3rd Cardinal Dery Colloquium; August 2015

Call for Paper Contribution to Cardinal Dery 3^rd Colloquium August 2015

Topic: Religion, Culture, Society and Integral Human Development.
Date: 11 to 13 August 2015

Place: Ss. Peter and Paul Pastoral Institute, Wa, Northern Ghana

Deadline for Paper Abstract Submission: November 1^st 2014 (All Saints Day)

Cardinal Dery Colloquia: General Introduction

Cardinal Dery Colloquia is part of an action research movement and study initiated by Dr. Alexis B. Tengan since 2003 which is seeking to provide a heritage institution of integral human development in the fullest sense of the term. The focus of the movement is to create intellectual awareness for self and guided education into the depths of religious, cultural, economic social and philosophical movements and ideas before and after foreign religious (Islam, Christianity etc.) arrival particularly in northern Ghana and in Africa generally. The main objective is to identify and document the tangible and intangible archival institutions and materials within the societies in Northern Ghana and in Africa in order to build a comprehensive and integrated heritage institution, of cultural and philosophical discourses within the context of religious and integral development of the people. The project wishes to, in the end, contribute to research on the cultural history and individual as well as social biographies of life in Northern Ghana by focusing particularly on the dynamic interchange  and tensions between religion, culture, the economy and society as it evolved since the time of slave raiding in the mid 19^th century.  As an action research project, the focused activities have been based on three axes, namely, the active collection and conservation of local heritage of all kinds, the provision of scholarly and scientific examination of the heritage as knowledge content and the fostering of public awareness of the knowledge concerns embedded in the heritage examined. The organization of colloquia, workshops and conferences is one main method via the movement seeks to achieve these goals. The first colloquium/workshop was organized on 7-8 April, 2007 at Ss Peter and Pastoral and Social Institute, Wa; and the second, also at the same institute was held on July 27-29, 2011. The proceedings of this second conference have now been published under the title: Christianity and cultural history of northern Ghana:  Portrait of Cardinal Poreku Dery (1918-2008).  The third colloquium will be held in mid-August 2015. The opening session will be held at Pope John XXIII Centre while the rest of the activities will be held at the same venue as previous ones. The theme for the 3^rd colloquium is Religion, Culture, Society and Integral Human Development. Given recent developments regarding the beatification process of Cardinal special, sessions and meetings on moving the process forward will be held during the colloquium.

3^rd Colloquium Abstract:

Pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial events in Africa have all combined to give a certain image and role religion and culture play and should play in social and human development and progress. In the first place the narrow western definition of religion as an abstract phenomena focusing on believe in a subjective and empirically unverifiable notions of the spiritual world and the constant recourse to a dualistic thinking that pitches nature against culture have heavily poisoned the thinking frames via which scholars tend to understand and deal with religion and culture as integral part of human development and progress. This is particularly the case when it comes to indigenous African religion and culture. The situation is made worse with the persistent grounding of the philosophical notion that only one truth relating to religion and science exists and that this truth can only be found in the supposedly “more advanced and developed” systems. Though many scholars have long discarded this mode of thinking, the notions persist within popular African thought and more so with ill-informed policy makers who are also the drivers of economic change and material progress. Many new religious movements and groups in Africa tend to take extreme views regarding the role religion and culture should play in society. Among groups that have been inspired by the Christian message, there is the tendency to consider African Traditional Religions and cultural practices as devilish that has to be demonized and expunged from society. Likewise, some Islamic inspired groups seek a certain form of purity in religion according to their interpretation of the Koran; while others will mistake modern global cultural tenets to be the foundations of Christianity and will drive for its expulsion from African societies. In light of these distortions and misunderstandings, it is imperative that scholars of different disciplines and traditions analyze carefully the true role of religion and culture in the integral development of humanity. The following thematic areas have therefore been selected as focus of this colloquium. Contributions dealing with any aspect of these themes can be submitted for consideration in the form of 350 words abstract. Please include a title for your contribution.

Panel Themes and Paper Abstracts:

Paper submission to the colloquium should fall under one of the following panel themes. The names attached to each panel theme are people who have already expressed the desire to write and present papers relating to the topic. If you will like to contribute a paper to the colloquium, then send a title relating to your chosen topic and an abstract of 300 words on or before November 1^st (All Saints Day).  

1. Philosophical and Religious Grounding of Integral Human Development: Cardinal Dery’s Notion of Personhood with particular reference to womanhood and marriage (Edward B. Tengan and Isidore Lobnibe and others )
2. Health and Human Development: The language of health (An Debyser and others)
3. African Indigenous Knowledge and culture sensitive development: The role of traditional religion, art and medicine in development (Alexis Tengan and others)
4. Religion and Cultural Traditions: The role of the ancestors, saints and past prophetic figures in the development discourse (Alexis Tengan and others.)
5. Reconciling religion and culture to African politics, and socio-economic development (Papers by Richard Baawobr and Agbonkhiameghe Orobator and others)
6.  "Speaking and Writing Modernity and Development in context of Religious and Cultural Traditions" (Paschal Kyoore and others)
7. Religion, Culture and Heritage Movements in the context of spiritual and social development (Albert Ketelaars and others)
8. Inter-religious dialogue and development from an Islamic, Christian and African Religious Perspectives (????)