Religion in the Public Sphere

We are delighted to invite everyone interested in the place of religion in the contemporary world to participate in the project entitled “Religion in the Public Sphere”.

The project comprises three elements:

- An international conference(5 December 2008); debates will focus around three main topics:· Religious radicalism and its political impact in various countries and continents,· Civil society of faith communities as forces motivating activity for the benefit of others and common welfare,· Relations between religion, law and science in the regulation of bioethical issues. Among the lecturers will be members of the academic world, representing various domains of knowledge, and representatives of religious non-governmental organizations who will share their experience.We have invited people of different faiths and opinions to the discussion, among them: Father Andrzej Augustyński (Director of the “U Siemachy” Association), Jarosław Gowin, Ph.D. (Rector of Tischner European University and Chairman of the governmental Bioethics Task-Force), Weronika Chańska, Ph.D. (a co-worker of the Polish Federation for Woman and Family Planning and Lambda Association) and Musa Czachorowski (a member of the Higher Collegium of the Muslim Religious Association in the Republic of Poland) and many others. A detailed program of the conference can be found here >>

- Seminars open for students of Tischner European University and other universities(4 and 6 December 2008) , devoted to the place of religion and religious radicalism, will be run by three of the six eminent foreign guests participating in the conference – Clyde Wilcox from Georgetown University (USA), Enzo Pace from the University of Padua (Italy) and Jamal Malik from the University of Erfurt (Germany).Those who participate in all seminars and conference sessions will receive certificates and ECTS points.Information regarding the opportunity to take part in seminars can be found here >>

- ”Tram of Tolerance” (“Tramwaj Tolerancji”) - an artistic-theatrical campaign (2 December 2008), organized by Teatr Psychodelii Absolutnej operating in Krakow Centre for Contemporary Art Solvay.In a specially designed tram, which will drive around Krakow's Planty between 15.00 and 18.00 stopping at each station to take on passengers, visitors will be able to see a photographic exhibition dedicated to tolerance in general and religious tolerance in particular. In the tram, a specially prepared event, a manifesto of equality between people, particularly in respect to religion, will be held.

The “Religion in the Public Sphere” project enjoys the assistance of many partners.The Consulate General of the United States is an initiator of the project and provides technical and financial assistance to the project within the framework of the “Bridges of Tolerance” programme.Other diplomatic missions and foreign cultural institutes – the Goethe Institute, the Austrian Consulate, the Italian Institute and the French Institute - joined in the organization of the conference and seminars; thanks to them we can now host a body of foreign experts. Moreover, thanks to the Goethe Institute, we can use equipment for simultaneous translation. “The Tram of Tolerance” is supported by “Bratniak” - Students and Graduates Foundation at Jagiellonian University and “Barbakan” Radio-Taxi.

The project is under the media patronage of The Polish Television Company (Telewizja Polska) and Tygodnik Powszechny.