Category Archives: Book Announcements

Nonreligion & Secularity Research Network: July 2021 Newsletter

Happy July! Please find below the NSRN’s July 2021 newsletter. News and announcements made by the NSRN and submitted by NSRN members are distributed monthly in this newsletter. To submit an announcement, news, or other relevant information to the next newsletter, please contact the NSRN Managing Editors at editor.nsrn@gmail.com.

NSRN Conference 2021

Thank you to all those who participated and attended the NSRN’s 2021 conference from June 16-18. The conference was a huge success – we could not have done it without you. For those who presented and would like to turn their paper into a blog post for the NSRN’s blog, please contact the NSRN Managing Editors at editor.nsrn@gmail.com.

Secularism and Nonreligion Journal

Secularism and Nonreligion is the world’s first journal dedicated to the investigation of secularism and nonreligion in all forms. Articles are published on a continuous basis, ensuring publication as soon as submissions are accepted and formatted. Secularism and Nonreligion is an interdisciplinary, fully open access, peer-reviewed journal with the aim of advancing research on various aspects of ‘the secular.’ The journal is welcoming contributions. Please visit https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/ for more information.

Call for Submissions: Secularism and Non-Religion in Canada

This edited volume contributes to the literature on secularism, non-religion, and atheism in contemporary Canada. Non-belief and non-believers are often given secondary consideration in broader explorations of religion and religiosity, and, as a result, remain under-examined, particularly in the Canadian context. This multidisciplinary book provides a broad exploration of issues relating to secularity, irreligion, non-religion, non-belief, atheism, and separation of religion and government in Canada.

We are calling for contributions from the fields of:

·         Law – explorations of recent, current, and emerging legal cases and issues relating to non-religion and the separation of religion and government.

·         Sociology – exploring broader trends in irreligion and non-belief in Canadian society.

·         Politics – studies of political conflicts, campaigns, and issues relating to separation of religion and government and non-belief in Canada. Chapters focusing on individual provinces or campaigns are welcome.

·         Anthropology – ethnographic studies of atheist movements, organizations, or communities.

·         History – historical trends, case studies, intellectual histories examining issues pertaining to non-religion and secularity that continue to impact Canadian politics and society today.

·         Emerging and future issues in secularism, non-religion, and the separation of religion and government in Canada.

Both qualitative and quantitative studies are welcome. While the focus of the books is Canada, comparative approaches are equally welcome, though Canada should be the focus of these studies. Submissions from fields other than those outlined above (such as philosophy, psychology, economics, or literature/communications) will also be considered.

Author’s Guidelines: 

Submissions must include the proposed chapter title, 5 keywords and an abstract of maximum of 500 words. Please also include the author’s name, designation, affiliation, address, and contact information. The editor will assess all submissions and select the most promising abstracts, which are then developed further into full chapters of between 7,000 to 10,000 words.

Deadline for abstract submissions is October 14, 2021. If your abstract is accepted, we would expect a full draft by April 2022 (date TBD). Please email your abstracts as Word documents to the project coordinator and editor, Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff: teale@bchumanist.ca. Please also contact Dr. Phelps Bondaroff if you have any questions.

Editors

Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Research Coordinator, BC Humanist Association

Dr. Katie Marshall, Professor of Zoology, UBC and Board Member, BC Humanist Association

Adam P. Strömbergsson-DeNora, Freelance researcher and writer

About the BC Humanist Association:

The BC Humanist Association has been providing a community and voice for Humanists, atheists, agnostics, and the non-religious of British Columbia for over 30 years. We support the growth of Humanist communities across BC, provide Humanist ceremonies, and campaign for progressive and secular values. The BC Humanist Research Team has a long history of producing cutting edge research on a wide range of issues relating to humanism, non-religion, and the separation of religion and government, which include books, reports, and peer reviewed articles.

