The Study of Religion and Responses to Terrorism: Paris, Beirut, and Beyond

This panel session was added to the 2015 AAR program only a week before the Annual Meeting in response to the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, France. The panel of scholars, whose areas of focus range from interreligious dialogue to political Islam to French secularism to ancient Christianity. They discuss the media, Islamophobia, religious violence, geopolitics, rational actors, and activism. They engage questions including: what are the connections between the Paris attacks, other recent attacks in Europe, and ISIS-inspired attacks in Beirut and Baghdad? What should the role of scholars of religion be in contesting Islamophobia and debating appropriate responses to terrorism? How can scholars of religion help shape attitudes and conversations about Islam, religion and violence in the general public? How might the attacks in Paris, Beirut, and elsewhere open up classroom conversations about broader issues in the study of religion? The panel discussion is followed by a Q&A with the audience. Panel Participants: Sarah Rollens, Rhodes College Stephanie Frank, Columbia College, Chicago Edward E. Curtis, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis Jerusha Lamptey, Union Theological Seminary Todd Green, Luther College, Presiding This panel was recorded on November 21 at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Atlanta, GA.