Posted on by Beth News, Uncategorized

Funding opportunity: The John Templeton Foundation is launching a $3m funding competition to advance the scientific study of religious cognition

Note that this special call includes how atheists think
about supernatural agents; note also the general open-submission call for
grant proposals, to which proposals on all aspects of non-religion are
welcomed.

The John Templeton Foundation is launching a $3m funding competition to
advance the scientific study of religious cognition.

Purpose and scope: Scientific descriptions of how people think about God
and gods are currently fragmented across sub-disciplines of the
psychological, cognitive, and social sciences. This competition is
designed to promote integration of ten existing lines of research and to
generate and test new hypotheses that emerge from this integration.
Applicants may request up to $250,000 for empirical or conceptual projects
of up to 30 months in duration.

Eligibility: The competition is open to researchers worldwide. Proposals
are encouraged from — but not limited to — scholars in the disciplines
of psychology, cognitive science, anthropology, religious studies,
sociology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science.

Deadline: October 1, 2013

Full details are available at
http://www.templeton.org/what-we-fund/funding-competitions/gods-in-minds-the-science-of-religious-cognition

============================================================================================

Note also that the Fall Funding Cycle for open submission is now open, and
that proposals relating to all topics within the Foundation’s core funding
areas (which range from quantum physics to religious nones to archaeology)
are also welcome; visit https://portal.templeton.org/login to apply. The
deadline for core area proposals is also October 1.

Learn more about JTF’s grantmaking process here:
http://www.templeton.org/what-we-fund/our-grantmaking-process

Learn more about Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic vision here:
http://www.templeton.org/sir-john-templeton/philanthropic-vision

============================================================================================

Posted on by Beth News

CFP: Post-Secularism: Between Public Reason and Political Theology

Post-Secularism: Between Public Reason and Political Theology

A Special Issue of THE EUROPEAN LEGACY

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cele20/current

Guest Editors:

Camil Ungureanu (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona)

Lasse Thomassen (Queen Mary, University of London)

This special issue is scheduled for late 2014.

CALL FOR PAPERS

In recent years, leading philosophers, including  Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and or John D. Caputo, have criticized “old-style” secularism and proposed instead  a post-secular model  for understanding the relation of religion and democracy, faith and reason. There are however profound theoretical and practical divergences in the post-secular models proposed. First, what are the precise characteristics of post-secularism as a philosophical alternative? In what sense could it be said to break with secularism? Second, what are the practical political and legal consequences of adhering to a post-secular approach? From a critical theoretical perspective, Habermas focuses on a revised concept of public reason and deliberation in promoting an active interaction of democracy and religion. From a hermeneutical perspective, Taylor’s recent work centres on the new “conditions of belief” and the dilemmas inherent to both religious and atheist experience. In contrast, Caputo and Richard Kearney develop a Derridean aporetic understanding of the nexus of democracy and religion, faith and reason, whereas Hent de Vries, William Connolly and Simon Critchley reject Habermas’s rationalist approach and propose a distinct understanding of post-secularism by focusing on Schmitt’s and Benjamin’s re-appropriation of the tenets of Saint Paul in their political-theological works. Although these trends have been studied to some extent, there has been no sustained attempt so far to subject them to a comparative analysis that would more fully address the issue of “post-secularism.”

Our “Call for Papers” invites scholars to submit a study, with a comparative dimension, that addresses both the philosophical import and the practical-political effects of the post-secular alternative. The work of the following authors will be at the centre of our proposed special issue: Habermas, Taylor, Caputo, Critchley, Connolly, Gianni Vattimo, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Žižek, Giorgio Agamben,  and Jean-Luc Nancy. Comparative studies that focus on various religious traditions (Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Confucian, etc.) and theologians, and those that focus on the public role of religion in democracy (e.g., Rawls, Weithman, Wolterstorff) are particularly welcome.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

–          Significance and varieties of post-secularism

–          Open secularity, post-secularism or political theology?

–          Deliberative post-secularism or political liberalism

–          Post-secularism: religious imagination and practice (Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Confucian, Buddhist, etc.)

–          Discussion of (legal, moral or political) practical cases from a post-secular perspective

–          Is political theology useful for re-thinking democracy?

