War as the Father of All Things: "Dialogue in Action" Held a Special Panel on the Agency of Religious Actors at the European Academy of Religion Conference in Rome

The 9th annual conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) took place on June 30 – July 3 at LUISS University in Rome, bringing together more than 1,200 participants from around the world.

This year's conference theme was religion and the problem of (in)equality. Poverty, social exclusion, discrimination, legal inequality, and gender disparity all lie at the root of many of the challenges shaping contemporary societies. Religion's role in these processes has always been double-edged: historically, it has contributed to entrenching hierarchical models of social order, while at the same time serving as a foundation for ideas of equal dignity, charity, social service, peace, and justice. EuARe 2026 brought together scholars from theology, the social sciences, history, and law to explore this complex interplay between religion and questions of equality and hierarchy.

Within the conference, "Dialogue in Action" – an affiliated member of the Academy – held its own panel, organized by the organization's co-founders Denys Brylov and Tetiana Kalenychenko. The panel focused on the agency and evolving role of religious communities and believers amid Russia's war against Ukraine, and symbolically opened at 9:00 a.m. with a moment of silence for those killed in the war.

"War becomes a catalyst for profound change, and despite the losses and grief, it opens a window of opportunity – an opportunity to rethink the Church's mission, its own roles for society, and what religious communities actually want in the context of the country's postwar recovery," said Tetiana.

Panel participants included:

• Dmytro Vovk (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, USA)
• Peter Mandaville (Georgetown University, Berkley Center, USA)
• Regina Elsner (University of Münster, Germany)
• Andrii Fert (Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine)
• Catherine Wanner (Penn State University, USA)
• Denys Brylov (Dialogue in Action and A. Yu. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)
• Tetiana Kalenychenko (Dialogue in Action and Sankt Ignatios College)

Participants discussed church-state relations and the dilemmas of religious freedom at the intersection of security concerns, as well as the distinct role religious actors play in shaping moral codes – and how that morality is tested by war and reshaped under its pressures.

We thank the conference organizers for their tremendous work, and extend particular thanks to Dr. Kristina Stoeckl for her support in facilitating the participation of the Dialogue in Action team as a part of POLISMOD project.

The European Academy of Religion is the leading platform for academic research on religion and its role in society. The Academy's mission is to connect scholars, advance research, raise academic standards, and foster awareness of religion's role in the public sphere. "Dialogue in Action" is an affiliated member of the European Academy of Religion.