On June, 23-25, 2016, an International Conference, organized by the Orthodox Christian Studies Center of the Fordham University was successfully held on the general theme: “Traditions, Secularization, Fundamentalism”. The 2016 Patterson Conference was a featured event of the Fordham University Dodrabicentennial Celebration. Conference support provided by the Patterson Triennial Conference Endowment and the Ganister Orthodox Foundation Fund at the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania.
According to the rationale of the Conference, while the very meaning of the “secular” remains contested, Christians globally are self-identifying in different ways in relation to an imagined secularization, all the while discerning how to live as a tradition. This intersection between tradition, secularization and fundamentalism is especially evident in both post-Communist Catholic/Orthodox countries and the American context, where fundamentalist-like responses have emerged against the perceived threat of the secular.
Among the speakers were: Dr. Vigen Guroian, (Professor of Religious Studies in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Virginia):“The Secular Pilgrimage of Orthodoxy in America”, Dr. Paul Griffiths (Warren Professor of Catholic Theology Duke Divinity School (UK):“Saeculum-Ecclesia-Caliphate: An Eternal Golden Braid”, Dr. Brenna Moore (Associate Professor, Department of Theology, Fordham University (New York, USA): “What Difference do Women Make? Retelling the Story of Catholic Responses to Secularism and Fundamentalism in 20th-Century Western Europe”, Dr. Slavica Jakelic (Assistant Professor of Humanities and Social Thought at Christ College at Valparaiso University: “Collectivistic Christianities: Between Religious Nationalism and Religious Fundamentalism”, Dr. Scott Appleby (Professor of History/Regan Director, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University): “An Intriguing Mimesis of the Secular: Why the Fundamentalists are not Religious Traditionalists”, Fr. Oliver Herbel (Military Champlain):“The Hand that Rocks the Cradle: Resolving the Tension between Tradition and Restorationism in American Responses to Secularism and the Religious Other”, Dr. Graham Ward (Regius Professor of Divinity at Christ Church College, the University of Oxford): “Secularism: The Golden Lie”, et. al. The Volos Academy for Theological Studies was represented by its Academic Associate Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis, who delivered a lecture on “'Orthodoxy or Death': Aspects of the Greek Religious Fundamentalism during the 20th and 21st centuries and a Possible Way Out”.
For more information about the conference please follow the website: https://www.fordham.edu/info/25442/2016_tradition_secularization_fundamentalism
To read a Handout of Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis presentation click here
