially welcomed. The selection of participants and the ordering of speakers will be at the discretion of the Programme Committee.
The deadline for responses to this call for papers and panels is 31 January 2024.
Proposals should be sent via web form, avalaible at https://www.iclrs.org/iclars-2024-call-forpapers-and-panels/
Any enquiries about the proposals should be addressed to [email protected]
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Structure of the conference
Distinguished keynote speakers will be invited to address the theme of the conference. The papers and panels selected for inclusion will be allocated to plenary or parallel sessions at the organisers’ discretion. Simultaneous translation will be available as required.
Venue, travel and accommodation
The venue for the conference will be the Law School on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA. South Bend had a small airport with good connections to major international hubs in the USA. There are flights from Chicago to South Bend several times a day.
Transfer by road can be arranged from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, but commuter flights are the easiest option. Uber/Lyft is available from the airport to campus.
The campus is well served with hotel accommodation within walking distance of the conference rooms, most notably on the actual campus at the Morris Inn. Further practical information about travel and accommodation will be circulated at a later stage.
All participants are expected to pay for their travel and accommodation expenses as well as for registration fees.
Registration fees
The registration fees for the conference will be announced at a later date.
Information and contact
A webpage for the conference will be published in due course. Until then, use the following email address for any request for information: [email protected]