–          Varieties of political theology today

–          Re-thinking the legacy of Saint Paul

–          Visions of sovereignty: between proceduralism and political theology

–          Faith: religious? secular?

–          Post-secularism and feminism

–          The state of exception between deliberation and political decision

–          Rethinking solidarity from a post-secular perspective

Deadline for submissions: 27 October 2013

Length of essay: 6,000-8,000 words, including notes. (For the referencing style, please consult http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cele20/current).

Potential contributors are welcome to contact the editors to discuss their proposed essay.

Camil Ungureanu (camil.ungureanu@upf.edu)

Lasse Thomassen (l.thomassen@qmul.ac.uk)

Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html. Current posts are also available via Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/PhilosL. Discussions should be moved to chora: enrol via http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/chora.html.

Posted on by Beth Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: RELIGIOUS DIVERSIFICATION WORLDWIDE AND IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

ISORECEA in cooperation with Vytautas Magnus University

and Lithuanian Society for the Study of Religions

CALL FOR PAPERS

11th ISORECEA conference

RELIGIOUS DIVERSIFICATION WORLDWIDE AND IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 

 

Kaunas, Lithuania, April 24-27, 2014

 

For a long time the secularization thesis dominated the field of studies of religions in contemporary societies. Many definitions and even more explanations of the process of secularization in contemporary societies led scholars of religions to search for new theoretical insights about the rapidly changing global social situation. Opponents of this paradigm claim that we are witnessing growing religious vitality at religious market or change in religion itself – here we find the privatization thesis, precarious religion or religious bricolage. Independently of how we approach it from theoretical perspective religious diversification is the process that is evident in the majority of contemporary societies. It is manifested through numerous religious traditions and new emerging religious communities not only within the religious traditions, but also at the individual level, as well as by the increasing number of non-believers and non-adherents, etc.

In many cases Central and Eastern European societies have been analyzed as places where the monopoly of scientific atheism was replaced by the monopolies of national churches. But after more than twenty years of the post-communist period, religious diversification processes within these societies is visibly emerging, despite the fact that the dominance of the so-called national churches is still obvious.

How do worldwide and CEE societies adapt to religious diversification? How do religious communities approach the diversification of religion? How do states react towards the changing situation? How do worldwide and CEE societies differ from each other in relation to religious diversification?

We would like to approach these questions in the forthcoming international conference and to encourage scholars from various parts of the world to share their theoretical and empirical insights about religious diversification.

In this conference we also invite discussion of the following topics:

·        Religious diversification and Church and State relations;

·        Religious tolerance and discrimination;

·        Religious minorities and majorities;

·        Religious diversification and human rights;

·        Religious diversification and social participation;

·        Religious diversification and social exclusion;

·        Religious diversification and media;

·        Religiosity or Spirituality – within or outside religious institutions.

Please submit a 250-300 words abstract of your presentation by e-mail to: isorecea2014@smf.vdu.lt by November 15, 2013. If you are interested in another topic related to the study of religion in the CEE or worldwide, we encourage you to organize a session/panel. In this case, please submit a 200-300 words proposal by November 15, 2013 to the same email address.

Key dates

Submission of paper and session/panel proposals – November 15, 2013

Notification of acceptance and opening of the registration – December 15, 2013

The final date of the registration for the conference – January 31, 2014

Final program – February 20, 2014

Posted on by Beth Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: (Non)religion in Question: Ethics, Equality and Justice.

ISA World Congress

Yokohama, Japan; July 13-19, 2014

Theme – Facing an Unequal World: Challenges for a Global Sociology

RC22 theme is “Religion and Social Inequality”

Chair and Discussant: Johannes Quack and Jonathan VanAntwerpen

(Non)religion in Question: Ethics, Equality and Justice.

Call for Abstracts

Dear Colleagues,

You are invited to submit an abstract for possible inclusion in this session.

Recent research shows how in different parts of the world expressive nonreligiosity goes hand in hand with aims for social reform. Competing visions of ontology and normative orders are played out in societal battles over education, sexual rights, gender equality and social justice. For a number of outspokenly nonreligious groups in Europe, the United States, but also the Philippines, India and other regions, demonstrating the secular nature of our world is a key strategy in socio-political activism.

