Stereotyping the Other. Exploring the Anatomy of Religious Prejudice – and Ways to Dismantle It. International Conference in Lund, Sweden, April 11-13, 2011. Co-sponsored by the Swedish Theological Institut in Jerusalem and Lund University.

“Can citizens learn to seek their own welfare and growth not at the expense of their fellow men, but in concert with them? The human family does not yet know the answer, but hopes it will be affirmative.” (Gordon W. Allport, The Nature of Prejudice, 518)

When Gordon W. Allport, in his seminal study The Nature of Prejudice, published almost three score years ago, addressed the role of religion in prejudice he noticed that it is paradoxical, because religious belief both makes prejudice and unmakes prejudice. Among churchgoers there is a group who are more prejudiced that the average, but there is also another group of churchgoers who are less prejudiced that the average. There is, he argued, two kinds of religiosity; his own expression is that there is a “two-way pull of religion,” both towards prejudice and away from it. There is a difference, he continued, between the institutionalized and the interiorized religious outlooks, and stressed the importance of internalizing the central teachings of one’s religion, the consequences of which are a more stable ego-control, a clear standard of conduct and acknowledgment one’s own shortcomings. This conference, co-sponsored by the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem and Lund University, will address various aspects of religious prejudice, both when religious groups are being targeted and when religious discourse is brought into play in various contexts. Paper proposals of approximately 250 words are to be submitted to the conference coordinator no later than November 15, 2010. The keynote lectures, which are by invitation only, will be published together with a selection of the other papers. For further information, please contact Professor Jesper Svartvik or the conference coordinator.

Conference venue

Scandic Star Hotel
Glimmervägen 5
P. O. Box 11026
SE – 220 11 LUND
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)46 – 285 – 2500
Fax: +46 (0)46 – 285 – 2511

• www.scandichotels.se/star
• meeting.starlundscandichotelscom    

Conference coordinator

Jakob Wirén
Lund University
Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8
SE – 223 62  LUND
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)46 – 222 – 9049
Fax: +46 (0)46 – 222 – 4426