Interfaith Encounters: Religious Polemics from the Middle Ages to the Modern Period

Dear Colleagues,

Religious polemics are a multifaceted phenomenon which can be defined as a discursive conflict, or a tool for discovering and disseminating “the truth,” motivated by a sense of mission. Their typology can be classified into strategies, methods, or arguments. A religious polemic manifests itself in literature intended for internal use or addressed to dispute opponents. It often includes the coercion of the opposite side to participate in public disputation, frequently ending in forced conversion, as we have encountered in medieval Christian–Jewish polemics. There are also examples of the voluntary participation of Jews, Muslims, and various Christian denominations in religious disputations, as in the case of radical Protestants in Poland. Religious polemics have been studied as part of research in theology, philosophy, sociology of religion, and history, with a focus on case studies and specific disputations or varieties of polemics.

This Special Issue is aimed at exploring religious polemics from the phenomenological standpoint, seeking to deepen our understanding of religious polemics in a wide cultural, historical, and social context. The articles will deal with a variety of religious polemics between monotheistic religions, sects, and denominations, as well as with polytheistic involvement in religious polemics. The chronological frame of the articles will encompass the early Middle Ages through to the 19^th century. Articles presenting new methodological or comparative perspectives will be especially welcome. 

Scholars are invited to submit essays on specific and general topics:

• Public disputation as social practice, its strategies, tactics, and tools; its role in the phenomenon of conversion;
• The typology of the polemics’ argumentation (e.g., exegetical, philosophical, or historical);
• Dynamics and changes in religious polemics through the lens of history;
• Polemical literature: authors, aims, and target audiences;
• Constructing the “religious other” through religious polemics;
• Research on religious polemics—new perspectives and methodologies.

Proposed deadlines:

• Abstract (about 200 words) submission deadline: 10 July 2023.

The abstracts are to be sent to the issue Editor, Professor Golda Akhiezer agolda@ariel.ac.il  or to the Religions Editorial Office religions@mdpi.com

• Notification of abstract acceptance: 3 September 2023
• Full manuscript deadline: 29 February 2024

Dr. Golda Akhiezer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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