The American University of Rome are pleased to announce a CALL FOR PAPERS for an International Conference on RELIGION AND REALISM

Date of the conference: November 28, 2014

Deadline for paper proposals: September 1, 2014

Rome, The American University of Rome.

Religion remains one of the most significant social forces and cultural constituencies. It can be said that religion and religious truths are becoming increasingly important in the so called “post-secular” times, when the sphere of the (secular) social/political and the sphere of the religious have to be re-thought again. The relevancy of religious truths and the way they structure our understanding of “reality” overcomes the sphere of theology and particular religious practices. Religion, truth, and reality, and the way these concepts are approached and understood, continue to be vital for a broader cultural discourse as well, from philosophy and science, to politics, mass media and show business.

“Realism,” on the other hand, is usually understood as a position and method, which is opposite to “idealism” and the “imaginary.” “Realism” implies a certain way of approaching the reality and truth. Looking from a positivistic perspective, many would find it difficult to associate concepts of “realism” or “truth” with phenomena such as religion. However, the experience of the post-modern times has taught us that relations between the “reality,” “truth,” “knowledge” and “interpretation” are far more complex, and that even the purest “fiction” is sometimes capable of being more effective (and therefore more “real”) in influencing our lives and in structuring the world in which we live, than most of the things that are directly exposed to our sensuous experience and rational reflection. On the other hand, we have also learned from the experience of modernity that certain metaphysical narratives, and their claims for “absolute truth” and “absolute reality,” could be very dangerous in their practical, social and political manifestations.

The conference seeks to explore philosophical, social, political, and theological dimensions of religion and realism. The themes and subjects for paper proposals include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Secularism, post-secularism, new religiosity
• Religion and reality
• Religion and truth
• Religion and subversion
• Religion and political reality
• Religion and economic “realisms”
• Absolute “truths” and social/political freedom
• Ultimate truth: tyranny or liberation?
• Realism as epistemology
• Realism – the political dimension
• Realism – the aesthetic dimension
• Realism – the religious/theological
• Realism and the “New Realism”
• Understanding metaphysical, physical and social “reality”
• Reality and creativity
• Reality and religion: the need for interpretation or for a social change?
• Power, reality and knowledge

Submitting proposals: English will be the working language of the conference. Paper proposals (abstracts) should contain no more than 250 words.

There will be no conference fee for speakers. All presented papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

Abstracts, together with a short CV (not to exceed 1800 characters) should be sent no later than September 1, 2014 to: religionrealism@gmail.com

British Association for the Study of Religion annual conference

3-5 September 2014

The Open University, UK

http://www.basr.ac.uk/conference.htm

BASR’s 2014 conference has two themes: “religion, art and performance” and “the cutting edge”. Both can be interpreted broadly. Panels and papers are invited. Continue reading →

Fifth International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society

16-17 April 2015

University of California at Berkeley


Berkeley, California, USA

http://religioninsociety.com/the-conference/call-for-papers

SPECIAL CONFERENCE FOCUS: Social Movements and Faith

Religious commitments are, as often as not, social commitments. In addition to its usual range of themes, this year’s special focus of the Religion and Society knowledge community is the relation of religion to social movements, ranging from movements for nominally “progressive” or “liberal” social change, to “fundamentalisms” whose religious practices are often explicitly or implicitly social and political. The conference will ask the questions: under what conditions and to what extent are religious communities socially activist, either in their doctrine or their practices? How do religious communities, support or align with other social movements?

The 2015 meeting will feature a special focus on this provocative subject. We welcome open debate, discourse and research from participants that center on this special topic, as well as any other themes or issues relevant to religion and spirituality in society. Continue reading →

The European Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy

24-27 July 2014

Thistle Hotel Brighton, UK

http://iafor.org/iafor/ecerp2014-call-for-papers/

2014 Conference Theme:
“Individual, Community & Society: Conflict, Resolution & Synergy”

 Conflict is an integral part of the human condition. The universal struggle between our personal selves—who we are as unique, separate and different from others, with our specific blend of experiences, abilities, attitudes, aspirations, needs and wants—and our social selves, intricately connected to, and interdependent on, others—our loved ones, our friends and favoured groups, our communities and cultures—leads inevitably to internal as well as interpersonal conflict.

Conflict among our communities and societies is also natural, given that these groups are founded on commonality—of geography, values, attitudes, beliefs, aspirations—and differentiated from others based on these. Diversity, however, though it may lead to conflict, plays an important role in the flourishing of communities and societies. One of the challenges of modern society is harnessing the synergy that emerges from the interaction of these differences.

Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted by the extended deadline of June 1, 2014.