News and Events

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CFP 21st Nordic Conference for Sociology of Religion, August‏

Please se below for details of the 21st Nordic Conference for Sociology of Religion will take place at Umeå

University, Sweden, August 15-17, 2012.

We invite submissions for the following session:

The Role of Religion in the OrganiSation of Health and Welfare

The session will focus on the role of religion in the organization of health and welfare provision at local, national and global level. Current changes in welfare systems against the background of global economic pressures and changes in the role of nation states are intricately bound up with issues of collective and individual value systems. This session welcomes papers addressing the role of religion in these processes. Contributions may address evidence from empirical research and/or theoretical reflection on issues of religious majority and minority cultures as upholders or challengers of value systems in welfare, individual religiosity in the encounter with healthcare services, faith-based organisations as actors in civil society in the welfare arena (and not least the role such activity can play in religious socialization) or other related issues.

Abstracts (200 words maximum) should be submitted via the conference website no later than January 31st, 2012. See http://eventus.trippus.se/NCSR/abstract to submitt an abstract and for links to more details on the conference as a whole. For questions about the session please do not hesitate to contact the session organisers via email.

Session organisers

Annette Leis-Peters, Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre, Uppsala

University SE & Diakonhjemmet University College, Oslo NO,

annette.leis@crs.uu.se & annette.leis-peters@diakonhjemmet.no

Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon, Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre,

Uppsala University SE, martha.middlemiss@crs.uu.se

—————————————————————

Martha Middlemiss Lé Mon

Researcher

Centrum för Forskning om Religion och Samhälle/

Uppsala Religion and Society Research Centre,

Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University

Box 511, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden

Tel:+46(0)18 471 2246

Mobil: +46(0)18 734231374

website:www.crs.uu.se

E-mail:Martha.Middlemiss@crs.uu.se

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Call for Applications Doctoral dissertation fellowship in religion and philanthropy‏

THE LAKE INSTITUTE ON FAITH & GIVING

THE CENTER ON PHILANTHROPY

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

2012 – 2013 DOCTORAL DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP

The Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University will offer a one year doctoral dissertation fellowship of $22,000 for the academic year 2012-2013. This doctoral dissertation fellowship will be given to a scholar whose primary research focus is in the area of religion and philanthropy or faith and giving. The fellowship is intended to support the final year of dissertation writing. The fellowship stipend will be paid in three installments: $10,000 at the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year; $10,000 at the mid-point of the 2012-2013 academic year; $2,000 upon the successful completion of the dissertation.

Eligibility

Applicants for the Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship must:

· be candidates for the Ph.D. degree at a graduate school in the United

States.

· fulfill all pre-dissertation requirements by December 31, 2011,

including approval of the dissertation proposal with the expectation

that the dissertation will be completed no later than June 1, 2014.

· have not received a similar grant or fellowship for the writing of the

dissertation. Please note that Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellows may

not accept other awards that provide similar benefits in the same

academic year. Smaller awards and/or those involving limited

opportunities to teach may be permitted, at the discretion of the

Research Advisory Committee of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving.

Application Information

All application materials must be received by January 31, 2012.

Applications must include the following:

· an application form.

· a current resume.

· an executive summary no longer than 15 pages in length summarizing

your topic and its relevance for the understanding of an important

question(s) or issue(s) related to religion and philanthropy / faith and

giving. Please write this executive summary so that scholars outside of

your discipline would not have difficulty comprehending your proposal.

· a copy of the approved dissertation proposal describing the proposed

work, demonstrating relevance to the field of religion and philanthropy,

describing source materials and their availability, commenting on any

special skills or interests you have for carrying out the proposed work,

and giving a clear statement of the research or scholarly methodology to

be employed.

· a selected bibliography no longer than two pages, double-spaced,

indicating the major theoretical, practical and critical works that bear

on your dissertation. “Selected” means you should include those works

that most clearly demonstrate your command of the scholarship necessary

to write the proposed dissertation. In most cases this will already be

part of your proposal.

· a timetable detailing your chapter outline, your progress to date, and

your schedule for the fellowship year. It should be no longer than one

page, double-spaced.

