In a Time of Zozobra: Religious Traditions and Democratic Flourishing

In an time of uncertainty when democracies around the world are under severe strain, how might religious traditions contribute to civic renewal, public trust, and human flourishing? These questions will take center stage this December at In a Time of Zozobra: Religious Traditions and Democratic Flourishing, a three-day colloquium convening scholars, practitioners, and institutional leaders at Christ Church, University of Oxford.

Jointly organized by the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life, the event will gather leading scholars, practitioners, and thought leaders to explore how faith communities and religious scholarship can help sustain a robust and pluralistic democratic life in an age of deep social disquiet and division.

Across many societies, democratic institutions face immense strain, the fabric of civic life feels frayed, and social trust is worn thin. Against this backdrop, participants will ask what role religion, particularly Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, can and does play in enabling democracy and reweaving civil society at both institutional and everyday levels. It will focus on identifying research priorities, how to build out this field, opportunities for collaboration, and avenues for public scholarship.

A Workshop for an Unsettled Age

This invitation only colloquium takes its name from the use of the term zozobra in Mexican philosophy where it denotes a condition of floundering, instability, radical uncertainty, disorientation, anxiety, disquiet, and in-betweenness. The focus on the intersection of religion and democracy is taken to occur at a time when this very relationship is shaped by a cultural and political mood of zozobra. For the Mexican philosopher, Emilio Uranga (1921-1988) embracing zozobra enables humility and the recognition of one’s finitude and limits. Rather than responding with a chauvinistic assertion of one’s identity or rigid certainties, embracing it allows for a more dialogical and open approach to life and identity as we recognize the fragility and interdependent nature of existence. The colloquium takes its orientation from Uranga’s prescription.

Aims

The goal of the colloquium is twofold. First, it seeks to identify and articulate constructive research questions at the intersection of religion and democracy. By drawing from theological reflection, empirical research, and lived experience, participants will consider how religious studies scholars and theologians might contribute to fostering a vibrant and diverse civic infrastructure.

Second, it aims to explore how to build a coalition of centers, institutes, think tanks, and public platforms dedicated to promoting constructive accounts of religion’s role in democratic life and create networks of collaboration and mutual support.

Keep an eye on this space for more workshop updates. Picture credits: Water of the Flowery Mill (Arshile Gorky, 1944).