International Sociology Online Table of Contents Alert

A new issue of International Sociology is available online:

Special Issue: Multiple Secularities: Religion and Modernity in the Global Age:
November 2013; Vol. 28, No. 6

The below Table of Contents is available online at:https://iss.sagepub.com/content/vol28/issue6/?etoc

The ESA Sociology of Religion Research Network 34 (Sociology of
Religion) has announced its call for papers for its second bi-annual conference, ‘Religion in the Public Domain,’ 3-5 Sept 2014 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

https://belfast2014.esareligion.org/

Call for papers - Mid-term Conference

Religion in the Public Domain

In long-standing theories about secularization it is generally held that the social and public significance of religion has declined in most Western countries. Religion is conceived as privatized, individualized and de-institutionalized. But has religion truly become a privatized phenomenon? Increasingly, it is argued in academia that the separation between state and church in Western countries is less stable than
assumed: state policy is often biased towards particular religious traditions while even the French installment of laicité may be understood as a civic religion (e.g., Casanova). In general, we are witnessing a re-emergence of religion in the public domain. Religion has a new position in the public sphere, struggling for recognition alongside other groups. Empirical studies demonstrate the sustaining influence of religion on voting in ‘secular’ countries, an open attitude towards religious-spiritual beliefs and practices in business organizations and the production and consumption of religious symbols and images in popular culture. The role of media is pivotal here: it has made new forms of power emerge, but also simultaneously opened the way for activist practices aimed at visibility. So on the one hand, television, radio and newspapers socially construct the public-political discourse on Muslims, the alleged dangers of Islam and religious-ethical issues concerning circumcision, vaccinations, abortion and ritual slaughter. On the other hand, in the struggle for recognition and visibility, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduists, new religious movements, and spiritual groups, appropriate the internet and (social) media as public platforms to debate the role of religion, to strengthen social cohesion and to reach out to the general public.

This return of religion in the public domain is also a socially, politically, legally and morally contested issue. In a ‘post-secular’
society, Jurgen Habermas argued, religious groups, organizations and individuals should be included within the public sphere in the civic debate about the problems of modernity, i.e., individualism, excessive consumption and the loss of moral values. Claims like these - made in academia, politics or culture - activate secular groups like the ‘new atheists’ to revitalize ‘rationalist’ values of the Enlightenment and take on a fundamentalist position on the subject. Social conflicts are increasingly religious conflicts (e.g., Calhoun). Theoretically, developments such as these invoke substantial doubt about modern distinctions between the public and the private, the secular and religious and the profane and the sacred. They invite research on the
(historical) formation of such categories - in the social sciences and modern cultures alike - and its relation to social conflict and cultural power (e.g., Assad).

Against this background, the ESA Research Network Sociology of Religion calls for papers on ‘Religion in the Public Domain’ for the mid-term conference in Belfast. Particularly papers are welcomed that discuss the following topics:

• Studies focusing on the modern separation of state and church, the formation of the religious and the secular and the public and the private domain in European countries and beyond.

• Studies discussing the social significance of religion and its re-emergence in the institutional and public domain, i.e., the role of Islamic, Christian or spiritual beliefs, practices and experiences in politics, voting, banking, business life etc.

• Studies focusing on the role of religious-spiritual narratives in popular culture, i.e., their meanings, commercial and commodified manifestations in books, music, film, computer games, advertising, marketing and branding.

• Studies discussing the role of the media, i.e., the way religion is framed at television, radio and in newspapers, and the appropriation and use of (social) media by religious individuals, groups and organization.

• Studies focusing on social conflicts between secular and religious groups and public debates about Islam, i.e., about integration, religious fundamentalism, terrorism, women’s rights, headscarves, abortion etc.

• Studies focusing on the public value of the sociology of religion, including studies on religion and politics, religion and the welfare state, religion and human security in ‘failed’ states, and the significance of the study of religion to policy makers and grassroots activists.