Supporting materials

· Three letters of recommendation must accompany your application: one

from your dissertation director and two from faculty members familiar

with your work.

· One official transcript from the graduate school which will award the

Ph.D. degree.

All requested materials must be mailed to:

Please find details below.

The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving

The Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University

ATTN: Dissertation Fellowship

550 West North Street

Suite 301

Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202-3272

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50 New Additions to the NSRN Bibliography

Now that things are slowly getting back to normal after the holiday season, we thought some extra reading might be in order.

The following items have been added to the NSRN’s bibliography today, and are mostly the result of suggestions from visitors to the website. A huge thanks to everyone who suggested items – please keep them coming.

The complete bibliography can  be viewed in a list organised by author surname or publication date.

—————–

  • Alicino, F. 2011. “The Collaborations-Relations Between Western (Secular) Law and Religious Nomoi Groups in Today’s Multicultural Context : The Cases of France and Canada.” Transition Studies Review 18 (2): 430-444.
  • Aston, Katie. 2011. Atheism Explained by Jonathan Lanman (NSRN Annual Lecture 2011). NSRN Events Report series [online]. NSRN, October 25. http://nsrn.net/events/events-reports.
  • Baker, Joseph O’Brian, and Buster Smith. 2009. “The Nones: Social Characteristics of the Religiously Unaffiliated.” Social Forces 87 (3): 1251-1263.
  • Bradley, Arthur, and Andrew Tate. 2010. The new atheist novel: fiction, philosophy and polemic after 9/11. Continuum International Publishing Group, April 11.
  • Bullivant, Stephen, and Lois Lee. 2012. “Interdisciplinary Studies of Non-religion and Secularity: The State of the Union.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Caplow, T. 1998. “The Case of the Phantom Episcopalians.” American Sociological Review 63 (1): 112-113.
  • Chatterjee, Nandini. 2011. The Making of Indian Secularism: Empire, Law and Christianity, 1830-1960. Palgrave Macmillan, March 1.
  • Cragun, Ryan, Barry A. Kosmin, Ariela Keysar, Joseph H. Hammer, and Michael Nielsen. 2012. “On the Receiving End: Discrimination Toward the Non-Religious in the United States.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Demerath, N. J., III, and Victor Thiessen. 1966. “On Spitting Against the Wind: Organizational Precariousness and American Irreligion.” American Journal of Sociology 71 (6): 674-687.
  • Ellison, Christopher G., and Darren E. Sherkat. 1995. “The ‘Semi -Involuntary Institution’ Revisited: Regional Differences in Church Participation Among Black Americans.” Social Forces 74.
  • Festinger, L. 1956. When Prophecy Fails. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Gorski, Philip S., and Ateş Altinordu. 2008. “After Secularization?” Annual Review of Sociology 34 (1): 55-85.
  • Gutkowski, Stacey. 2012. “The British Secular habitus and the War on Terror.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Hadaway, C. Kirk, and Wade Clark Roof. 1979. “Those Who Stay Religious ‘Nones’ and Those Who Don’t: A Research Note.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 18 (2): 194-200.
  • Hadaway, C.K., and P.L. Marler. 1993. “All in the Family: Religious Mobility in America.” Review of Religious Research 35 (2): 97-116.
  • Hadaway, C.K., P.L. Marler, and M. Chaves. 1998. “Overreporting Church Attendance in America: Evidence That Demands the Same Verdict.” American Sociological Review 63 (1): 122-130.
  • Hout, Michael, and Andrew Greeley. 1998. “What Church Officials’ Reports Don’t Show: Another Look at Church Attendance Data.” American Sociological Review 63 (1): 113-119.
  • Hunter, Laura A. 2010. “Explaining Atheism: Testing the Secondary Compensator Model and Proposing an Alternative.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion 6.
  • Knott, Kim. 2010. “Theoretical and Methodological Resources for Breaking OPen the Secular and Exploring the Boundary between Religion and Non-religion.” Historia Religionum 2: 115-133.
  • Kraut, Benny. 1979. From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler. New York: Hebrew Union College Press.
  • Lanman, Jonathan. 2011. “Thou Shalt Believe -: Or Not.” New Scientist.
