Inaugural lecture by Lori Beaman, Leibniz Professorship at Leipzig University: “The Transformational Possibilities of Immanence: The Rise of Nonreligion and its Implications for the Climate Crisis”, 14 October

Date: Friday, 14 October | 6.30–8.30 pm

Venue: Paulinum

Our Associate Member Lori Beaman will give her inaugural lecture for her Leibniz Professorship, entitled "The Transformational Possibilities of Immanence: The Rise of Nonreligion and its Implications for the Climate Crisis":

The number of people who affiliate and identify with institutional religion in traditionally Christian countries is declining. This discussion explores the implications of that decline vis à vis human relationships with the planet. In particular, Lori argues that an ethos of equality may be replacing an ethos of stewardship and that that shift is vital for sustaining life on earth. The imbrication of hierarchical understandings of terrestrial life with planetary destruction (ie climate change) is undeniable and is supported by some versions of the transcendence narrative. This argument is not new: Lynn White identified this relationship in 1967 in his provocative article in Science. What is new is the significant shift in the religious landscape.

Drawing from research being conducted under the Nonreligion in a Complex Future Project, Lori will discuss an emerging discourse of equality in survey data and interviews with hikers and community gardeners. Ultimately, the increase in nonreligion may create the necessary conditions for non-hierarchical and immanent forms of living well together in a more-than-human world.

The lecture will take place within the framework of the Leipzig Science Festival "globe 22" and will be held in English with simultaneous German translation.

Our director Christoph Kleine will open the event. Sebastian Rödl, Professor of Philosophy with a focus on Practical Philosophy, Leipzig University, will then give a laudation. After Lori's lecture there will be a discussion together with our directors Christoph Kleine and Monika Wohlrab-Sahr.