Call For Papers

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CFP: Religion on the Move 12-14 September, 2012

Migration is a key concern in secularity studies, regarding the response of non-religious groups to incoming religious practice and the apparent rise of religiosity which appears as religions change and adapt through migration.

Call for Papers: Religion on the Move

How Motion and Migration influence Religion

10th Conference of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion

Szeged, Hungary 12-14 September, 2012

In many ways movement is an important aspect of religion and spirituality. Not only has the significance of motion within the practice of religion and rituality increased (Coleman & Eade 2004), but also, through the movement and migration of people all over the world, religions and religious practices are relocating and changing (Jenkins 2007). Movement is significant for the practice of many religions. It seems that motion has been gaining in importance and that the performative expression and execution of religious practice play a stronger part than they used to do. There might be related to the more participative role of believers in religion and rituality and the enhanced relevance of individuals ‘doing’ religion. The popularity of walking the many pilgrim ways through Europe is an example of that trend, while other expressions of movement like dancing, meditations, processions and other rituals also seem to be more in focus.

A second strand of movement is connected to migration for, by moving, people bring faiths and religious practices to other places in the world where they were not previously known or practised. Nowadays, through mass migrations, refugees, displacements because of war and other translocations, religions and beliefs can expand both spatially and quantitatively. These are processes in which the faiths which are moving are being transformed, and the religion(s) of the areas in which people and their religion are newly settled are likewise affected (examples include Islam in Europe and the new Christians from Africa in Europe). Sometimes beliefs are appropriated through tourism or by ‘spiritual seekers’; aspects of Eastern religion and esoterism have been imported to Western society. In that regard the Internet has become a migratative instrument, in its capacity of ‘posting’ religion all over the globe and into people’s homes, regardless of what religion is practised there. The extension of religion through (digital) migration has an impact on social, cultural and political contexts (Woodhead et al. 2002). The movement of religion might lead to an adaptation to new circumstances, to inculturation, but also potentially to a transformation in the religious constituents of the local culture as well. Sometimes there is openness and religion finds new host communities. Evangelical, Pentecostal, neo-Pentecostal churches have spread across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe (Coleman 2007) and so have Afro-American religions, as Candomblé, Umbanda, or Santeria cubana (Capone 2004; Saraiva 2010). Sometimes the members of the host country become involved in such new practices, but movement may also lead to segregation within host communities and contested situations.

Papers connected to these two research strands on movement and religion are welcomed; one could for example think of the following topics:

• The influence of migration on religion

• Movement as constituative element in religion and rituality

• Effects of globalisation and transnationalism on religion

• Changes in religion through digital movement, via the Internet.

• Movement and spatiality related to the practice of religion

Format: the conference takes place over two days, followed by an excursion on the third day. Paper presentations are limited to 20 minutes each, followed by ten minutes of discussion. In total 20 paper presenters will be selected. Colleagues who do not present a paper are welcome to participate in the conference and its discussions. A business meeting of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion will be held during the conference. Organizers: the conference is organized by the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the University of Szeged together with the Bálint Sándor Institute for Research on  religion and the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF).

Venue: University of Szeged and Gál Ferenc Theological College of Szeged Fee: the conference fee is 60 €, including conference materials, reception, coffee, brunch, excursion. Participants are responsible for travel and accommodation; there is no funding for expenses available.

Application: submit an abstract of your paper of maximum 300 words, together with your name, position, and institutional affiliation to Dr. István Povedák povedak@yahoo.com by March 15, 2012. The selection of the papers will be done in collaboration with the Board of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion. The final selection will be communicated by April 1, 2012.

Contacts: povedak@yahoo.com; peter.jan.margry@meertens.knaw.nl

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CFP: Exploring the Extraordinary 22-23 September, 2012

The “extraordinary” strikes as an interesting ground between organised non-religion and religion, a ground which cannot be easily claimed by either group. The extraordinary may even be an interesting phenomena for exploring the terrain between these two binary positions, allowing for nuance in the field.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Exploring the Extraordinary 4th Conference
22nd-23rd September, 2012
Holiday Inn, York

Since its inception in 2007, members of Exploring the Extraordinary have organised three successful academic conferences that have brought together researchers from a variety of different disciplines and backgrounds. The purpose of these events has been to encourage a wider dissemination of knowledge and research, and an interdisciplinary discussion of extraordinary phenomena and experience. By ‘extraordinary’ we refer to phenomena and experiences that are considered to be beyond the mundane, referring to those that have been called supernatural, paranormal, mystical, transcendent, exceptional, spiritual, magical and/or religious, as well as the relevance of such for human culture.

