Indifference : Religious Boundaries in Question 1650-1750

The conference examines the changing meanings of religous indifference  in early modern Europe, tracing its role in both religious life and  the production of knowledge on religions. While authorities often   condemned indifference as spiritual laxity or confessional  disengagement, emerging intellectual and media cultures increasingly valued forms of impartiality, disinterest, and independence from prejudice. By approaching indifference as a social and epistemic practice rather than solely an intellectual concept, the event brings together interdisciplinary perspectives from the histories of religion and knowledge. Particular attention is given to questions of religious tolerance, objectivity and relativism, changing understandings of adiaphora, and the complex interplay between indifference and the reinforcement or erosion of social and confessional boundaries.