Publications and Resources

·         Patterns articleby Dominik Balazka, Dick Houtman and Bruno Lepri: “How can big data shape the field of non-religion studies? And why does it matter?” https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(21)00089-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2021.100263

·         Secularism and Nonreligion article by Carlos Lemos and Ivan Puga-gonzalez: “Belief in God, Confidence in the Church and Secularization in Scandinavia.” https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.143/

·         Secularism and Nonreligion article by Luke Galen, Ross Gore, and F. LeRon Shults: “Modeling the Effects of Religious Belief and Affiliation on Prosociality.” https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.128/

·         Secularism and Nonreligion article by David Speed and Melanie Brewster: “Love thy Neighbour… or not: Christians, but not Atheists, Show High In-Group Favoritism.” https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.136/

If you have resources you would like to share in our next newsletter, or would like to announce other publications, please email editor.nsrn@gmail.com.

Book Announcement: Polish Catholicism between Tradition and Migration – Agency, Reflexivity and Transcendence

Routledge 2021. Foreword by Margaret Scotford Archer.

From a critical realist perspective, this book examines the manner and the extent to which religion is shaped by modernity. With a focus on Poland, one of the most monolithic and religiously active Catholic societies in the world – but which has undergone periods of intense transformation in its recent history – the author explores the transformations that have affected Catholicism from a position of reflexivity. Viewing Catholicism as a system of ideas elaborated by tradition, the author considers the relationship between human subjectivity and social structure by examining the shift from traditional religious practice to modern religious observance, particularly in an era of migration in which many Polish Catholics have relocated to western European countries, with profound changes in their religious outlook. Presenting a new approach to understanding religious change from the perspective of religious reflexivity, Polish Catholicism between Tradition and Migration will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in religion, research methods, social change and critical realist thought.

https://www.routledge.com/Polish-Catholicism-between-Tradition-and-Migration-Agency-Reflexivity/Sadlon/p/book/9780367551872

Book announcement: “The Transformation of Religious Orders in Central and Eastern Europe: Sociological Insights”

A new book that explores Catholic consecrated religious life in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic and Eastern Orthodox monasticism in Russia:

“The Transformation of Religious Orders in Central and Eastern Europe: Sociological Insights” , Routledge, 2021

https://www.routledge.com/The-Transformation-of-Religious-Orders-in-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-Sociological/Palmisano-Jonveaux-Jewdokimow/p/book/9780367355548

Contents

1. Introduction

MARCIN JEWDOKIMOW, ISABELLE JONVEAUX AND STEFANIA PALMISANO

2. Changes in religious life since the 1970s in quantitative terms – situation in the CEE countries in the context of global transformations

MARCIN JEWDOKIMOW

3. Clericalisation and the search for identity in Roman Catholic religious institutes in Poland at the turn of the 21st century

ISABELLE JONVEAUX AND WOJCIECH SADLON

4. Female religious congregations in Poland in the face of changes from Communism to the transformation period (1945–2000)

AGATA MIREK

5. The economy of Polish monasteries: Between the charismatic and routinisation stage

ISABELLE JONVEAUX

6. The reinvention of tradition: The moral economy of monastic life in the Czech Republic

BARBORA SPALOVÁ, MAREK LIŠKA AND TEREZA PICKOVÁ

7. New Monastic Communities in Poland

STEFANIA PALMISANO

8. The presence of religious orders in Hungarian society

EDIT MÁRTA RÉVAY

9. Orthodox monasteries as pilgrimage sites in contemporary Russia

Ksenia Medvedeva

Book announcement: Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation

By Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/handing-down-the-faith-9780190093327?cc=us&lang=en&

Book description

The most important influence shaping the religious and spiritual lives of children, youth, and teenagers is their parents. A myriad of studies show that the parents of American youth play the leading role in shaping the character of their religious and spiritual lives, even well after they leave home and often for the rest of their lives. We know a lot about the importance of parents in faith transmission. However, we know much less about the actual beliefs, feelings, and activities of the parents themselves, what Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk call the “intergenerational transmission of religious faith and practice.” To address that gap, this book reports the findings of a new national study of religious parents in the United States. The findings and conclusions in Handing Down the Faith are based on 215 in-depth, personal interviews with religious parents from many traditions and different parts of the country, and sophisticated analyses of two nationally representative surveys of American parents about their religious parenting.

