Societal Resilience. The word calls to mind defence budgets, emergency points and supplies of food and water in the basement. There is also much discussion around a “whole-of-society approach”. But what is the role of faith and the churches during existential crises such as war? What sources of spiritual and social resilience do churches have to offer?

In a long-lasting crisis, the existential and social resilience of society is decisive. In the war in Ukraine, the churches have taken on a fundamental role in caring for a society ravaged by war.

This symposium focuses on what the Netherlands can learn from Ukraine’s wartime experiences. This is all the more relevant in a secularized Netherlands, where religion and pastoral care are a blind spot for many policymakers.

The eminent sociologist of religion Professor José Casanova, author of Public Religions in the Modern World, will deliver the keynote lecture, followed by a response from Dr. Simon Polinder. Participants will engage in dialogue with a distinguished delegation of Ukrainian scholars from the Ukrainian Catholic University, who are travelling to the Netherlands especially for this event.

This event is a collaboration between Socires, the Catholic Study Network of Tilburg University and the Draiflessen Academy.