Religion and Open Society Symposium
Staff: Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy and Timothy Samuel Shah, Former Adjunct Senior Fellow for Religion and Foreign Policy
March 25, 2008 - New York, NY
This symposium addressed how different forms of Christianity and Islam may have helped (and sometimes hindered) the development of free and open societies – not just in the narrow sense of democratic government but in the broader sense of openness to progress, innovation, an entrepreneurial spirit in economics, and a competitive marketplace of ideas. Directed by Walter Russell Mead and Timothy Shah, this symposium explored how both Christianity and Islam may foster freedom-friendly dynamism, but also considered powerful arguments that religion is essentially antithetical to freedom and the open society.
This is the third symposium in the Religion and Foreign Policy Symposia Series made possible by the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation.
Summary Report of Symposium: Downloadable PDF
Meetings
Symposium
Religion and Open Society Symposium - Session II
Presider: Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
Speakers: Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University Law School
Noah Feldman, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Philip Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia University Law School
March 25, 2008
10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Meeting
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Symposium
Religion and Open Society Symposium - Session I
Presider: George E. Rupp, President, International Rescue Committee
Speakers: Peter L. Berger, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Sociology and Theology, and Director of The Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, Boston University
Mustafa Akyol, Deputy Editor, Turkish Daily News
Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director, The Center for Muslim Studies, The Gallup Organization
March 25, 2008
9:00 to 10:15 a.m. Meeting
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Symposium
Religion and Open Society Symposium - Session III
Presider: Peter Steinfels, Co-Director, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture
Speakers: Lawrence Harrison, Director, Cultural Change Institute and Lecturer, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Timur Kuran, Professor of Economics and Political Science, and Gorter Family Professor in Islam, Duke University
Robert Woodberry, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
March 25, 2008
12:45 - 2:00 p.m. Meeting
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