Maciej Potz

Maciej Potz is a Full Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Systems, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Łódź, Poland. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2006 from the Silesian University in Katowice and his post-doctoral degree from the University of Łódź in 2017, both in political science. His research focuses on political theory (especially theory of power and democratic theory) and political science of religion. Within the latter, he is specifically interested in theocracies and political strategies of religious actors in contemporary democracies, especially Poland and the United States. As a Foundation for Polish Science scholar, prof. Potz made research visits to Sabbathday Lake, Maine and Salt Lake City, Utah to study Shakers and Mormons, respectively.

His publications include monographs on religious freedom and the relations between religion and the state in the United States (Granice wolności religijnej [The Limits of Religious Liberty], 2008; 2nd ed. 2015) and American theocracies (Amerykańskie teokracje. Źródła i mechanizmy władzy usankcjonowanej religijnie [American theocracies. The Sources and Mechanisms of Religiously Sanctioned Power], 2016), as well as several articles, including in Religion, State and Society, Journal of Political Power, Politics and Religion Journal, Studia Religiologica. His recent book, Political Science of Religion – Theorising the Political Role of Religion, is forthcoming in 2019 in Palgrave.

Maciej Potz has taught political science and religion–related courses in the University of Łódź and has given guest lectures at several European universities, including the University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow, Buskerund College and NTNU (Norway), University of Joensuu (Finland), University of La Laguna (Spain), University of Olomouc (Czech Republic). He was a tutor at the International Summer School “Grey Zones of Politics” in Moswcow and Poznan in 2017. He has participated in a number of international conferences, including IPSA World Congresses of Political Science in Santiago (2009), Madrid (2012) and Poznań (2016) and Religion and Spirituality in Society in Granada, Spain (2019).

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