We are looking for submissions for our fourth conference, and would like to invite presentation proposals on topics related to the above. Please submit a 300-500 word paper abstract to Dr Madeleine Castro and Dr Hannah Gilbert (ete.network@gmail.com) by the 6th April 2012. Accepted papers should be on powerpoint, no longer than 20 minutes in length, and intended for an interdisciplinary audience. Please include contact information and a brief biographical note.

For more information, and to see past conference schedules, please visit http://etenetwork.weebly.com

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CFP: EASR 12 panel abstract Submission now open

ENDS AND BEGINNINGS, Annual Conference of the European Association of the Study of Religion (EASR)

Södertörn University, Stockholm. 23-26 August, 2012

Religion, it has been claimed, is generated by our desire to escape from the tyranny of time. Through certain thoughts and practices, people have sought to evade the end that our temporal existence so inevitably seems to lead up to. Religion often circles around the promise of a new beginning – a prosperous life in this world or a renewed existence in the hereafter. In the Abrahamic traditions, humankind is placed at the heart of a cosmic drama that is framed by notions of an absolute beginning, an apocalyptic end, and, beyond that, an eternity that obliterates the boundaries of time. Ritualized activities, furthermore, are often performed as expressions or celebrations of ends and beginnings – of seasons, communities or of phases in an individual’s life.

Stolen kiss, collage paintingPicture: Stolen kiss, collage painting by Anna-Karin Brus, 2009. © Anna-Karin Brus.http://www.haka.nu/

All these matters have attracted the attention of scholars of religion, as has the larger question of whether there can be said to be a beginning or an end of religion in general. Can we – in the darkness of prehistory or in the evolution of human cognition – localise a beginning of religion? And, is it – in a time when theories of secularisation, rationalisation and disenchantment are increasingly put into question – still possible to speak of the decline of religion or of its end?
We are pleased to invite scholars of different disciplines to take part in this conference, by which we hope to stimulate theoretical, methodological and empirical progress within the academic study of religion. Ends and beginnings is the 11th annual conference of EASR (European Association for the Study of Religion). It is organized in collaboration with SSRF (Swedish Association for the History of Religions).
Abstract submission deadline: 1 May, 2012

It is now possible to pre-register to the conference. In order to preregister, please use the link below.

We now also accept abstracts for panels, these may be submitted by following the same link below. Abstracts for individual papers will be possible to submit from January 2012. If you have pre-registered you will be sent an e-mail to remind you of this.

Preregistration and Panel sessions

Submit abstracts here

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CFP: Special Issue “Religion & Globalization”

Please note the CFP below for the special Issue “Religion & Globalization”. Areas of interest include  the re-enchantment of the world and the transient nature of religious practice. It would be interesting to see included some work on similar negotiations within secular practices and discourses or other view points on the secular.
A special issue of Religions (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/)

http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/religion_globalization/

Call for Papers

Whether globalization is considered as a worldwide structured system of interstate relationships (Friedmann, 1998) or as a world “in motion” (Tomlinson, 1999) crossed by human and cultural flows (Appadurai, 1998), it refers indisputably to a new set of environmental conditions for religions. Globalization is creating new dynamics of change including transnational expansions of traditions (Csordas, 2007), deterritorialized sites, cultic areas (even parishes), virtualized and networked “communities” of believers, electronic and mediatized gods (Stolow, 2010), the universalization of cosmopolitan values and the localization of universalized beliefs (Robertson, 1992). Also shifting religious geographies (for example, Christianity turning “southern” and “black”, Islam turning “Asian”, Buddhism turning “white” and “western”) have contributed to a reshaping of global geopolitics (Huntington, 1993), an “ecological” turn in religious beliefs (Taylor, 2005), a worldwide standardization of religious systems (Beyer, 1994, 1998, 1999) and re-enchantment on a global scale (Csordas, 2007). Migrations have been – and still are – major forces for the geographic redistribution of beliefs and cults, while the world is also becoming ‘proselytized’. This does not clarify the very specific modes by which each process of mobility affects the various ways different religions are acted upon by global forces in their specific contexts. Neither does it take into account the fact that global religious changes may have nothing to do with mobility (Friedmann, 1998) but rather with global systems (Beyer, 1994). A global perspective on religious changes and adaptations in the contemporary world requires a prudent examination of different case-studies as not all religions are subjected to the same forces and engaged with similar processes of changes. Indeed, the “great” historical religions do not face global changes like new expanding religious cults or sects do. Analysis must cautiously distinguish between globalizing religions in global conditions, the impact of globalization on religions, and the role of religions in the rise and the shaping of global (economic, political or ideological) forces.

