PC(USA) is among the conveners for a week-long conference on Christian Zionism

The hybrid conference begins Friday in Santiago, Chile

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is among a half-dozen organizations convening the week-long “Christian Zionism and Religious, Political and Economic Fundamentalisms: A Palestinian-Latin American Conversation,” Nov. 4-11 in Santiago, Chile, and available online as well.

In addition to the PC(USA), fellow co-convening organizations are Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, Palestine; the Evangelical Theological Community of Chile; the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America; the World Communion of Reformed Churches; and Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

The conference is supported by the Edward Said Chair of Palestinian Studies, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in the University of Buenos Aires, and Nueva Editorial Canaan.

In both Latin America and the Middle East, diverse and opposing socio-religious, political and economic forces compete to determine the future of these societies. The legacy of colonialism in both regions is expressed in systems of apartheid that allow the powerful to subjugate marginalized peoples. In the religious sphere, fundamentalist movements and doctrines such as Christian Zionism have proven useful for this mission.

This academic and interdisciplinary event aims to initiate an innovative and thoughtful exploration of these issues. It will bring together academics, religious leaders, activists, journalists and ecumenical organizations, mostly from Latin America and Palestine. It will also seek to strengthen the ties of solidarity between Palestine and Latin America.

This Palestinian-Latin American dialogue will explore the following themes:

• Global apartheid and systems of exclusion with testimonies from Palestine and Latin America
• Geopolitical analysis of the current moment including trends and differences in Latin America and Palestine
• Christian Zionism and religious fundamentalism in Latin America, with additional perspectives from the Jewish and Muslim worlds
• The role of the mass media in the construction of fundamentalist narratives.
• The sacralization of politics and the weaponization of sacred texts.
• Militarization and surveillance for social control.
• Responses and strategies to challenge apartheid, Christian Zionism and the “Palestinianization” of excluded sectors in our contexts.

The event will feature the participation (live or virtual) of specialists from Palestine, Latin America and other territories. Confirmed names include:

• Mitri Raheb (Palestine)
• Nadeera Shalhoub-Kevorkian (Palestine)
• Hatem Bazian (Palestine/United States)
• Khouloud Daibes (Palestine)
• Muna Nassar (Palestine)
• Nadim Rouhana (Palestine)
• Xavier Abu Eid (Chile/Palestine)
• Allan Boesak (South Africa)
• Yakov Rabkin (Canada)
• Álvaro Ramis (Chile)
• Magali do Nascimento Cunha (Brazil)
• Silvana Rabinovich (Argentina/Mexico)
• Maria das Dores Campos Machado (Brazil)
• Juan Francisco Caraballo (Puerto Rico)
• Delia Leal (Guatemala)
• Isabel Rikkers (El Salvador/Colombia)
• Rudolf von Sinner (Switzerland/Brazil)
• A representative of the Mapuche people

Information about registration is available here. Learn more by sending an email to Louisa Gallup. Reach Gallup here.