Book Launch: ‘Urban Secularism: Negotiating Religious Diversity in Europe’ by Julia Martínez-Ariño

Event by Centre for Religion, Conflict and Globalization

Online: eu.bbcollab.com

Price: Free

Public · Anyone on or off Facebook

On Thursday 24th June at 4pm (CET), Dr Julia Martínez-Ariño will present her new publication, Urban Secularism: Negotiating Religious Diversity in Europe (Routledge). She will be joined by Dr Gorka Urrutia Asua and Dr Joram Tarusarira. The event is organised by the CRCG

https://eu.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/2caeae7c7a234a1c80f75bee2fb3b771

ISAGRAM: Issue 196, June 2021

CONFERENCES

Connecting Time Use Research with Public
Policies, Organizations and Society
International Association for Time Use Research
Barcelona, Spain
October 27-29, 2021
Abstracts: Extended to June 18, 2021

Bodies in the Pandemic Context
ISA RC54 The Body in the Social Sciences
Online Conference
September 2-4, 2021
Abstracts: July 30, 2021

Conflict, Confinement & Immorality
(In)justice International
National Pingtung University of Science and
Technology, Taiwan
March 22-25, 2022
Abstracts: September 10, 2021

FELLOWSHIPS

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Sociology of
Culture
Department of Sociology at Unicamp
Campinas, Brazil
Applications: June 20, 2021

21 PhD Scholarships in Sociology
Network for the Advancement fo Social and
Political Studies
University of Milan, Italy
Applications: June 28, 2021

28 Fellowships
French Institutes for Advanced Study
Paris/ Lyon/ Marseille/ Montpellier/ Nantes, France
Applications: July 6, 2021

PUBLICATIONS

Covid-19 and Crime Landscape in Africa
Call for papers
Special Issue of International Journal of
Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
Submissions open, till an issue is completed

Policy Transfer and Learning in the Context of
COVID-19 Pandemic
Call for papers
Thematic issue of Public Policy Studies
Abstracts: July 15, 2021

 Children, Youth and Time
Call for papers
Edited volume of Sociological Studies of
Children & Youth
Submissions: August 15, 2021

JOB OPENINGS

Two Assistant Professors in Sociology
Department of Sociology
University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Applications:  June 14, 2021

5 PhD positions in Analysis of Social and
Economic Processes
University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
Applications: June 16, 2021

Tenure-track Positions for Assistant, Associate
or Full Research Fellows
Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica
Taipei, Taiwan
Applications: June 30, 2021

 Full-time Tenure-Track Sociology Professor
The Social Sciences Department
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Lima, Peru
Applications: August 1, 2021

Book Launch: Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus – Online event

27 May 2021, 16:00 – 17:00 (BST) 

You are warmly invited to the launch of Manoela Carpenedo’s book: ‘Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus’ published by Oxford University Press (NY) in April 2021. 

Charismatic Evangelical communities adopting Jewish tenets, symbols, rituals, and even Zionist activism are growing across the globe. ‘Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus’ is the first in-depth ethnography to investigate this religious tendency in the global South. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis of an austere ‘Judaizing Evangelical’ community in Brazil, the book explores the surprising identification with Jews and Judaism by people with exclusively Charismatic Evangelical backgrounds.  

The event is hosted by the Centre for Religion Conflict and Globalization at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen and will feature an introduction from the author as well as responses from David Lehmann (University of Cambridge) and Véronique Altglas (Queen’s University Belfast). 

The event will be online via: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/e36f52409ec640dd8515bcee5ccd8432 

Author information: Manoela Carpenedo holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen and a fellow at the Centre for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Manoela has also taught courses on the Anthropology and Sociology of Religion at King’s College London and the University of Kent. 

ISAGRAM: issue 195, May 2021

On its meeting held on May 1, 2021 the Assembly
of Councils of the ISA has reached the decision to
postpone to June 25-July 1, 2023 the XX ISA World
Congress of Sociology. Further information will be
provided in due course.

