David and Bernice Martin, world-renowned sociologists of religion, to visit Moscow on 11-14 September, within the framework of project carried out by Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute

On 11-14 September 2013, with the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, a series of meetings will be held in Moscow to implement the first stage of the Religion, Science and Society Project carried out by the Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies. Taking part in the meetings will be leading sociologists of religion, Mr. David Martin and Mrs. Bernice Martin. The project is being carried out in partnership with the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission and the Society of Christian Philosophers, with the support of John Templeton Foundation.

 

The three-year Religion, Science and Society Project implies that leading specialists in the fields of religion, science and society will be invited to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The first year is dedicated to the sociology of religion. During this year, Prof. José Casanova (University of Georgetown), Prof. Roger Trigg  (Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion in Public Life, Oxford), and Prof. Brian J. Grim (Pew Research Center, USA) will visit Russia and Ukraine.

 

The first session with the participation of Prof. Charles Taylor (McGill University, Canada) and Prof. José Casanova took place in Kiev in June 2013. The second session will be held in Moscow. Taking part in it will be Mr. David Martin and Mrs. Bernice Martin.

 

Follow this link for more information about the programme of Mr. and Mrs. Martin’s visit.

 

The Religion, Science and Society Project is an important milestone in the development of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and international scientific community. It marks the continuation of cooperation that the Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute for Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies and the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission has maintained with the Anglo-American Society of Christian Philosophers for many years.

 

 

 

Prof. David Martin is a leading sociologist of religion, member of the British Academy, honorary professor of the sociology of religion at Lancaster University, professor emeritus of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He is an author of over twenty books, including A General Theory of Secularization (1979), Tongues of Fire: Conservative Protestantism in Latin America (1990), Forbidden Revolutions: Pentecostalism in Latin America, Catholicism in Eastern Europe (SPCK, 1996), Reflections on Sociology and Theology (Oxford University Press, 1996), On Secularization – Towards a Revised General Theory (Ashgate, 2005), The Future of Christianity: Reflections on Violence and Democracy, Religion and Secularization (Ashgate, 2010).

 

Prof. Bernice Martin is a leading specialist on religious processes in Latin America, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of London. She is an author of numerous works on Pentecostalism and “multiple modernities” in the Latin American context.