Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network Conference

8-10 September 2025

Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

Extended deadline for session and paper proposals: 31 March 2025

Scholarly discussions on nonreligion often begin by noting that nonreligion and its related phenomena are primarily studied within Western, particularly Anglophone contexts, with recent efforts to expand global perspectives. However, these broad categorizations – “Western,” “Anglophone,” or “global North or South” – oversimplify the notable diversity of nonreligion within those demarcations. Various phenomena that are considered nonreligious emerge from complex intersections of national histories, political contexts, and religious influences – or the absence thereof – while simultaneously being shaped by global media and generational dynamics.

The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) invites paper and session proposals for its 2025 conference, Nonreligion and Secularity at Cultural Crossroads. We aim to explore how secularity and nonreligion function and are manifested in various contexts, social and cultural interconnections, and power relations. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Theoretical and methodological challenges of studying nonreligion and secularity – (alternative) conceptualizations of nonreligion; liminalities and ambiguous forms of nonreligion; nonreligion and language
• Nonreligion among minority and majority populations – how its reach affects the perceived boundaries of nonreligion and its “important others”
• Virtual secularities and nonreligion – how nonreligion is shaped within social networks on the internet
• Secularity and state – different aspects of the position of non-religion in different states; regional and global forms and manifestations of nonreligion
• Nonreligion and values – nonreligion in changing cultural landscapes and how the cultural context influences what is considered nonreligion
• Nonreligion and demographics – the aspects of age, gender, and generations, socialization into nonreligion

We welcome scholars at any career stage (we especially encourage PhD-students) from sociology, anthropology, religious studies, demography, and other fields to apply and bring interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies.

The 2025 NSRN conference will take place as a face-to-face conference that will be held in partnership with the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, and Comenius University in Bratislava.

We expect the participants who present their papers, to join us in person in Bratislava, Slovakia from 8-10 September 2025. However, there will be an opportunity to listen to the presentations and ask questions via Zoom throughout the conference. There will be no fee to attend the 2025 NSRN conference either in person or virtually.

Instructions for submitting session and paper proposals:

Each individual may only present one paper at the 2025 conference, on top of being a co-author on other papers, chairing/organizing a session, and/or being part of an author-meets-critics session. Each session will be allocated a 1h30min time slot during the conference.

To submit a paper proposal:

• Title of the paper
• Abstract of the paper (max. 150 words)
• First and last name, institutional affiliation, title/position, and contact e-mail address of the primary author
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact e-mail address(es) of the co-author(s) (if applicable)

To submit a session proposal (with 3-4 papers and a chair):

• Title of the session
• Abstract of the session (max. 150 words)
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact e-mail address(es) of the session chair and organizer
• Titles of each of the (3-4) papers
• Abstracts of each of the (3-4) papers (150 words max. each)
• First and last names, institutional affiliations, titles/positions, and contact e-mail addresses for each paper’s primary author and co-author(s)

To submit an author-meets-critics session:

• Book title, publication year, and press
• Book abstract (150 words max.)
• First and last name, institutional affiliation, title/position, and contact e-mail address of the session organizer
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact

e-mail address(es) of the book’s author(s)

• First and last names, institutional affiliations, titles/positions, and contact e-mail addresses for each of the (2-4) critics

All paper and session proposals must be e-mailed to nsrnconference2025@gmail.com by the end of the day on 31 March 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be e-mailed to conference participants by April 15, 2025. Preliminary program will be sent out by the end of May 2025, registration date is June 30, 2025 at the latest.

For any questions, please contact us by e-mail at nsrnconference2025@gmail.com.

Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network Conference

8-10 September 2025

Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

Scholarly discussions on nonreligion often begin by noting that nonreligion and its related phenomena are primarily studied within Western, particularly Anglophone contexts, with recent efforts to expand global perspectives. However, these broad categorizations – “Western,” “Anglophone,” or “global North or South” – oversimplify the notable diversity of nonreligion within those demarcations. Various phenomena that are considered nonreligious emerge from complex intersections of national histories, political contexts, and religious influences – or the absence thereof – while simultaneously being shaped by global media and generational dynamics.

The Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) invites paper and session proposals for its 2025 conference, Nonreligion and Secularity at Cultural Crossroads. We aim to explore how secularity and nonreligion function and are manifested in various contexts, social and cultural interconnections, and power relations. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Theoretical and methodological challenges of studying nonreligion and secularity – (alternative) conceptualizations of nonreligion; liminalities and ambiguous forms of nonreligion; nonreligion and language
• Nonreligion among minority and majority populations – how its reach affects the perceived boundaries of nonreligion and its “important others”
• Virtual secularities and nonreligion – how nonreligion is shaped within social networks on the internet
• Secularity and state – different aspects of the position of non-religion in different states; regional and global forms and manifestations of nonreligion
• Nonreligion and values – nonreligion in changing cultural landscapes and how the cultural context influences what is considered nonreligion
• Nonreligion and demographics – the aspects of age, gender, and generations, socialization into nonreligion

We welcome scholars at any career stage (we especially encourage PhD-students) from sociology, anthropology, religious studies, demography, and other fields to apply and bring interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies.

The 2025 NSRN conference will take place as a face-to-face conference that will be held in partnership with the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia, and Comenius University in Bratislava.

We expect the participants who present their papers, to join us in person in Bratislava, Slovakia from 8-10 September 2025. However, there will be an opportunity to listen to the presentations and ask questions via Zoom throughout the conference. There will be no fee to attend the 2025 NSRN conference either in person or virtually.

Instructions for submitting session and paper proposals:

Each individual may only present one paper at the 2025 conference, on top of being a co-author on other papers, chairing/organizing a session, and/or being part of an author-meets-critics session. Each session will be allocated a 1h30min time slot during the conference.

To submit a paper proposal:

• Title of the paper
• Abstract of the paper (max. 150 words)
• First and last name, institutional affiliation, title/position, and contact e-mail address of the primary author
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact e-mail address(es) of the co-author(s) (if applicable)

To submit a session proposal (with 3-4 papers and a chair):

• Title of the session
• Abstract of the session (max. 150 words)
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact e-mail address(es) of the session chair and organizer
• Titles of each of the (3-4) papers
• Abstracts of each of the (3-4) papers (150 words max. each)
• First and last names, institutional affiliations, titles/positions, and contact e-mail addresses for each paper’s primary author and co-author(s)

To submit an author-meets-critics session:

• Book title, publication year, and press
• Book abstract (150 words max.)
• First and last name, institutional affiliation, title/position, and contact e-mail address of the session organizer
• First and last name(s), institutional affiliation(s), title(s)/position(s), and contact

e-mail address(es) of the book’s author(s)

• First and last names, institutional affiliations, titles/positions, and contact e-mail addresses for each of the (2-4) critics

All paper and session proposals must be e-mailed to nsrnconference2025@gmail.com by the end of the day on March 14, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be e-mailed to conference participants by April 15, 2025. Preliminary program will be sent out by the end of May 2025, registration date is June 30, 2025 at the latest.

For any questions, please contact us by e-mail at nsrnconference2025@gmail.com.