Notre Dame Summer Seminars in Philosophy of Religion

The first of three Notre Dame Summer Seminars in Philosophy of Religion, this two-week intensive will feature speakers from philosophy, psychology, and theology, and up to 20 graduate student or early career participants (see separate Call for Applications). Confirmed speakers: Yuval Avnur, Olivia Bailey, Nathan Ballantyne, Emily Dumler-Winckler, Amy Floweree, Sandy Goldberg, Megan Haggard, Tom Kelly, Ruth Mayo, Tenelle Porter.

The 2027 Seminar theme is "Disagreement, Humility, and Polarization": Religion is often political and divisive. Should this matter, for how we think about God or, indeed, the propriety of religious belief? How could we know God or have faith in a world where religious traditions disagree sharply about what God is like - and where those divisions themselves contribute to unrest and hatred? Further questions connected with this theme include: how do particular theological traditions encode prescriptions for engaging with disagreement? How do these recommendations fare when evaluated for epistemic and practical rationality, or their compatibility with just political systems? Is something like humility sufficient to save us from fueling religious division, and if so, what is humility like and how could we cultivate it at scale? Would a humbler approach to religion favor certain spiritual or theological traditions over others - for example, is there a relationship between humility and agnosticism or apophaticism? How shall we understand the character traits of humility, empathy, and love for others given polarizing issues of politics or doctrine? What insights are there from sociology and psychology on religious communities, belonging, and changing values in a polarized era? Etc.

Sponsored by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.