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McDonald Centre Annual Conference 2026: Reimagining Humanism
McDonald Centre Annual Conference 2026 – 11-13 June 2026
Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building a Common Life in a Fractured World
Join us for the McDonald Centre’s 2026 Annual Conference as we explore how religious humanisms can address our fractured world’s most pressing ethical and political challenges.
Since ancient times, humanism has challenged boundaries of citizenship and identity. Yet modern humanism became associated with secular philosophies and, critics argue, aligned with colonial domination. Today, scholars are recovering humanism’s diverse religious forms across multiple global traditions, from the abolition movement to humanitarian initiatives to anti-apartheid struggles.
This conference examines religious traditions of humanism as points of connection between divergent frameworks. We focus particularly on how Christian humanism intersects with Jewish and Islamic humanisms, tracing their entangled histories and contemporary expressions in democratic movements.
Contributions from the 2026 conference will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Religious Ethics dedicated to religious humanisms as moral and political frameworks. This event builds on last year’s conference, Christian Humanism and the Black Atlantic, which examined theological articulations of what Paul Gilroy has termed “reparative humanism.”
Join our mailing list here: forms.gle/SVHXNj1VSZZCknKk8
Type: Conference
Series organiser:
McDonald Centre (Faculty of Theology and Religion)
Timing: Times tbc
Web Address:
https://tinyurl.com/46w5ps69
Organising department: Faculty of Theology and Religion
Talks:
Thursday 11 June 2025
Day 1 - Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building a Common Life in a Fractured World
Date: 11 June 2026, 9:00 - 17:00
Speaker
Various Speakers
Venue: Christ Church, St Aldates OX1 1DP
Organisers:
TBA
Hosts:
TBA
Friday 12 June 2025
Day 2 - Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building a Common Life in a Fractured World
Date: 12 June 2026, 9:00 - 17:00
Speaker
Various Speakers
Venue: Christ Church, St Aldates OX1 1DP
Organisers:
TBA
Hosts:
TBA
Saturday 13 June 2025
Day 3 - Reimagining Humanism: Religious Humanisms as Frameworks for Building a Common Life in a Fractured World
Date: 13 June 2026, 9:00 - 17:00
Speaker
Various Speakers
Venue: Christ Church, St Aldates OX1 1DP
Organisers:
TBA
Hosts:
TBA
Editor:
Belinda Clark