Concurrently, the normative and ontological base of secularism has been criticized as a culturally specific yet powerful form of moderating legitimacy. Secularism has thus been discussed in relation to the legal and moral reshaping of colonial states. In a similar take political liberalism has been the subject of considerable debate regarding its potential to grant equal access to the public sphere to both secular and religious citizens.

More research about how (non)religious ways of ‘being in the world’ and social activism are linked is needed. The panel therefore provides space to discuss the multiple entanglements of (non)religion with questions of justice, equality, and ethics. Conceptual contributions, as well as empirical research from different regions are welcome.

Deadline for submission is September 30th 2013 as laid out in the conference guidelines. Please submit the abstract (max 300 words) at:

http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2014/rc/rc.php?n=RC22.

We wish to thank you in advance for your interest and look forward to your contributions.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate contacting us.

–          s.schenk@em.uni-frankfurt.de

–          Schuh@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Best regards,

Susanne Schenk, Cora Schuh (Session Organizers)

(http://www.nonreligion.net)

Posted on by Beth News and Events

Event: Forum on Religion Seminar at LSE

Secular Temples

Speaker: Courtney Bender (Columbia University)
Chair: Lois Lee (Kent University)

Date: Monday 22 July
Time: 3pm – 5pm
Venue: Seligman Library, LSE, 6th Floor Old Building

Co-sponsored with the Centre for Religion in Contemporary Society, University of Kent

In this informal seminar, Professor Bender will discuss some of her recent research on art museums in New York City. Join us for what promises to be a stimulating conversation and exchange with one of the most prominent sociologists of religion in the US.

Posted on by Beth Calls for Papers, News and Events

CFP: ISA World Congress–(Non)religion in Question: Ethics, Equality and Justice.

ISA World Congress
Yokohama, Japan; July 13-19, 2014
Theme – Facing an Unequal World: Challenges for a Global Sociology
RC22 theme is “Religion and Social Inequality”
Call for Papers: (Non)religion in Question: Ethics, Equality and Justice.

Dear Colleagues,
You are invited to submit an abstract for possible inclusion in this session.
Recent research shows how in different parts of the world expressive nonreligiosity goes hand in hand with aims for social reform. Competing visions of ontology and normative orders are played out in societal battles over education, sexual rights, gender equality and social justice. For a number of outspokenly nonreligious groups in Europe, the United States, but also the Philippines, India and other regions, demonstrating the secular nature of our world is a key strategy in socio-political activism.

Concurrently, the normative and ontological base of secularism has been criticized as a culturally specific yet powerful form of moderating legitimacy. Secularism has thus been discussed in relation to the legal and moral reshaping of colonial states. In a similar take political liberalism has been the subject of considerable debate regarding its potential to grant equal access to the public sphere to both secular and religious citizens.

More research about how (non)religious ways of ‘being in the world’ and social activism are linked is needed. The panel therefore provides space to discuss the multiple entanglements of (non)religion with questions of justice, equality, and ethics. Conceptual contributions, as well as empirical research from different regions are welcome.

Chair and Discussant: Johannes Quack and Jonathan VanAntwerpen
Deadline for submission is September 30th 2013 as laid out in the conference guidelines. Please submit the abstract (max 300 words) at:
http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2014/rc/rc.php?n=RC22

We wish to thank you in advance for your interest and look forward to your contributions.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate contacting us.
– s.schenk@em.uni-frankfurt.de
– Schuh@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Best regards,
Susanne Schenk, Cora Schuh (Session Organizers)
(http://www.nonreligion.net)

Posted on by Chris Publications

83 Additions to the NSRN Bibliography

83 new items have been added to the NSRN Bibliography which now boasts 745 entries relevant to the broad remit of the NSRN. These latest additions can be viewed here:

http://nsrn.net/bibliography/bibliography-additions/

As always, if you spot anything that we have missed please get in touch via the comments box here:

http://nsrn.net/bibliography/

 

Posted on by Beth News

Position available: William Temple Foundation Assistant Director: Communications and Development

The trustees of the 

William Temple Foundation

wish to appoint an

Assistant Director: Communications and Development

We are looking for someone who can make a significant contribution to the development of the William Temple Foundation’s influence in the growing debate about the relationship between religion, society, economics and human flourishing. The successful candidate will be either London or North West based, and have skills in communication, media relations and network creation as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of social justice, politics and faith communities.

