What does it mean to convert to a religion? What can historical inquiries through multiple cases of religious conversion reveal? Although it might seem intuitive at first, there are at least three definitions of what one means by religious conversion. Religious conversion in its every-day sense generally signals an internal and personal change of heart and mind; that is, conversion as personal transformation. Sometimes this simply means a person has become more committed to their God, a religious way of life and devotion, a belief system and moral code, or all of the above. A second way of understanding religious conversion is as an external change from one religious community to a different one; that is, conversion as a change in public affiliation. In this sense one might convert, for example, from Islam to Judaism, or Judaism to Christianity, or Christianity to Islam. A third meaning of religious conversion could be understood in terms of a process over time or a conversion moment, such as a conversion ritual or experience of conversion, such as a baptism or public profession of one’s new faith.

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Conversion religieuse et espace politique : nouveaux angles d’approche

Colloque international, Université Paris-Est Créteil, 24-26 janvier 2018

Mercredi 24 janvier

14h : Accueil des participants par les organisatrices du colloque Claire Sotinel, directrice du CRHEC et Isabelle Poutrin, coordinatrice de l’ANR POCRAM

1.     Conversion et construction politique / Conversion and State Building. 

Présidence : Pierre Savy (Ecole française de Rome)

14h30 : Katell Berthelot (Centre Paul-Albert Février, CNRS) : Conversion to Judaism in the first three Centuries CE : The Impact of Roman Imperial Policies.

15h10 : Claire Sotinel (UPEC, CRHEC) : Des politiques de conversion à l’époque constantinienne ?

15h50 : Jean-Marie Bouron (Institut des mondes africains) : Le mythe de Clovis en Afrique. La conversion des chefs moose par les missionnaires catholiques de Haute-Volta (1901-1960).

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Winter Doctoral School: Religious Conversion and the Political Sphere (2^nd-17^th Century): New Approaches.

The POCRAM Project (Pouvoir politique et conversion religieuse, Antiquité – époque moderne), funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France) is organizing a Doctoral Winter School on Religious Conversion and the Political Sphere: New Approaches. The Workshop will be held on January 21-24 and will be connected to an International Conference on the same theme on January 24-26 2018, at the University of Paris-Est Créteil (http://www.u-pec.fr).

POCRAM is an Agence Nationale pour la Recherche funded research project concerning the various attitudes and positions of the political power to religious conversion.

All religions require recognizable signs of membership, organized in more or less complex and binding systems; such systems, codified across history, allow political authorities to be aware of religious changes and, eventually sensitive to them. We consider religious conversion as much as it is publicly perceived, focusing on individuals or groups of people changing their adhesion to a religious association, leaving apart the study of conversion as a personal experiment of intellectual or spiritual metamorphosis. By religion, we mean any organized structure based on a system of belief and cultic practices. By political power, we mean any form of public collective authority or organization, whatever its scale (from village to empire).

We shall take into consideration proposals presenting interplays of political powers and religious conversions, whatever their form: identification of the political power with a religious group, collaboration, opposition, confrontation, etc. Political attitudes vary according to a complex set of factors depending on the position of religion in human society, on the flow of converted people, on the political and ideological background, etc.

Although the POCRAM program is mainly centred on Western Europe and relationships between Western Europe and relationships between Christianity (in its many branches) and other religions (Judaism, classic Mediterranean cults, Islam, as well as extra-European religions met by Christianity), and relationships between various branches of Christianity, studies in any cultural field are welcome, if they belong to the same chronological frame, from Late Antiquity to Early Modern Time. (2^nd-17^th centuries).

The research project is historical at heart, but contributions in political science, sociology or anthropology are welcome.

Organization:

The Winter Doctoral School consists in :

• doctoral papers followed by discussion, with participation of tutors issued from the POCRAM team (Sunday afternoon-Tuesday),
• a public conference organized for a general audience (Tuesday evening),
• attendance to the International POCRAM conference (Wednesday-Friday);
• some doctoral students will participate as respondent to the Conference.

Papers presented by students will be submitted to peer-review for publication.

Participants’ profiles:

English speaking PHD students in History, Anthropology or other Humanities fields, whose research subject is connected to the theme of the Conference (see above).

How to apply :Religious conversion political sphere application form

To apply, please complete the form and e-mail it with required attachment, using POCRAM_WS_your name as subject to claire.sotinel@u-pec.fr and pocram.anr@gmail.com. Applications must be received by Friday 22 September 2017 12 pm (Paris time). Successful applicants will be notified on Wednesday 6 October 2017.

Scientific board:

Christophe Duhamelle, EHESS, Paris

Pierre-Antoine Fabre, EHESS, Paris.

Jeremie Foa, Université Aix-Marseille

Thomas Lienard, Paris 1 Sorbonne

Isabelle Poutrin, UPEC

Claire Sotinel, UPEC