This special issue aims at gathering papers in which scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds (religious studies, anthropology, sociology, political sciences, history, political economy or others) can explore, on an empirical basis and in clearly identified geographic, historical and cultural contexts, the effects of religion on globalization or of globalization on religions. Please contact Prof. Lionel Obadia, anthropologist, University Lyon 2 at: Lionel.obadia@univ-lyon2.fr

Keywords: Globalization, Global and globalizing religions, spiritual transnationalism, migration and missionary activism, mediatization of religions, religion and the Internet,  deterritorialization and new geographies of religions.

Expected deadline: September 30, 2012.

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CFP: Alternative Salvations, 18 September 2012

Space for secular and non-religious readings of salvation, particularly for those working in a variety of Christian cultural contexts.
One Day Conference, Sept 18th 2012, University of Chester

The conference will explore how ‘unorthodox’ readings of sacred texts inform salvation experience; how life
transformations outside of religious contexts might be considered spiritual; how ideas of this-worldly salvation
are politicised; how ideas of salvation are simultaneously secularised and infused with new power; what alternative salvations can be discovered within Christianity and how might they be practised? In particular, we are seeking to  explore the ways that alternative religious, spiritual and secular understandings of the notion of salvation already shape, and have the potential to shape, how people live and act in Christian and post-Christian contexts .

This exciting conference breaks new ground in exploring alternative approaches to salvation. Proposals for
short papers are invited on any aspect of the theme of ‘alternative salvations’ as outlined here. Papers will normally be 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes for discussion. Applications to submit a short paper should include:
• Proposer’s name and affiliation
• a title for the paper
• a 200 word abstract
• Details of any audio-visual equipment you will need to deliver your paper
Short paper proposals should be submitted to alternativesalvations@chester.ac.uk by no later than 4:00pm on 16th April 2012.

Applicants should know the outcome of their proposal by 18th May 2012.
Conference costs: £28 (£18 for unwaged and students) inclusive of lunch and refreshments.

If you would like any further information, please contact: alternativesalvations@chester.ac.uk

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EASR 2012 Ends and Beginnings: Abstract Registration Open

ENDS AND BEGINNINGS, Annual Conference of the European Association of the Study of Religion (EASR)

Södertörn University, Stockholm. 23-26 August, 2012

This years theme address moments of ending and beginning in the everyday practices of religious ritual and promises of new beginnings offered by the hereafter or a renewed existence. Scholars of secularism and nonreligion may find the the conferences larger question of whether there can be said to be a beginning or an end of religion in general of interest and hope that this perspective can be offered.

More details can about the conference be found on the EASR 2012 website and for pre-registration

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CFP Association for the Sociology of Religion, Denver, Colorado 12-18August

2012 Annual Meeting

August 17-18 – Denver, Colorado

Religion and Social Change

Papers and discussion sessions on all themes within the sociology of religion are welcome, but especially those related to the meeting theme, including, but not limited to, the following: Religion is both an agent and a product of social change. Closely linked to many historical and global transformations, religion has served as both an opiate and an amphetamine for change. Indeed, most religious 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; 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. We want to explore this complex relationship between religion and social change. To what extent do the characteristics of religious groups and their members determine the manner in which they attempt to enact change? Do religious groups have special advantages or disadvantages in their ability to foster social change as compared to secular groups and institutions? How do larger social changes influence the religious beliefs and actions of individuals and institutions?

