Religion and Identity: Perspectives on Conflict and Peacemaking in Eurasia

Type: Paper
Theme:
Sponsor Groups: Geography of Religions and Belief Systems Specialty Group, Eurasian Specialty Group, Political Geography Specialty Group
Poster #:
Day: 4/12/2018
Start / End Time: 3:20 PM / 5:00 PM
Room: Galerie 1, Marriott, 2nd Floor
Organizers: Vincent Artman
Chairs: Vincent Artman

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Description

The “religious revival” that has occurred across Eurasia since the collapse of communism has been a multi-faceted phenomenon. Far from remaining isolated in the sphere of “private belief and practice,” discourses surrounding religion and identity have become increasingly influential in politics, culture, and society. Religion, broadly conceived, has also been central to different forms of peacemaking throughout the region, as well as playing an important role in conflict situations in a variety of contexts.

The purpose of this session is to provide a forum for the exploration of religion as a site of conflict and peacemaking in Eurasia. We invite contributors to submit theoretical and/or empirically-grounded papers pertaining to themes that include (but are not limited to):

• Religion & the performance of peace (or conflict) in everyday life
• Contesting the boundaries of secular and sacred
• Religion, race, and social justice
• Nationalism, homeland, mythmaking, and religion
• Critical approaches to religion and peace
• Xenophobia, and conflict
• Religion and the populist resurgence
• The separation (or not) of church & state
• Culture wars
• Indigenous religion
• Religious perspectives on the environment

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Agenda

Type	Details	Minutes	Start Time
Presenter	Catherine Studemeyer*, George Mason University, The Blurry Line Between Sacred and Secular: Putin’s Neo-Tsarist Relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church	20	3:20 PM
Presenter	Edward Holland*, University of Arkansas, Restoration and Revival: Landscapes of Change in Russian Religions since Communism	20	3:40 PM
Presenter	Nathaniel Trumbull*, University of Connecticut, The challenges of restitution of Russian Orthodox Church properties in Russia's urban spaces	20	4:00 PM
Presenter	Norbert Pap*, University of Pécs, The discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent in Szigetvár (Hungary) and the geopolitical consequences	20	4:20 PM
Presenter	Mikhail Blinnikov*, St. Cloud State University, Green spaces for the dead: the aesthetics of Russian cemeteries	20	4:40 PM