Rome Summer Seminars
The Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics are a two-week program for graduate students working at the crossroads of religion and global politics. They are designed to draw on the unique religious and geopolitical resources of the city of Rome and include public panels, lectures by experts in the field and seminars with international scholars and members of the steering committee. Students will present their research in writing workshops, visit sites of religion and global politics in Rome, and participate in a policy dialogue for senior scholars and practitioners.
The Seminars aspire to become a hub for innovative reflection on religion and politics and to form a new network of scholars and leaders equipped with the religious knowledge, academic training and policy expertise to effectively engage major policy debates on religion and global affairs. Students will explore key themes emerging in the field of religion and global politics and meet with religious leaders, scholars and policy-makers from across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Keynote speakers from the previous editions include Anna Gryzmala-Busse (Stanford), Kristina Stoeckl (LUISS), Cenap Aydin (Istituto Tevere), Scott Appleby (Notre Dame), Mohammed Hashas (Tor Vergata), Olivier Roy (European University Institute), David Buckley (University of Louisville), Massimo Faggioli (Trinity), Alberta Giorgi (University of Bergamo), Petr Kratochvil (Prague), Mahan Mirza (Notre Dame), Jocelyne Cesari (Georgetown) and Anna Rowlands (Durham University), among others.
The 2026 Rome Summer Seminars will run from June 17-July 1, 2026.
Accommodation and Meals
Participants will be offered lodging at the Australian Catholic University’s newly renovated center on the Janiculum hill. Breakfast, working lunches and a number of evening meals are included in the program.
Tuition
Thanks to generous funding from the University of Notre Dame and Hanns Seidel Stiftung, tuition for the 2-week program (including accommodation, meals as above and participation in the international symposium) will be 500euros (excluding travel costs, which will be the responsibility of the participant). Students who do not have access to research funds may apply for a limited number of tuition scholarships through the program.
Venue and Visits
Most lectures and writing workshops will be held at the University of Notre Dame Rome near the Colosseum in Rome. The program will also include daily visits to major institutions and personalities engaged in religion and global policy making in the city, such as Foreign Embassies to the Holy See, religious organizations, international institutions, and pontifical institutes active in interreligious dialogue, immigration and conflict resolution.
Writing Workshop
The program is primarily aimed at Doctoral students although advanced MA students with particularly strong applications may be considered. During the writing workshop, graduate students will present early stages of their research, including dissertation chapters, theoretical frameworks, fieldwork strategies and articles to be submitted for publication.
Each day will include a discussion seminar and a writing forum in which students will present their work and receive feedback from a core of scholars teaching in the seminars. Throughout the week, students will also visit Rome-based religious-political institutions and attend a number of keynote lectures with established scholars in the field of religion and politics. Students who successfully complete the program will receive a formal certificate of participation.
Note: The Rome Summer Seminars is a competitive program with 15 spots available each year. Participants who are accepted into the program are expected to be present in the program throughout its entire two weeks and actively participate in all of its events and activities.
Policy Dialogue
The program includes participation in an international conference or policy dialogue for scholars, policymakers, religious representatives and other civil society actors. Over the first three editions of the Seminars, the policy dialogue was organized together with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, through the ‘Religions and International Relations’ initiative launched by the Policy Planning Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in co-operation with the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI). This policy program has sought to sustain a high-level discussion on the role of religion in international affairs by gathering together scholars of religions and international relations, diplomats and policymakers, media actors and religious representatives, as well as movements and associations active in inter-religious dialogue. The 2022 policy dialogue was on the theme of religious engagement and the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The theme of the 2023 policy dialogue was “Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Contemporary Global Crises.” In 2024, the policy dialogue was held on the theme of “Religious & Interreligious Engagement in Peacebuilding in the Middle East Crisis.” In 2024 and 2025 Students also participated in a conference co-sponsored by the Atlantic Council on “Religious Freedom and Integral Human Development,” as well as the Interparliamentary Union conference on Interfaith Dialogue (in 2025). Students attending the Summer Seminars have contributed to writing Policy Dossiers following the policy dialogues.
Partners and Organizational Structure
The Rome Summer Seminars’ organizational model is a multi-member collaborative consortium which combines scholarship, policy expertise and religious knowledge. The consortium builds on existing partnerships between the following institutions: the University of Notre Dame Rome, Keough School of Global Affairs and Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion; the Pontifical Gregorian University (PUG); the Sinderesi Foundation; the Adyan Foundation of Lebanon; the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies of Jordan; the University of Sussex Religion & Foreign Policy Initiative; the Hanns Seidel Stiftung and John Cabot University (JCU).
The Rome Summer Seminars are generously funded by the University of Notre Dame Rome, the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, the Hanns Seidel Stiftung in Rome, and John Cabot University. It has also been held under the high patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Steering Committee
- Michael Driessen (John Cabot University, program director)
- Samuele Sangalli (Gregorian University/Sinderesi, associate director)
- Mahan Mirza (Ansari Institute, Notre Dame)
- Fabio Petito (Sussex University)
- Antonella Piccinin (Gregorian University/Notre Dame Rome)
- Nayla Tabbara/Fadi Hachem (Adyan Foundation)
- Renee Hattar (Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies)
Advisory Board
- Scott Appleby (Keough School, Notre Dame)
- Azza Karam (Vrije Universiteit/Lead Integrity)
- Fadi Daou (Globethics)
- Pasquale Ferrara (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/LUISS)
- Anna Rowlands (Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham)
- Kristina Stoeckl (LUISS - Libera Università di Scienze Sociali Guido Carli)
Supporting Institutions
- Adyan Foundation, Lebanon
- Angelicum Pontifical University John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue
- Fondazione Sinderesi
- Gregorian Pontifical University
- Hans Seidel Stiftung
- Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI)
- Istituto Tevere Dialogue Center
- John Cabot University
- Religions for Peace
- Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies, Jordan
- Sophia University Institute
- University of Cambridge, Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry
- University of Durham, Centre for Catholic Studies
- University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame Rome, Keough School of Global Affairs and Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, together with Center for Italian Studies and Nanovic Institute for European Studies)
- University of St Andrews, Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics
- University of Sussex, Freedom of Religion or Belief & Foreign Policy Initiative
Applications for the 2026 Rome Summer Seminars on Religion and Global Politics are currently closed. If you are interested in learning more about opportunities in the future please contact ansari@nd.edu.