Welcome to
RELIGION, KNOWLEDGE, SOCIETY
conferences & seminars
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Religion, Knowledge, Society (RKS) is an academic event held annually or biannually, including conferences and seminars, with both international and national editions. Its goal is to serve as a platform for academic debates on the interplay between theology, knowledge, religion, society, and philosophy.
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This scientific conferences and seminars are organized by Faculty of Theology, Ovidius University of Constanța (Romania).
Each edition of RKS, conference and seminar, is addressed to professors, researchers, PhD students.​​​​​​​​
12th international conference RELIGION, KNOWLEDGE, SOCIETY (RKS)
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Power and Vulnerability: Narratives of Uncertainty in Global Dynamics
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May 22nd, 2026, Constanța (Romania)
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The contemporary world is undergoing a period of profound reconfiguration, marked by a paradox in the meaning of power: while conflictual intentions and technological capacities reach unprecedented levels, the sense of individual and collective vulnerability is becoming more acute. The international conference “Power and Vulnerability: Narratives of Uncertainty in Global Dynamics” proposes an interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary challenges that are redefining the human condition in a world marked by instability and rapid social transformations. This academic event aims to bring together diverse perspectives – theological, philosophical, political, psychological, and sociological – in order to examine three major phenomena that shape the uncertainties of the present:
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The impact of global armed conflicts on the individual and on social structures, analyzing not only the immediate effects of violence and destruction, but also the long‑term consequences for the human psyche and democratic value systems. Topics such as collective trauma, post‑conflict identity reconstruction, and the redefinition of concepts such as security, integrity, peace, and dialogue will be explored.
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The intensification of radical political ideologies that borrow and adapt religious narratives, examining how these movements exploit existential anxieties and the need for meaning in a time of uncertainty.
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The awareness of an existential pressure generated by the unequal competition between the human biological and cognitive rhythm and the exponential acceleration of technological developments (artificial intelligence, digitalization, etc.), resulting in an experience of human powerlessness in the face of processes that are difficult to understand and regulate. This section will address ethical dilemmas, transformations of interpersonal relationships, as well as new forms of vulnerability and power generated by technological advancement.
From a theological and philosophical perspective, the conference will analyze the role of religious traditions and philosophical paradigms in formulating credible responses to current crises, questioning the limits of power and re-signifying vulnerability not as weakness, but as a starting point for an ethic of solidarity and responsibility. From a political and sociological standpoint, it will examine the transformation of power relations, the emergence of new forms of radicalization, the weakening of democratic institutions, and their effects on human integrity and social cohesion. The psychological approach will explore the traumatic impact of fear, insecurity, and the indiscriminate use of technologies on identity and mental health.
The conference encourages an integrative approach that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, with the aim of offering a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between power and vulnerability. By bringing together varied perspectives, the conference seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the conditions that shape contemporary human experience. Its objective is to identify not only challenges, but also potential responses and strategies for resilience and adaptation at both individual and collective levels.
We invite university professors, researchers, and doctoral students from relevant fields to contribute original perspectives and critical analyses on the new meanings of power and vulnerability in our time. The event will provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, exchange of ideas, and the development of new academic networks.​​
12th international seminar RELIGION, KNOWLEDGE, SOCIETY (RKS)
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Sacralization of Politics and Secularization of Religion. Old Narratives in New Paradigms
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May 24th - 28th, 2026, Suceava (Romania)
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The contemporary world faces a double distortion in articulating the relationship between political authority and religious belief, a pendulum phenomenon that oscillates between two equally risky extremes: the sacralization of politics and the radical secularization of religion. The international seminar "The Sacralization of Politics and the Secularization of Religion. Old Narratives in New Paradigms" aims to analyze these symmetrical pathologies, inviting critical reflection on the place of the Church in the polis and the legitimate limits of secular power.
The first line of analysis concerns the sacralization of politics, a phenomenon whereby the state or a particular ideology arrogates to itself a soteriological character, claiming absolute authority and an aura of sacred intangibility. This tendency, identifiable from ancient monarchies to modern totalitarianisms and subtle forms of contemporary political idolatry, transforms the instrument into the goal. The seminar will explore how authentic theology and critical thinking provide the tools necessary to unmask this claim as idolatry, reaffirming the essential distinction between the Kingdom of God and any historical political regime, which is inherently provisional and subject to ethical judgment.
The second direction focuses on the opposite pole: the absolute secularization of religion. This is not limited to a necessary institutional distinction, but describes a programmatic exclusion of the religious voice from the public sphere, reducing faith to a strictly subjective and private experience. In the context of what was called the "dictatorship of relativism," the seminar will question the illusion of the "axiological neutrality" of the public sphere. It will examine how the void left by the withdrawal of religion is often filled by new "civil religions" and secular beliefs, which function as undeclared dogmatic systems of meaning.
The seminar invites researchers in the fields of theology, philosophy, political science, sociology, and law to contribute to a necessary debate on the restoration of a dynamic balance. How can religious traditions refuse complicity with political idolatry without retreating into a pietism that is irrelevant to the current global context? How can the public dimension of religion—especially through the defense of the vulnerable and the promotion of justice—be reaffirmed in a society that claims absolute autonomy for the political? How can the role of religion in defending human dignity and the common good be redefined, beyond political partisanship or retreat into the private sphere?
We welcome proposals for papers that address these tensions, offering original perspectives on how individuals and communities can navigate and avoid the sacralization of politics and the secularization of religion.
