ENDS AND BEGINNINGS, Annual Conference of the European Association of the Study of Religion (EASR)

Södertörn University, Stockholm. 23-26 August, 2012

Religion, it has been claimed, is generated by our desire to escape from the tyranny of time. Through certain thoughts and practices, people have sought to evade the end that our temporal existence so inevitably seems to lead up to. Religion often circles around the promise of a new beginning – a prosperous life in this world or a renewed existence in the hereafter. In the Abrahamic traditions, humankind is placed at the heart of a cosmic drama that is framed by notions of an absolute beginning, an apocalyptic end, and, beyond that, an eternity that obliterates the boundaries of time. Ritualized activities, furthermore, are often performed as expressions or celebrations of ends and beginnings – of seasons, communities or of phases in an individual’s life.

All these matters have attracted the attention of scholars of religion, as has the larger question of whether there can be said to be a beginning or an end of religion in general. Can we – in the darkness of prehistory or in the evolution of human cognition – localise a beginning of religion? And, is it – in a time when theories of secularisation, rationalisation and disenchantment are increasingly put into question – still possible to speak of the decline of religion or of its end?
We are pleased to invite scholars of different disciplines to take part in this conference, by which we hope to stimulate theoretical, methodological and empirical progress within the academic study of religion. Ends and beginnings is the 11th annual conference of EASR (European Association for the Study of Religion). It is organized in collaboration with SSRF (Swedish Association for the History of Religions).
Abstract submission deadline: 1 May, 2012

It is now possible to pre-register to the conference. In order to preregister, please use the link below.

We now also accept abstracts for panels, these may be submitted by following the same link below. Abstracts for individual papers will be possible to submit from January 2012. If you have pre-registered you will be sent an e-mail to remind you of this.

Preregistration and Panel sessions

Submit abstracts here