The Ateneo de Davao University’s Internationalization for Mindanao Office, in partnership with the Theology and Philosophy Departments, hosted a Pakighinabi (Conversations Series) on Religion with the theme: “Can religions be political? Should they?” last 13 May 2021 via Zoom conference. The learning session discussed the intersections of religion and politics. It explored how religious identities affect political stances or its reverse–how political identities influence a person’s religious beliefs and practices.
The lead discussant for this Pakighinabi is Fr. Felix Körner, S.J. from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Fr. Felix Körner, S.J. is a German Jesuit priest and a scholar of Islam. He holds a doctorate in Islamic Studies and has lived in Syria and Turkey for his research. After a second doctorate, in Catholic dogmatics, he was called to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome: an academic institution founded in 1553 by Ignatius of Loyola and now famous for its mission to form future leaders of the universal Church from more than 120 countries. He then moved to Berlin to conduct research on contemporary Islamic Theology at universities in the German-speaking world.
Fr. Körner lectures on the Catholic faith, intra-Christian dialogue, and Muslim–Christian relations. His most recent book is “Political Religion. How Christianity and Islam Shape the World” (Paulist) 2020.