Clearly there is widespread inter-religious conflict in the modern world and not just in the Middle East but also in Africa and Asia. The aim of the program is to explore the entanglement of religion and politics in these contemporary conflicts but also to explore their historical and comparative origins. The broad theme encompasses church-state relations, secularization, nationalism, fundamentalism, inter-religious conflicts, law and religion, religion and civil conflict. The seminars also offer an opportunity to examine key thinkers whose work has been seminal such as Charles Taylor, Jurgen Habermas, John Rawls, Michel Foucault, Edward Said, and Giorgio Agamben. Some themes from the current program will continue into the new academic year: the Reformation, conservative thought, millenarianism, and the catastrophic imaginary.