Call for paper, ECAS 5 Conference Scheduled for Lisbon, Portugal, June,2013 : » Religion, Secularism and Developmentalism: Interrogating Contemporary African Philosophy of Religion  »

Convener: Dr.Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi, Senior Lecturer of  Philosophy, Department of Philosophy and Religions, University of Abuja, Nigeria: ugwuanyiogbo37@yahoo.com

Other Panelists:
Professor Malachy Okwueze-Deputy Vice Chancellor, (Department of Religion), University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Professor Mogobe Ramose,Department of Philossophy,University of South Africa,Pretoria

Dr. Munyaradzi Felix Murove-Senior Lecturer, School of Philosophy and Ethics, University of KwaZulu-Natal,Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Abstract :
Conceiving philosophy in broad terms as a critical investigation into the fundamental assumptions underlying beliefs, ideas or values; this panel sets out to apply the critical tools of philosophy to (i) point out the hidden tension between secularism and religion in contemporary Africa and the competing presence of both in African social and political life. It will (ii)articulate  how and why  both of them qualify to be categorized as agents of development in a contemporary African context and (iii)interrogate this state of affairs with the view to pointing out the dilemma of development ethics implied by this scenario. In particular the panel will attempt to locate the expectations contemporary Africans make both of religion on the one hand and of secularism on the other hand to see the extent to which these expectations could be right. It will address such questions as: Under what ethical framework will contemporary Africa emerge as a strong,
organized and powerful human community? Does religion or religious ethics deserve any role in contemporary African life? Is secularism or secular ethics a basic condition for proper development in Africa? What role should be assigned to religion in contemporary Africa, assuming that it is the case that religion is a basic demand of contemporary African life and why? How can this be done without  the reversal of the African mind to the overbearing  influence of dogmatism and anachronistic thinking that discourages the critical turn which leads to new forms of life that can properly reconfigure the African world?

The call for papers is open and closes on the 16th January 2013.
http://www.nomadit.co.uk/ecas/ecas2013/panels.php5?PanelID=xxxx