Papers and discussion sessions on all themes within the sociology of religion are welcome, but especially those related to the meeting theme, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • religion and politics
  • religion and gender
  • religion and racial harmony
  • religion and science
  • religion and volunteering
  • religion and morality issues
  • religion and extremist behavior
  • utopian and millenarian movements in religion
  • religious charitable organizations
  • religious conversion, religious experiences and personal transformation
  • theoretical perspectives regarding religion and engagement with society

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 amaximum of 100 words. (3) 2012 membership in ASR is required for program consideration (one author, for multi-authored papers). Do not submit proposals prior to 1 January. PROGRAM CHAIR: Christopher Bader, Chapman University.

RALPH A. GALLAGHER TRAVEL GRANT

ASR makes available a limited number of travel assistance grants for members who are presenting papers at its annual meeting. These fall into two categories: student grants and grants for foreign scholars living outside of North America. Grants for students range up to $500.

Foreign scholar grants are subdivided between those living or working in ISA Category A or B countries and those living or working in ISA Category C countries. (The ISA geopolitical category scheme may be accessed at http://www.isa-sociology.org/form_isa.pdf. Note that ISA

membership is NOT required for consideration. ASR simply uses its scheme as the most universally recognized basis within the profession.) Grants for those in Category A and B countries are limited to $500. Grants for those in Category C countries may range up to $1,000. In no case will anyone receive a grant in excess of $1,000.

Applications should take the form of a letter submitted to the program chair along with the applicant’s program paper proposal. Applicants should state both the amount of their request to ASR and also indicate how they will fund that portion of their trip not funded by the

Gallagher Grant. It is acceptable to state that the remainder will come from the applicant’s personal funds. Applicants should understand that these grants are competitive and that the total amount of grants awarded seldom exceeds $5,000.

One-quarter of the grants may made by the Program Chair on his or her own initiative. The remainder of domestic Student awards are also made by the Program Chair based on applications. International award applications are vetted by the International Committee, to whom they are forwarded by the Program Chair. For 2012, the International Committee is composed of Prema Kurien (chair), Giuseppe Giordan, and Afe Adogame.


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CFP: “Irreligion, Secularism and Social Change” Deadline for abstracts 13th February 2012

This CFP is the result of a discussion a few of us have been having about putting together an exploratory session at this year’s AAR, in the hope that we can create a group within the AAR yearly program to deal with irreligion/nonreligion and secularism topics going forward.

“Irreligion, Secularism and Social Change”

Exploratory session, American Academy of Religion annual meeting, Chicago, IL on Nov 17-20.

Society is always in flux, a fact that could hardly be missed in 2011, the year of the protester. As such, social change has become a hot topic in a variety of academic disciplines. Those dealing with religion are asking questions about how religious belief systems envision utopia, how religious institutions promote or stifle transformations of society, and how social change in turn transforms religion; but what about irreligious institutions, nontheistic belief systems and secularism? How do they relate to and interact with social change? This panel was born out of the belief that it is also important to investigate the relationship between social change and “the secular.” Paper topics may include but are not limited to nontheistic moral philosophies and worldviews, irreligious communities, institutions and individuals, or secularism as ideology and practice. We hope to get proposals from a wide array of disciplinary perspectives and papers will be selected based on thematic relevance and methodological diversity. If you are interested in participating please send an abstract of no more than 500 words to smithp@bu.edu by the end of the day, Feburary 13, 2012.

Please note that this panel is also part of an effort to create an “Irreligion and Secularism” unit within the American Academy of Religion annual meeting program and is therefore being pitched to the AAR as an exploratory session. This means that once your paper is selected the panel still requires approval from the AAR program committee before it gets accepted for this year’s annual meeting.

For further details please contact, Per Smith: smithp@bu.edu

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CFP: Public Benefit in the Study of Religion

Call for Papers: Joint BASR/BSA-SOCREL panel on the ‘Public benefit in the study of religion’ with keynote panel speakers Prof. Eileen Barker and Prof. Douglas Davies.

