Religion has been, and continues to be, central to any notion of citizenship. The ideal of a rights-bearing citizen has its roots in assertions of freedom from religious persecution. While the separation of church and state continues to serve as a foundational principle for secular states, religion remains entwined with those states and the public lives of their citizens. Communitarian thinkers argue that this is as it should be, religion provides purpose and value to community membership and cannot be removed from any meaningful definition of citizenship. Despite claims for secular tolerance of religious beliefs, exclusions from citizenship are too often based on religious differences, differences that can also involve ethnic and racial identity. Tensions created by religious exclusion, persecution, and discrimination can further impact citizenship by fueling secessionist movements, political revolutions, and genocides.

The theme of this year's conference, "Religion and Citizenship," will explore the role of religion - practice and concept - in the recognition and exercise of citizenship over a three-day conference. The subject includes a broad range of philosophical, legal, and historical matters, such as the extent of religious influence on governance, the use of religion to restrict ascription of citizenship, and the positing of limits to citizens' legitimate relationships with foreign nations or to their activities in opposition to their own governments. Papers may also deal with such issues as the enforcement and crossing of national borders, the relations (political, cultural, economic, social, artistic, environmental) between religious and government entities, or the consequences of religious identity or practice for citizens' participation in global or regional commerce, their realization of human rights, or their susceptibility to transnational law enforcement.