Religious Freedom and Religious Pluralism in Africa: Windhoek Namibia 18-19 May 2015
The Third Conference on Law and Religion in Africa took place in Windhoek, Namibia, May 18-19, 2015. This memorable and very successful conference focused on the theme “Religious Freedom and Religious Pluralism in Africa: Prospects and Limitations.” Some sixty participants participated in the conference, from 17 countries: UK, US, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal, Namibia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Uganda, Belgium.
Participants discussed such topics as:
African traditional law / religion
Human rights and dignity (including rights of children, the disabled, the elderly and women)
Implications of globalisation, neo-liberalism, democratisation, and fragile states for religious practice in African societies
Competing conceptions of religion and freedom in the African context
Tensions between individual and collective rights
Relationship of custom, culture, ethnicity and religion
State responses to religious pluralism and pluralisation in Africa
Theological and/or philosophical approaches to the theme
Religious freedoms, rights and responsibilities
Religion-state relations
Legal perspectives and religion (including national, regional, international and comparative perspectives)
Other emerging current concerns for the law and religion field