ISA approves policy statement against mandatory
retirement from employment because of age

CONFERENCES

Global Studies Colloquium
University of California, USA
April 7-June 2, 2021

Reconsidering Forms of Enslavement
and Subjection
University of Warwick
Coventry, United Kingdom
June 24-26, 2021
Proposals: May 10, 2021

(Re)Contextualising the Discursive Construction
of Europe
University of Cyprus
Nicosia, Cyprus
November 25-26, 2021
Abstracts: May 15, 2021

Where City and Territory Meet…
Institute of Urbanism, TU Graz
Graz, Austria
September 16-17, 2021
Submissions: May 16, 2021

The ‘Future of Work’: Examining Discourses
and Social Practices
Laboratoire de Changement Social et Politique,
Univ. Paris 7
Paris, France
November 25-26, 2021
Proposals: May 30, 2021

The Causes and Consequences of Depopulation
Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2021
Vienna, Austria
November 29–December 01, 2021
Submissions: June 15, 2021

Comparative Sociology & Social Science
Methodology
ISA RC 20 and RC33
Japan’s Women University
Tokyo, Japan
September 12-16, 2022
Session proposals: July 30, 2021

FELLOWSHIPS

7 Post-Doctoral Fellowships
Center for the Study of Violence
University of São Paulo, Brazil
Applications: May 14, 2021

15 PhD Scholarships
Doctoral School of Social Sciences
University of Trento, Italy
Applications: May 26, 2021

Associate Directors of Studies Program
Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme
Paris, France
Applications: June 30, 2021

PUBLICATIONS

Children and Youths’ Migration in a Global
Landscape
Call for papers
Edited volume of Sociological Studies of Children
& Youth
Submissions: May 23, 2021

Demographic Aspects of the COVID-19
Pandemic and its Consequences
Call for papers
Special Issue of the Vienna Yearbook of Population
Research
Submissions: May 31, 2021

Youth and Varieties of Globalism in Asia
Call for papers
Special issue of Youth and Globalization
Abstracts: June 30, 2021

Precarious Employment and Well-Being during
the COVID-19 Pandemic
Call for papers
Special Issue of Work and Occupations
Submissions: November 15, 2021

JOB OPENINGS

Instructor (two-year, limited term) in
Quantitative Sociology
Department of Sociology
University of Calgary, Canada
Applications: May 13, 2021
 
Assistant Professor in Nationalism and Social
Psychology
Central European University
Vienna, Austria
Applications: May 31, 2021

AASR April Newsletter

Book Reviews Editor Wanted

The Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, the publication of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion, is seeking a book reviews editor from April 2021 to April 2022, while Rosemary Hancock is on leave. The position involves soliciting and editing academic book reviews from scholars around the world; the journal is published 3 times per year and each issue publishes 4 or 5 reviews. The position does involve posting books, so it is important to have the approval of your university for that task. Please contact Rosemary Hancock if you are interested: rosemary.hancock@nd.edu.au

Books  for Review

Please find the current list of books available for review on the Journal. 

Call for Papers:

Conferences:

46th Annual Conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion on ‘Hope’, 9-10 December 2021. Abstract deadline: 31 Oct 2021. More info.

Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2021, 20-22 September 2021. Abstract deadline 3 May 2021. More info. 

Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS), online: “The Future of Islam and Humanity: Local and Global Challenges and Opportunities”. 14-16 September 2021. Proposals due by 1 June 2021. More info.

New New Zealand Association for the Study of Religion Conference on ‘Aotearoa Spirit’, Victoria University of Wellington, 29-30 November 2021. Abstract deadline: 3 September 2021. More info. 

Publications:

Call for papers for the International Journal for the Study of New Religions. 

Call for papers: Special Issue “Female Mystics and the Divine Feminine in the Global Sufi Experience”. Deadline 1 July 2021. 

Events:

1. International seminar series on “Religion, Crisis and Disaster”. Upcoming: ‘Religion and Crisis in Nepal’, by Prof. David Gellner, University of Oxford on 7 April 2021. 
Talks will be online between February 24 – April 28, always on Wednesdays at 7pm in Sydney/4pm Perth (to allow for time difference with Europe and the Americas). More info. 

