“Worldviews of Millennials: Education, Social Inclusion and Countering Violent Extremism” — 34th Conference of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR/SISR), Switzerland

The 34th Conference of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR/SISR)
4-7 July, 2017
Lausanne, Switzerland,

STS #53
Title: Worldviews of Millennials: Education, Social Inclusion and Countering Violent Extremism
Convener(s): Anna Halafoff, Gary Bouma, Elisabeth Arweck

As many societies are becoming increasingly religiously diverse and non-religious, school systems that previously largely ignored religion, or included only one dominant, religious perspective are gradually adapting to changing times. There has also been a significant rise in interest in educational programs about diverse religions and non-religious worldviews among state actors, faith communities, educators and scholars, in response to concerns of ‘homegrown terrorism’ following the July 2005 bombings, and more recently to radicalization of young people by ISIS. Moreover, many states, and faith-based organizations, have invested in these types of educational programs to promote respect for religious diversity and to counter violent extremism, yet there has been relatively little empirical evidence regarding the impact and effectiveness of these initiatives. Another critical factor worth examining is to what degree are these educational programs actually informed by the worldviews of millennials?
This panel will examine:
The nexus between worldviews education and countering extremism; and
how young people’s worldviews may inform the development of educational responses to enhance social inclusion, particularly in religiously diverse societies.
It also encourages discussion of intersectional perspectives on diverse worldviews education and race, gender and sexuality.

Please submit your paper proposal (title and abstract up to 250 words) in English or French via the ISSR/SISR Conference website submission form by the 10th January 2017:

https://www.sisr-issr.org/en/conference/the-call-for-papers-for-the-issr-conference-religion-cooperation-and-conflict-in-diverse-societies-lausanne-switzerland-4-7-july-2017-is-now-open-the-deadline-for-submitting-paper-proposals