The post holder will achieve their goals by:

  • Engaging with potential new stakeholders in public life, the churches and the academy
  •   Generating media networks for the dissemination of research findings, including front of camera and audio representative work
  • Using social media for tweeting and re-presenting research findings for public and media engagement with the work of the William Temple Foundation.
  • Working collaboratively on scoping new research projects and funding bids with our Research Director and Senior Honorary Fellows.

The successful candidate will enjoy enhanced opportunities for networking, research and travel in an exciting and expanding area of public policy and research, engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders including the faith and voluntary sector, media (at all levels), academic departments and think tanks, the public and private sector and government policy makers. For the right person and with the anticipated growth of the William Temple Foundation’s work there could be the possibility to extend the role to include the conducting, writing up and publishing of empirical research projects.

This is an appointment on a three year fixed-term contract. The post is 25 hours a week on an annual salary of approximately £30, 000 (paid pro-rata).

For the application pack see the William Temple Foundation’s website www.wtf.org.uk or contact:

Dr Chris Baker

Director of Research, William Temple Foundation

Tel: 07779000021

E-mail: chris.baker@wtf.org.uk.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 23rd July 2013 in Manchester

Applications to be made by Friday 12th July 2013

  

Posted on by Beth News

Position available: William Temple Foundation Assistant Director: Communications and Development

 

The trustees of the

 

William Temple Foundation

 

wish to appoint an

 

Assistant Director: Communications and Development

 

We are looking for someone who can make a significant contribution to the development of the William Temple Foundation’s influence in the growing debate about the relationship between religion, society, economics and human flourishing. The successful candidate will be either London or North West based, and have skills in communication, media relations and network creation as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of social justice, politics and faith communities.

 

The post holder will achieve their goals by:

  • Engaging with potential new stakeholders in public life, the churches and the academy
  •   Generating media networks for the dissemination of research findings, including front of camera and audio representative work
  • Using social media for tweeting and re-presenting research findings for public and media engagement with the work of the William Temple Foundation.
  • Working collaboratively on scoping new research projects and funding bids with our Research Director and Senior Honorary Fellows.

 

The successful candidate will enjoy enhanced opportunities for networking, research and travel in an exciting and expanding area of public policy and research, engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders including the faith and voluntary sector, media (at all levels), academic departments and think tanks, the public and private sector and government policy makers. For the right person and with the anticipated growth of the William Temple Foundation’s work there could be the possibility to extend the role to include the conducting, writing up and publishing of empirical research projects.

 

This is an appointment on a three year fixed-term contract. The post is 25 hours a week on an annual salary of approximately £30, 000 (paid pro-rata).

 

For the application pack see the William Temple Foundation’s website www.wtf.org.uk or contact:

Dr Chris Baker

Director of Research, William Temple Foundation

 

Tel: 07779000021

E-mail: chris.baker@wtf.org.uk.

 

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 23rd July 2013 in Manchester

Applications to be made by Friday 12th July 2013

 

Posted on by Beth News

PSA specialist group on politics and religion

Here’s a new proposal for a PSA specialist group on politics and religion (including nonreligion) by Steve Kettel:
Dear colleagues,
We are currently in the process of setting-up a new PSA specialist group on politics and religion. The remit of the group will be broad, and will cover all aspects of the interrelationship between religious (as well as ‘non-religious’ – e.g. secularism, secularisation, atheism etc.) and political issues. At the moment we are finalising the  proposal for consideration by the PSA, and are looking to see how many potential members might be interested. Membership will be free, but is only open to members of the UK’s Political Studies Association. If you would like to be included as a potential member (at the moment this is all non-committal), then please send your details (name, institution etc.) to Steven Kettell (s.kettell@warwick.ac.uk). The proposal is going to the PSA on Wednesday 19 June (this has all come together fairly late in the day), so it would be great to have as many names as possible ahead of this deadline.
Thanks,
Steve Kettell