As part of the Understanding Unbelief research programme, led by Dr Lois Lee, Research Fellow in the Department of Religious Studies, two events are being held at the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury this November. The first is ‘Belief, Lost and Found: The Unbelief Café’, which forms part of the Being Human annual festival celebrating the humanities, taking place between 17–25 November 2017. The second is the Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) Annual Lecture 2017, entitled ‘Ancestor Worship Amongst Today’s Unbelievers’. Both events will take place on Saturday 25 November 2017.
The Unbelief Café will be an afternoon workshop of activities and talks, exploring what it means to be an unorthodox believer or unbeliever in the modern world. Participants have the chance to share and discuss their own beliefs, and to learn more about belief and unbelief from members of the Understanding Unbelief team.
The Unbelief Café will be followed by the NSRN Annual Lecture, delivered by Professor Abby Day (Goldsmiths, University of London). Nonreligious people often experience, and revere, the presence of their deceased relatives. Unfortunately, such experiences usually fall into an academic category called ‘religious experience’, demonstrating how badly misunderstood are today’s unbelievers. Professor Day will discuss current research with British unbelieving ancestor-worshippers and offer cross-cultural comparisons to ask – how can we learn from their experiences to inform us about unbelief, nonreligion and the richness of human experience?
The Unbelief Café will begin at 1pm, and further details may be found here: https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief/events/sample-page/lost-and-found-belief-the-unbelief-cafe/
The NSRN lecture will begin 3.45pm, and further details may be found here:
https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief/events/sample-page/the-2017-nsrn-public-lecture/
Both events are free to attend, but it is necessary to book a place by following the links above. There will be a short break between events for those wishing to attend both sessions. Refreshments will be served.