  • ———. 2012. “The Importance of Religious Displays for Belief Acquisition and Secularization.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Lee, Lois. 2012. “Research Note: Talking about a Revolution: Terminology for the New Field of Non-religion Studies.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Lerner, Berel Dov. 1995. “Understanding a (Secular) Primitive Society.” Religious Studies 31: 303-309.
  • Lowis, M.J., A.J. Jewell, M.I. Jackson, and R. Merchant. 2011. “Religious and Secular Coping Methods Used by Older Adults : An Empirical Investigation.” Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging 23 (4): 279-303.
  • Luehrmann, S. 2011. Secularism Soviet Style: Teaching Atheism and Religion in a Volga Republic. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
  • MacKillop, I.D. 1986. The British Ethical Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Merino, Stephen M. 2012. “Irreligious Socialization? The Adult Religious Preferences of Individuals Raised with No Religion PDF Stephen M. Merino.” Secularism and Nonreligion 1: 1-16.
  • Mumford, Lorna. 2011. Atheism and Anthropology: Researching Atheism and Self-Searching Belief and Experience Workshop. NSRN Events Report series [online]. NSRN, December. http://www.nsrn.net/events/events-reports.
  • Orsi, R. 2005. Between heaven and earth: the religious worlds people make and the scholars who study them. Princeton, NJ and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Parmeggiani, F. 2011. “Speaking of God : The Post-Secular Challenge for Italian Feminist Thought and Practices.” Annali D Italianistica 29: 417-430.
  • Presser, S., and M. Chaves. 2007. “Is Religious Service Attendance Declining?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 46 (3): 417-423.
  • Quack, Johannes. 2012. “Organised Atheism in India: An Overview.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Radest, Howard B. 1969. Toward Common Ground: The Story of the Ethical Societies in the United States. New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Co.
  • ———. 1990. The Devil and Secular Humanism: The Children of the Enlightenment. Westport, CT: Praeger.
  • Roof, W.C., and W. McKinney. 1987. American Mainline Religion: Its Changing Shape and Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Sandomirsky, S., and J. Wilson. 1990. “Processes of Disaffiliation: Religious Mobility among Men and Women.” Social Forces 68: 1211-1229.
  • Schwadel, P. 2010. “Period and Cohort Effects on Religious Nonaffiliation and Religious Disaffiliation: A Research Note.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49 (2): 311-319.
  • Stark, Rodney, Eva Hamberg, and Allen S. Miller. 2005. “Exploring Spirituality and Unchurched Religions in America, Sweden, and Japan.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 20 (1): 3-23.
  • Stolzenberg, R.M., M. Blair-Loy, and L.J. Waite. 1994. “Stolzenberg, R. M., Blair-Loy, M., & Waite, L. J. (1994). Religious Participation in Early Adulthood: Age and Family Life Cycle Effects on Church Membership. American Sociological Review, 60, 84-103.” American Sociological Review 60: 84-103.
  • Tamney, Joseph B., Shawn Powell, and Stephen Johnson. 1989. “Innovation Theory and Religious Nones.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 28 (2): 216-229.
  • Taylor, Charles. 1998. Modes of Secularism. In Secularism and its Critics: Themes in Politics, ed. Rajeev Bhargava, 32-53. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Vargas, N. 2011. “Retrospective Accounts of Religious Disaffiliation in the United States: Stressors, Skepticism, and Political Factors.” Sociology of Religion (October 11). doi:10.1093/socrel/srr044. http://secularismandnonreligion.org/index.php/snr/article/view/5.
  • Veevers, J.E., and D.F. Cousineau. 1980. “The Heathen Canadians: Demographic Correlates of Nonbelief.” The Pacific Sociological Review 23 (2): 199-216.
  • Voas, David, and Siobhan McAndrew. 2012. “Three Puzzles of Non-religion in Britain.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 27 (1).
  • Welch, Michael R. 1978a. “Religious Non-Affiliates and Worldly Success.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 17 (1): 59-61.
  • ———. 1978b. “The Unchurched: Black Religious Non-Affiliates.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 17 (3): 289-293.
  • Wilson, J., and Darren E. Sherkat. 1994. “Returning to the Fold.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 33: 148-161.
  • Zuckerman, Phil. 2009. “Why are Danes and Swedes so Irreligious?” Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 22 (1).
  • ———. 2011. Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Secularism and Nonreligion Journal: Article publication Vol. 1 January 2012