BASR annual conference, September 5-7 2012 University of Winchester. Abstracts to Dr Abby Day a.f.day@kent.ac.uk and Dr Bettina Schmidt b.schmidt@tsd.ac.uk by 1 April 2012.

Who benefits from the study of religion? How have teachers and researchers engaged with the idea of ‘public benefit’, either directly or indirectly?

The panel is jointly organised by Dr Bettina Schmidt, Hon. Secretary BASR, and Dr Abby Day, Chair, SOCREL. BASR and SOCREL are the two professional organisations that together represent the UK’s leading scholars in the study of religion.

The British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR), formerly the British Association for the History of Religions (founded in 1954), is affiliated to the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR), whose object is the promotion of the academic study of religions through the international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject.

The Sociology of Religion (SOCREL) study group, founded in 1975, is the second largest discipline study group within the British Sociological Association (BSA) and, like BASR, exists to promote the discipline and its development through international networking, conferences and post-graduate development.

The topic of the panel is how research has directly benefited ‘the public’. The panel will focus on two aspects of this broad theme as it relates to the study of religion: 1) What do we mean by ‘public benefit’? How do we demonstrate it, measure it, communicate it and what are the practical and theoretical issues surrounding the idea of how the study of religion – or faith, or belief – can operate in the, or perhaps as a, public good? Are there theoretical problems in considering what is meant by ‘public’ or ‘benefit’ in different cultural and historical contexts? 2) What are some case examples of how research or teaching about religion has contributed to the public good? We are not asking here for examples about how ‘religion’ has contributed to the public but specifically how the study of and research on religion has done so.

An example of public benefits is described by the Charity Commission in a recent assessment of the Royal Opera House. The Commission explains how the staging of public performances of art, such as opera and ballet, is a recognised means of advancing the arts. The charity’s established reputation amongst the public, funders and commentators as a leading presenter of these art forms, together with many awards at national and international level, are all positive indicators of artistic quality.

Organisations focusing on the advancement of the social sciences have made efforts to clearly frame their work in the context of public benefit. The Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness state that ‘the objects for which the charity is established are for the public benefit to promote and improve social scientific research, education and scholarship in the field of the sociology of health and illness.’ This increasing need for organisations focusing on the advancement of social sciences to demonstrate their work’s public benefit provides the backdrop to the upcoming panel.

Papers are welcome that discuss how terms like ‘religion’, ‘benefit’ and ‘public’ are construed and understood, whether it is by the ‘public’, by Research Councils or other funding bodies, and how the study of religion has made a positive impact on it. The topic of the panel relates to our daily practice as researchers when asking for funding or having to present the outcomes of our research. Research Councils ask every applicant to explain the possible impact of a research project and in the coming years we will have to demonstrate as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) the wider impact of our research. It is therefore crucial to come to an understanding of ‘public benefits’ of our research.

Details and more information can be got by contacting Dr Abby Day, AHRC British Council Fellow Senior Research Fellow, Department of Religious Studies, School of European Culture & Languages, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NF, UK Visiting Research Fellow Department of Geography University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9RH UK

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CFP Panel on Religion and Social Inequality‏

The 36th Congress of the German Society for Sociolgy (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie – DGS) will be held from 1 -5 October 2012 in Bochum and Dortmund.

The Section for Sociology of Religion is organizing a panel on “Religion and Social Inequality” during this conference. The call for paper is only in German, but papers in English are also very welcome.

In the early sociology of religion the relationship between social class and religion was a central topic. Weber for example analysed social strata as carriers of religious ideas. Following Weber this research question was picked up by Niebuhr in his exploration of the social sources of denominations and by Bourdieu in his analysis of the religious field. In the last decades, the problem of social inequality has been mostly neglected as a research question in the sociology of religion.

Papers presenting empirical findings, quantitative as well as qualitative, from a national or transnational perspective, about the  impact of social class and life conditions on religious beliefs,practices and affiliations are invited. The religions of the upper classes and the lower classes, of the privileged and the “negatively privileged” are of special interest for this panel.

Please send abstracts of 2500 signs maximum (inclunding spaces) until

March 15th to the organizers:

Prof.Dr. Gert Pickel: pickel@rz.uni-leipzig.de

Dr. Kornelia Sammet: sammet@uni-leipzig.de