The book Contemporary Anatheism was presented at a conference April 19 in the Sala Viglione of Palazzo Lascaris, seat of the Regional Council of Piedmont.
Anatheism is a term describing the middle ground between atheism and unconditional belief. The term was coined by sociologist Richard Kearney who drew inspiration from the term atheism, meaning absence of the concept of God or religious belief, and the Greek preposition ana to indicate “ascent towards” or” “return to” theism—towards the Supreme Being.
In December 2016, the Church of Scientology, the Buddhist Information Center and Observatory on Religious Pluralism organized a congress at Palazzo Lascaris called “Forms of Contemporary Anatheism.” University professors, researchers, and experts on the history and phenomenology of religion and representatives of various religious traditions participated.
Contemporary Anatheism is edited by Italian sociologist Luigi Berzano to continue and deepen the research on anatheism. “This publication represents a very important scientific work because it opens wide glimpses and nourishes concrete hopes in overcoming ideological and cultural barriers, which must be demolished if we are to achieve a more peaceful and constructive society,” said professor Berzano.
Speakers included Giuseppe Cicogna of the Church of Scientology Turin, Bruno Portigliatti of the Buddhist Information Center, and Fabrizio d’Agostino of the NGO Interdependence.
Luigi Berzano, editor of the volume, is professor in the Department of Cultures, Politic and Society of the University of Turin, national coordinator of the Scientific Council of Religion Section of the Italian Association of Sociology, and president of Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR).
From its beginnings, the Church of Scientology has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. In a world where conflicts are often traceable to intolerance of others’ religious beliefs and practices, the Church has, for more than 50 years, made the preservation of religious liberty an overriding concern.
The Church publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