The first article published in Vol 1, January 2012, Stephen M. Merino, Irreligious Socialization? The Adult Religious Preferences of Individuals Raised with No Religion

ABSTRACT: Recent birth cohorts of Americans are more likely than previous cohorts to be raised outside of a religious tradition. In addition, those raised with no religion are increasingly likely to have no religion as adults. Despite their growing numbers, individuals raised with no religion have received little  attention from scholars. The adult religious preferences of these individuals provide researchers with a unique opportunity to test theories of religion and social change. Using General Social Survey data, I examine the adult religious preferences and beliefs of individuals raised with no religion. I provide evidence of a shift in socialization and social influences experienced by those who report growing up with no religion. Compared with earlier cohorts raised with no religion, more recent cohorts have had more secular upbringings and tend to be more secular, liberal, and wary of organized religion as adults. They are also more likely to have a religiously unaffiliated spouse, if they marry at all. Results from a logistic regression analysis indicate that these trends explain much of the cohort differences in the likelihood of remaining unaffiliated as an adult.

KEYWORDS: NONRELIGION, SOCIALIZATION, SOCIAL INFLUENCE

To see the latest publication please follow the link to the Secularism and Nonreligion Journal current issue

http://secularismandnonreligion.org/index.php/snr/issue/current

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‘Atheism and Non-religion’ Panel at SOCREL 2012

The draft programme for the 2012 Sociology of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association (SOCREL) – Religion and (In)Equalities – has recently been announced, and is available here.

The conference dates are 28-30 March 2012 at the University of Chester, UK. The entire programme looks thoroughly stimulating, and contains a number of papers which should be of interest to NSRN researchers.

Of particular relevance is the ‘Atheism and Non-Religion’ panel on 29 March at 09.00:

Spencer Bullivant
Atheist summer camps: Transitioning away from conceptions of disbelief to belief

Christopher R. Cotter
The inherent inequalities of the religion-nonreligion dichotomy: A narrative approach to individual (non-)religiosity

Lydia Reid
Religion and modernity

Janet Eccles & Rebecca Catto
Countercultural or mainstream? Some reflections from the Young Atheist Project

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Announcement and Thank You from the NSRN Directors

We are extremely excited to announce the publication of the Journal of Contemporary Religion  Vol. 27, No. 1 January 2012

Special Issue: Non-religion and Secularity

This special edition of the Journal of Contemporary  Religion is a publication resulting from the NSRN’s inaugural conference in Dec. 2009. At that time, work in progress vastly outweighed completed empirical work in the field – I’m happy to say, in fact, that, even as this area of work has expanded, this ratio is still the same: a sign of continued growth. But this collection presents some of the earliest-realised major research projects in the field, and is intended to highlight the diversity of possible approaches. Happy reading – and we look forward to any comments the collection/articles prompt in this space.

With thanks to Elisabeth Arweck, for her support of this project and for  the NSRN’s work in general. This is the first special edition in the history of the JCR and we were very honoured to be invited to develop it.

Best wishes

Lois and Stephen

You an view the issue when it is released or order the journal through the Taylor and Francis website

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Journal of Contemporary Religion: January 2012 Special Issue: Non-religion and Secularity

Lois Lee (NSRN Director), Jonathan Lanman and Stephen Bullivant (NSRN Director) - Contributors to the JCR Jan 2012 © 2011 St Mary’s University College, Twickenham

Journal of Contemporary Religion  Vol. 27, No. 1 January 2012

Special Issue: Non-religion and Secularity 

Peter B. Clarke: Tributes

Articles

Stephen Bullivant & Lois Lee – Interdisciplinary Studies of Non-religion and Secularity: The State of the Union

