CO-SPONSORSHIP: Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit and Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Unit

Call for Papers: Interreligious and Interfaith Engagement After Gaza 

The events in Gaza have profoundly reshaped academic discourse and interreligious engagement both nationally and internationally. Communities across diverse religious, political, racial, and generational lines have been compelled to confront questions of solidarity, moral responsibility, and public witness in unprecedented ways. While many groups have deepened their collaborative efforts in response to the humanitarian crisis, others have experienced heightened tensions, fractured partnerships, or significant reevaluations of their approaches to dialogue and shared action. 

College and university campuses have been particularly affected. Differences in generational perspectives have become more pronounced, and institutions have struggled to navigate the ethical, political, and pastoral complexities raised by student activism, administrative responses, and a variety of external pressures. These dynamics have placed interfaith initiatives under extraordinary strain.

For this session, we invite papers that critically and constructively examine intra-and- interfaith and interreligious work in the wake of the annihilation of Gaza. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

• How previously disparate communities or traditions have found common cause or forged new alliances
• Cases in which longstanding interfaith partnerships have faltered, dissolved, or required significant reframing
• The role of generational, racial, and political differences in shaping interfaith engagement around this topic
• The impact of institutional, governmental, or public pressures on interfaith programs, discourse, and leadership
• Internal tensions within interfaith spaces as participants negotiate competing commitments, narratives, and expectations