The 12th EASR Annual Conference will be hosted by the Bristish Association for the Study of Religions at Liverpool Hope University, 3-6 September 2013.

The conference theme will be RELIGION, MIGRATION, MUTATION.The 12th EASR Annual Conference will be hosted by the British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) at Liverpool Hope University. This will also be a Special Conference of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR).

The conference theme will be RELIGION, MIGRATION, MUTATION.

Please see 12th EASR Annual Conference web site for more information.

Call for Papers

The conference invites papers and panels  that examine what happens to religious beliefs and practices when they are displaced, and what occurs to religions when new cultural practices interact with them. The focus on transformation is not only to be taken in connection with movements of people but panels and papers are invited that deal with the issue of mutation in the broadest sense. We invite scholars from different disciplines to participate in the conference. RELIGION, MIGRATION, MUTATION is the 12th annual conference of the EASR and the second to be organised in collaboration with the BASR.

Panels will be 2 hours long and consist of 4 speakers (papers should be no more than 25 minutes long, allowing a 20 minute discussion period). Proposals should include Panel/Papers information: title, abstract for the panel and the individual papers (150 words), any unusual IT required, list of chair, panellists, and abstracts for both the panel and the individual papers.

Individual papers are welcomed.

Submission deadline has been extended: 15th June 2013

Proposed Papers and Panels should be sent to the Conference Administrator (Sara Fretheim): easrconference(à)hope.ac.uk

BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group Study Day

Making Sense of the Census
The SocRel Response

Venue: London
Date: 18 June 2013 (9.45-5.00)

The UK government Office for National Statistics (ONS) administers a census questionnaire every ten years. The purpose is to provide data to inform decisions about policy and resource allocation. In 2001, for the first time in its 150-year history, the census contained a question about religious identity. That question was repeated, with a slight variation, in 2011 and results are prompting debate and discussion amongst academics, religious leaders, faith groups, nonreligious groups and various other interested parties.

To help form a response from SocRel, our annual Study Day will develop a synthesis of SocRel analysis in order to inform wider public debates.

The event will be of empirical and theoretical interest, both empirical and theoretical, to scholars in anthropology, geography, history, philosophy, practical theology, psychology, religious studies, sociology and social policy as well as to those working in specific faith traditions.

Please find the full event programme attached.

The event is £40.00 for BSA/SocRel members; £50.00 for non-members; £20.00 for SocRel/BSA Postgraduate members/unwaged; £25.00 for Postgraduate non-members.

Registration is available via the BSA website at the following address:
http://portal.britsoc.co.uk/public/event/eventBooking.aspx?id=EVT10280

Risk and Rapture: Apocalyptic Imagination in Late Modernity

Centre for Faiths and Public Policy, University of Chester

Wednesday 11^th September 2013

Keynote Speaker: Professor Scott Lash(Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Apocalypse captivates the human imagination. Once synonymous with ‘end of the world’ scenarios and confined largely to the religious, the term is part of vernacular language in the West and is used to describe a myriad of events from the fiscal difficulties of the Eurozone to nuclear war, from environmental disaster to the dangers of digital technology.

The advancement of science and technology has assisted in expediting anxiety with regard to apocalyptic catastrophe because such ‘progress’ has produced unforeseen hazards and risks. Critical theories of risk have been developed that harness and organise responses to scientific developments in an attempt to provide solutions to possible catastrophe. It is suggested that in order to prevent global catastrophe, modern society must be reflexive. Moreover, the advent of such hazards has served as a recruiting sergeant for fundamentalist religious groups who have clear and explicit eschatologies. Rather than viewing possible risks and hazards as by-products of late modernity—‘signs of the times’, they are re-interpreted as ‘signs of the end times’. Consequently, one strand that runs through the above is the political implications of apocalyptic ideology and theories of risk. Whether this is the focus some Christian dispensationalist groups put on the role of the state of Israel in the Middle East, or the so-called catastrophic acceleration of global-warming, decisions based on interpretations of these inevitably have political ramifications.

The purpose of this inter-disciplinary conference is to investigate and evaluate some of the variety of apocalyptic discourse that exists in contemporary popular western culture along with critical theories of risk. Papers are invited that explore both the secular and religio-political dimensions of apocalyptic language in contemporary society and include, but not restricted to, the following themes:

• · Secular interpretations of apocalypse;
• · Religio-political apocalyptic discourse;
• · Critical theories that seek solutions to contemporary notions of risk;
• · Correlations between critical theories of risk and apocalyptic ideology;
• · The growth of fundamentalisms as a reaction to risk culture(s).

Proposals for short papers are invited on any aspects or themes related to the above. Papers will be 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes discussion. Applications to submit a paper should include:

• Proposer’s name and affiliation;
• · Title of the paper;
• · 250-word abstract;
• · Details of any audio-visual equipment you will need to deliver your paper.

Short paper proposals should be submitted toRiskraptureconf@chester.ac.uk by no later than 4pm on Monday 22nd April 2013.

Conference costs: £50 (£25 unwaged and students) inclusive of lunch and refreshments.

Conference registration will open in due course.