David Voas & Siobhan McAndrew – Three Puzzles of Non-religion in Britain

Jonathan A. Lanman – The Importance of Religious Displays for Belief Acquisition and Secularization

Johannes Quack – Organised Atheism in India: An Overview

Stacey Gutkowski – The British Secular habitus and the War on Terror

Ryan T. Cragun, Barry Kosmin, Ariela Keysar, Joseph H. Hammer & Michael Nielsen – On the Receiving End: Discrimination Toward the Non-Religious in the United States

Lois Lee – Research Note: Talking about a Revolution: Terminology for the New Field of Non-religion Studies

Plus Book Reviews and Book Notes

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Religion and Social Change – Association for the Sociology of Religion 2012 Annual Meeting

http://www.sociologyofreligion.com/annual-meeting/

The 2012 annual meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion will take place August 17-18 in Denver, Colorado at the Grand Hyatt. The Grant Hyatt is a Four Diamond hotel in the heart of downtown Denver, close to restaurants, shopping and entertainment, including the world famous Tattered Cover bookstore.

Our 2012 meeting will take place immediately prior to the meetings of
the ASA’s religion section, but will not overlap with those sessions. This will allow members to attend sessions at both meetings in a shorter window than previous years. The Grant Hyatt is a block away from the ASA conference hotel, the Hyatt Regency.

The theme of this year’s meeting is religion and social change. Most religions traditions are predicated upon the idea that conversion transforms the individual and widespread acceptance of religious principles results in a utopian society. Some religions attempt to produce or prevent change by influencing the wider discourse surrounding key moral and political debates; others promote programs at the local level; and still others, viewing society as beyond repair, attempt to produce their own utopian sub-societies. Yet, religion is also the product of social changes that mold beliefs and transform religious institutions.

While we welcome papers on all subjects, we expect many presentations to explore the complex relationship between religion and social change. Further, this year’s meeting will have a strong focus on professional development with special sessions on funding and disseminating research, navigating the tenure process, publishing and writing, and resources available for research. These sessions will include a panel with the editors of Sociology of Religion and Review of Religious Research.

LCD projectors and screens will be available for all presentations.

DEADLINES:
-Session Proposals are due by 31 March 2012
-Paper Proposals and Abstracts are due by 30 April 2012

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: (1) Email your proposal to ASR2012@augustana.edu as a Word attachment. Place the title of your proposal first, then names, affiliations, and email addresses of all authors, then your abstract/proposal, all on one sheet of paper. (2) Limit paper abstracts to a maximum of 100 words. (3) 2012 membership in ASR is required for program consideration (one author, for multiauthored papers). Do not submit proposals prior to 1 January.

PROGRAM CHAIR: Christopher Bader, Chapman University.

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Religion and Society Programme Conference: New Forms of Public Religion

The event has been announced to take place on  7 September 2012 and more details will follow in the new year. Please put this event in your diary.

10.30 a.m. Wednesday 5th to 3.30 p.m. on Friday 7 September 2012 at the Divinity School, St John’s College, University of Cambridge

This conference will feature presentations from projects funded by the Religion and Society Programme on religion and politics, violence, law, the markets, media, education and health and welfare.

Plenary speakers include Lori Beaman (Ottawa), Grace Davie (Exeter) and Jim Spickard (Redlands).

More details on the events pages of the Religion and Society Programme website.

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Religion and Society Programme Event: Sacred Practices of Everyday Life

Religion and Society are running a conference on Sacred Practices of Everyday life on 9 May 2012. A call for papers will be released in early 2012

Details of the event so far are:

10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 9th May to 3.30 p.m. on Friday 11th May 2012 at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, University of Edinburgh

This conference will feature presentations from projects funded by the Religion and Society Programme on themes including ‘Sex, Life and Love’, ‘Life-styles and (After)Death-styles’ and ‘Fate, Destiny and the Future.’

There will also be plenary sessions with David Morgan (Duke), Mary Jo Neitz (Missouri) and Robert Orsi (Northwestern).

More information can be found on the events page of the Religion and Society website