Revitalising Peace Theologies for Today: A Multi-Faith Peace Conference
A peace conference hosted by the Centre for Faith in Public Life at Wesley House, Cambridge, England, 5-6 June 2025 at Wesley Methodist Church, Cambridge.
The conference will bring together religious practitioners, scholars, and theologians for an in-person multi-faith conference which aims to revitalise non-violent theologies of peace.
Contact Dr Richard Davis rd652@cam.ac.uk
Call for Papers (deadline 31 January 2025)
[download Call for Papers as a PDF]
It’s estimated that one in four of the world’s population are affected by conflict. Interstate conflict is increasing and the threat of nuclear warfare has returned. This means issues of war, peace and activism have moved out of the ethics classroom into the lived reality of many faiths around the world. This conference provides a chance to explore the notion and practices of peace from a range of religious perspectives and from the viewpoints of many different actors.
The conference will bring together religious practitioners, scholars, and theologians for an in-person multi-faith conference which aims to revitalise non-violent theologies of peace. We welcome paper proposals from a range of faith traditions, global contexts, and disciplines that aim at understanding, promoting, and enacting peace within oneself, communities, and nations. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Faith-inspired nonviolent resistance and direct action
- Pacifism in theory or practice
- Studies of nonviolent religious figures (eg Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi, Jane Addams, Thich Nhat Hanh, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Dorothy Day)
- Conscientious objection to military service
- Militarism, memory, and remembrance
- Faith-inspired disarmament and demilitarisation
- Peace in worship (eg liturgy, prayers, songs, rituals, sacraments)
- The relationship between peace and justice
- Peace in the Hebrew scriptures, Quran, or Christian Bible or other sacred texts
- Just war or just peace theory and its critics
- War, peace, and the environment
- Coexistence in religiously pluralistic societies
- Indigenous peace perspectives
- Religion, peace and intersectionality (eg race, gender, sexuality, class, age)
- Forgiveness, repentance, reconciliation
- Faith-inspired conflict resolution and mediation
- Catholic Social Teaching on peace
- Faiths in conflict and interfaith peace initiatives
Selection criteria for abstracts include the originality of the proposal, its relevance to the conference themes, and the potential for peer-reviewed publication. The organisers are looking for papers that will cohere together into a well-curated conference. The organisers reserve the right to decline any paper proposal.
The Conference presentation time slots will all be 30 minutes (aim for 20 minutes plus 10 minutes discussion). All presentations will made be in person in Cambridge, England. There is no possibility to present online.
Submit your paper proposal through this form: https://forms.gle/2yuGNkWcUYyewUqj8
Conference Registration
Opens 1 February 2025
The registration form will appear on ticketsource.
Conference Programme and Timings
The Conference timings will be:
Thursday 5 June 2025
- 09:00 – 14:45 Conference Presentations
- 15:15 – 16:45 The Edward Rogers Memorial Lecture by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño: ‘The Spirit that Crosses Borders‘
- 17:15 Eucharist Service
- 18:30 Conference Dinner at Wesley House
Friday 6 June 2025
- 08:45 – 17:15 Conference Presentations
Venue
The Conference will be held at
Wesley Methodist Church, Cambridge
Christ’s Pieces
Cambridge, CB1 1LG
United Kingdom
Accommodation and Travel
Conference participants will need to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements.
