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Dear friends and colleagues,

Today August comes to an end and with it the quieter summer break. We are back in full swing with our colloquium next Wednesday, in which our Associate Senior Researcher Housamedden Darwish will present his current book project.

Also we are very happy to welcome three new members to our KFG. We have a new publication for you as well as a Call for Articles. Today’s Finding deals with the putative godlessness of Germans. And for all staff and Fellows here on site, we have an important note regarding office use in the next two weeks.

Last but not least, we would like to remind you again of the International Symposium “Religion, Translation and Transnational Relations: Japan and the Europe of the (Counter)Reformation”, which starts tomorrow at Leipzig University. The three-day event is co-organized by our Associate Member Katja Triplett together with Yoshimi Orii from Keiō University, Tokyo and Pia Jolliffe (University of Oxford). Registration for online and on-site participation by e-mail is still possible.

1–3 September | Leipzig University, Nikolaistraße 8-10, Room 5.55 AND Online

Book Presentation: 2 September | GRASSI Museum

Enjoy and have a good week!

Anja & Lucy

Welcome to our new KFG Fellows

We are very happy to welcome three new Senior Research Fellows to our KFG in September:

Hugh McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Church History at the University of Birmingham, will be working on his project on “Is Sport a Religion?” and stay with us until 15 November.

Asonzeh Ukah, Professor and Chair of the Study of Religions at the University of Cape Town, will be focusing on his research project on “Apocalyptic Politics of Prayer camps and the future of the Secular in Africa” during his six-month stay in Leipzig.

We also welcome a former Fellow back to the KFG: Dietrich Jung will spend another 4 months with us, working on his project on “Islamic Modernities in World Society”.

A very warm welcome to all of you! We look forward to a lively exchange and good cooperation.

Next week’s colloquium: Housamedden Darwish’s Book Proposal on “al-ʿAlmāniyya in/and Islam. The Question of al-ʿAlmāniyya and State in Modern Arab Thought”, 7 September

Next Wednesday, our Associate Senior Researcher Housamedden Darwish will give a presentation on his current book project on “al-ʿAlmāniyya in/and Islam: The Question of al-ʿAlmāniyya and State in Modern Arab Thought”. The volume sheds light on the questions of the relationship between Islam, secularity/secularism and (the concept of the) state and about how contemporary Arab intellectuals have understood and discussed this relationship. Discussant will be our Senior Research Fellow Dietrich Jung. 

The colloquium will take place in a hybrid format (on-site and online). If you would like to join in person, please register for the colloquium via e-mail. In the Member Area you will find the relevant readings as well as information on the zoom connection data. 

7 September | 9.15–11.45 a.m. (CET)

Strohsack, Room 4.55 and online via Zoom

Call for Articles on “Images of Nature – From the Middle Ages to (Non-)Western Modernities” for Special Issue of histories

We would like to draw your attention to a Call for Articles for a special issue on the topic “Images of Nature: From the Middle Ages to (Non-)Western Modernities” in the journal series histories.

The collection of articles on “Images of Nature” plans to address the question in a long-term perspective and focusses on three influences: (1) the impact of religion since the Middle Ages, (2) the impact of science since the early modern period, and (3) the impacts of environmentalism since decolonization.

Deadline for submission of manuscripts via e-mail: 31 December

Finding: „Kirchen in der Krise – Land der Gottlosen” (“Churches in Crisis - Land of the Godless“)

The news magazine DER SPIEGEL recently reported on Germany as a “Land of the Godless". Assuming that for the first time church-affiliated Christians in Germany are in the minority, there is evidence of a “secular triumph”: Similar to the climate debate, social tipping points are identified that make this development irreversible.

Contruction work around blue kitchen at KFG office building

The blue kitchen in our offices will not be usable from tomorrow until probably 14 September due to drywall work to correct fire safety deficiencies. There may also be temporary construction noise during this time. In the meantime, please use the green tea kitchen at the other end of the corridor. Thank you very much!

Please contact us if you have any questions. Thanks for your understanding!

If you have any content that you think suits the purpose of the weekly, please feel free to send it to us at multiple-secularities@uni-leipzig.de.