Call for papers
Conference on “Politics and Religion in Brazil and the Americas: Evangelical churches and their relations with Judaism, Zionism, Israel and the Jewish communities”
January 13-15, Haifa, Israel
The University of Haifa, the Brazil-Israel Institute and the Interdisciplinary Center of Jewish Studies (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - NIEJ)
The last decades have been a period of exponential growth and increasing political influence of evangelical followers in Latin American countries, many of them making extensive use of Judaica symbolism and expressing political support for the State of Israel. In the more established evangelical churches in the USA we find a similar trend, in particular in relation to the theological justification for their strong backing of Israel. How do these developments reflect ongoing trends of theological messianism? How is it connected to post-modern fundamentalism? In what ways Jewish communities are being influenced and are facing these changes? What have been the reactions of the national political system to these developments? How has Israeli foreign policy confronted the changes, their potential opportunities, challenges and potential threats and risks?
The conference, organized by the University of Haifa, the Brazil-Israel Institute and the Interdisciplinary Center of Jewish Studies (NIEJ), aims to analyze the complex web of relations between evangelical groups, Judaism, Zionism, Israel and the Jewish communities in the Americas.
We encourage the submission of papers that reflect cutting edge research within this area, and that reflect new theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches and case studies. They may emphasize the dynamics of evangelicals groups, Jewish community institutions or the underlying cultural and political context.
The organizers invite historians and social scientists from all disciplines to send abstracts of papers (300 words maximum) to be presented at a conference to be held Monday 13-15 January, 2020, at the University of Haifa.
Under request and depending on the approval of pending applications, the organizers will cover costs of accommodation and partial travel expenses.
Please send a brief proposal of the proposed talk (300 words maximum) and a short academic biography (max 200 words) to rafael@institutobrasilisrael.org
by October 15th, 2019.
Notification of paper acceptance: October 30th, 2019.