Thematic Approach

GIRES, the Global Institute for Research, Education & Scholarship and the  “Greenwood”African American Studies Center (GAASC) create a welcoming space for discussion and exploration of the complicated relations between religion and politics in the United States.

“The United States is both remarkably religious and remarkably secular”. Although the US is a pluralist democracy, known for its multicultural identity, the  role of religion has been crucial in the formation of the nation’s identity and history, proving that the relationship between religion and politics is extremely complex and delicate.

Our new international conference seeks to bring together scholars from different countries who research a variety of topics related to the interactions between religion and politics in the United States from various perspectives. We define the terms “religion” and “politics” broadly and welcome all topics related to the way religion shapes politics or politics shapes religion. We want to examine how the two conflict, collaborate, or otherwise influence each other. The conference will explore the intersections between religion and politics in both historical and contemporary contexts.

We intend to create a space for interdisciplinary conversation. Thus, we invite submissions that address questions across a broad range of theoretical and methodological approaches – not only those of political science, but also of history, law, philosophy, religious studies, international relations, theology, sociology, minority studies, immigration studies, cultural studies, and/or psychology.

Proposed Topics (Lingua franca: English)

-Religion in American elections
-Religion and American foreign policy
-Religion in the early Republic
-Religion in the political thought of the Founding Fathers
-Religious clauses of the First Amendment: interpretations and contemporary controversies
-American Civil Religion – history and evolution
-Religious interest groups in the United States
-The evangelical vote
-The American Religious Right
-Culture wars in the American society
-Progressive Evangelicals and US politics
-The Religious Left
-Religious fundamentalisms in the Unites States
-Religious minorities’ rights and protections
-The role of religious minorities in American politics
-The political dynamics of religious pluralism in the United States
-Inter-denominational relations and their effects on politics
-Religious values and political stability of civil society
-Religion as a threat to contemporary civil society or the promise of protecting its liberal democratic character ?
-The role of Christianity in nationalism and neoliberalism
-Christian nationalism
-Conservative/liberal divisions within American religions
-Religion and immigration policies
-Religious freedom
-Constitutional and legal issues
-Instrumental use of religion in American politics
-Religion and populism
-The political role of the Black Church: past and present
-The influence of religion on international relations
-Secularization, privatization of religion, de-privatization of religion, post-secularism
-Psychology of religion and politics

Proposed Formats (Lingua franca: English)
-Individual papers (GIRES will included it in a panel)
-Panels (up to 4 presentations-chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Roundtable presentations (chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Poster presentations
-Student presentations (one paper presented by up to 3 young scholars)
-Keynote speech (depending on the time availability)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Asynchronous Platform)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Synchronous-live- Sessions: live participation of presenter (s) during the Q&A sessions)

Publication Opportunity 
The Organizing Committee and GIRES Press will publish the most powerful and dynamic presentations of the conference and include them
in a collective volume in the form of short articles and/or long essays. For more information please contact us

Live Sessions Recording
All participants have the option to have their presentations recorded (during live sessions) in HD quality. The recordings will be uploaded to GIRES media for unlimited access and dissemination.

Asynchronous Options
All participants have the option to have their presentations (video/audio/text) uploaded to our Virtual Platform. All  registered participants will have access to the material for 5 days.

Our proposed topics & formats are not restrictive and we invite additional germane ideas
Due to the restrictions of Corona Crisis our event (for the time being) will take place VIRTUALLY