These topics are rough guidelines; papers dealing with Religion inthe Public Domain beyond other than these outlined above are also very welcome. Furthermore we invite PhD and post-doc candidates to contribute to a poster session, including work in progress; the best poster will get a small, but nice prize.

Confirmed keynote speaker: Prof John Brewer on ‘The Public Value of the Sociology of Religion.’

Dates & Deadlines in 2014

March 14 Submission of abstracts and online registration starts April 18 Submission of abstracts ends May 9 Acceptance of abstracts June 30 Early-bird registration ends September 3 - 5 Conference

Contact: belfast2014@esareligion.org
Conference Venue

Assembly Buildings, Belfast

A state-of-the-art conference venue in one of Belfast City Centre’s most historic buildings.

More details and dedicated conference website coming soon .

Supported by European Sociological Association, Visit-Belfast, Belfast City Council, and the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin at Belfast

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Comparative Islamic Studies is inviting colleagues to submit articles for publication. We are a refereed journal that is published twice a year and the timeline for peer review and publication is in the range of 3-4 months. Colleagues interested in guest editing an issue on a topic or to publish the proceedings of a conference are also welcomed. Please get in touch with either one of us, Joshua or Walid.

Comparative Islamic Studies focuses on integrating Islamic studies into the more general theoretical and methodological boundaries of liberal arts disciplines with an emphasis on those disciplines most closely aligned with the contemporary study of religion (e.g. anthropology, art history, classics, comparative literature, history, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology). Particular attention will be given to articles and reviews which reflect how Islamic materials can challenge and contribute to generic categories, theories and questions of method in the general study of religion. The journal provides the opportunity for expert scholars of Islam to demonstrate the more general significance of their research both to comparativists and to specialists working in other areas.

Articles are to be explicitly comparative in their focus and scope, and should clearly articulate both the reasons for selecting to compare certain phenomena and the theoretical conclusions to be drawn from the comparison. Comparisons may be between Islamic and non-Islamic materials or within and among Islamic materials. Some examples include analyses of Bible and Quran along with Jewish, Christian and Muslim exegesis; studies of rituals, canonical texts, myths, and ideeologies; sociological categories investigating prophet figures, holy people, saints and sufis; and comparisons of theology, philosophy and mysticism.

Attention to Islamic materials from outside the central Arabic lands is of special interest, as are comparisons which stress the diversity of Islam as it interacts with changing human conditions. Articles may also concentrate on the methodological and theoretical implications of doing comparative analysis.

Please visit the website for more information and to submit your articles:

Please see website: https://www.equinoxpub.com/journals/index.php/CIS

Yours truly

Joshua A. Sabih (joshua@hum.ku.dk)
Walid Saleh (walid.saleh@utoronto.ca)

CALL FOR PAPERS
Sacred or Secular: Politics, Policy, Practice

January 8th, 2014, 9am-4:30pm
RHB 137, Goldsmiths, University of London

The last ten years has seen a reawakening to religion and its public role. The AHRC and ESRC funded Religion and Society programme especially has revealed a complex religious and nonreligious landscape in terms of the nature, manifestation and influence of belief.

Religion and belief are now widely recognised in the public sphere, but not fully comprehended in terms of politics, policy and practice. These spheres are still framed by an older, secular context, which now seems unsuitable.

We now have a much better idea of the religious and nonreligious landscape. The question is how to move forwards, knowing what we do.

By way of exploring this question, Sacred or Secular: Politics, Policy, Practice, seeks to highlight the multi-disciplinary array of research already underway at Goldsmiths. It intends to build relationships with key academics around the UK and researchers at Goldsmiths, as well as strengthening internal links between departments at Goldsmiths itself.

The day will include keynotes and panel discussions. Panel discussions will consist of three ‘lightning’ presentations of 10 minutes each, highlighting research and posing key questions and challenges for policy, politics and practice. These will stimulate broader debate from the floor and in panels.

To contribute a ‘lightning’ presentation, please submit a 1-paragraph outline to t.stacey@gold.ac.uk