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J. Matthew Wilson, Southern Methodist University, jmwilson@smu.edu

Over the last twenty years, the study of religious ideas, institutions, and motivations has truly blossomed in political science. Religion, once dismissed by many scholars as a peripheral and declining force in modern politics, is now widely acknowledged as central to understanding a host of political phenomena, from attitudes toward poverty, the environment, and homosexuality, to differing notions of just war, to election outcomes in both the developed and the developing world. Thus, the section looks forward to proposals on a broad range of topics spanning all of the traditional sub-fields of political science.

At the same time, the religion and politics section is especially interested in the conference's core themes of change and complexity. Recent decades have witnessed profound transformations in the world's religious landscape. Major faith traditions are becoming much more global than they once were; the Islamic presence in Europe is growing rapidly, as is Christianity in East Asia. There are now more Mormons outside the United States than within, and the balance of membership (and certainly growth and energy) in the Catholic and Anglican churches has shifted to the developing world. In addition, major parts of the globe where religion was once banished from the public square (i.e. the former communist states) are now open to religious influences in political life, while religious believers and ideas in the Western world are increasingly finding themselves challenged by competing liberal, secular orthodoxies. Proposals addressing the political consequences of these changes, either internationally, cross-nationally, or within the various affected countries, would be especially welcome.

In addition, the section encourages proposals engaging the conference's focus on complexity. All too often, religious traditions are regarded as monolithic; thus, work examining politically relevant differences in belief or behavior within larger religious groupings (e.g. "liberal" versus "conservative" Catholicism or "radical" versus "moderate" Islam) is quite valuable. Moreover, the issue agendas of religious groups are often much more complex than popular accounts suggest, so political scientists have much to contribute in elucidating all of the dimensions of religious engagement with politics. Papers taking up these issues of differentiation and nuance would make especially appropriate additions to this year's program.