2. ICA 2021 Preconference Program: Intersectional Imaginaries in Media, Religion and Gender May 27, 2021. More info. 

PhD opportunity:

Religion, Society and Culture Network, Deakin University
Religion — beliefs and believers, institutions, social justice contributions, personal spirituality — plays a crucial role in areas of health, well-being, and safe and secure communities. While so-called secular Australia is in constant dialogue (and sometimes tension) with religion at the institutional level (child abuse, inter-faith disputes, the roles of women, other beliefs which seem to contradict the public policies of society), the contributions of religious leaders and believers are multiple. The Network is concerned with how such debates can be more fully acknowledged and considered, especially in relation to the growing recognition of Indigenous Australian spiritual beliefs, and in the increasing presence of Moslem, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist and other religious faiths.
What does “Australia” have to say in the dialogue between faiths and between secular and religious worldviews? Proposals for a PhD project that would investigate the role played by religion either historically and/or in contemporary cultures are sought. It might be based in sociological and policy-making approaches (potential supervisors are Anna Halafoff and Andrew Singleton), educational studies, ideological or theological approaches (Lyn McCredden, Ly Hon Tan). Supervisors in the Network for Religion, Society and Culture have a range of expertise in religious studies, with particular strengths in Buddhist studies (John Power, Anna Halafoff), Indigenous and postcolonial studies (Joanna Cruickshank, Lyn McCredden, Gillian Tan), fundamentalisms, religion and conspiracy theories (Geoff Boucher, Anna Halafoff, Andrew Singleton), evangelicalism, media and religion. (Enqi Weng), religion and education (Brendan Hyde, Dawn Joseph)
Application details, application due 1 May 2021.

Inform Online Event: Religions and Spiritual Movements: Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions

The next online Inform event will be taking place on Thursday 29th April, 5.30-7.30pm BST via Zoom. This will be the launch of the newest title in the Routledge Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements: Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions, edited by Eileen Barker and James T. Richardson. 

You can register to attend by making a donation through our website, at https://inform.ac/seminars, or by emailing us at inform@kcl.ac.uk to book your place. If donating, please be sure to use the Paypal button at the bottom of the Upcoming Seminars page, not the Donate button at the top of the page. Once you register, you will receive a flyer which will enable you to purchase the book from the publisher at a 20% discount. Please note that the Inform office will not be stocking the book for sale.

For those who have already made a donation, thank you for your generosity! 

We will be joined by a panel of three speakers: 

Milda Ališauskienė, Department of Political Sciences at Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania 

Mark Hill QC, The Open University Law School 

Marat Shterin, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College London 

Their presentations will be followed by a chance for contributors to the volume to respond briefly to some of the issues raised, and then a general Q&A. 

About the book: 

Much has been written about the law as it affects new and minority religions, but relatively little has been written about how such religions react to the law. This book presents a wide variety of responses by minority religions to the legal environments within which they find themselves. 

An international panel of experts offer examples from North America, Europe and Asia demonstrating how religions with relatively little status may resort to violence or passive acceptance of the law; how they may change their beliefs or practices in order to be in compliance with the law; or how they may resort to the law itself in order to change their legal standing, sometimes by forging alliances with those with more power or authority to achieve their goals. The volume concludes by applying theoretical insights from sociological studies of law, religion and social movements to the variety of responses. 

Table of contents: 

1 Fight, Flight or Freeze? Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions – Eileen Barker 

2 Stand Up For Your Rights: (Minority) Religions’ Reactions to the Law in Estonia – Ringo Ringvee 

3 Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Law: “Caesar’s Things to Caesar, but God’s Things to God” – Tony Brace 

4 Scientology Behind the Scenes: The Law Changer – Eric Roux 

5 No Stranger to Litigation: Court Cases Involving the Unification Church/Family Federation in the United States – Michael L. Mickler 

6 Legal Challenges Posed to the Unification Church in Europe: Perspectives from a Unificationist Advocate for Religious Freedom – Peter Zoehrer 

7 The “Doukhobor Problem” in Canada: How a Russian Mystical Sect Responded to Law Enforcement in British Columbia, 1903-2013 – Susan Palmer and Shane Dussault 

8 Making Sense of the Institutional Demarcation: Tenrikyo’s Response to Legal Environments in France – Masato Kato 

9 Strategies in Context: The Essenes in France and Canada – Marie-Eve Melanson and Jennifer Guyver 

10 Reactions to Legal Challenges by Aum Shinrikyo and its Successor Organisations – Rin Ushiyama 

11 Religious Persecution and Refugees: Legal and Communication Strategies of the Church of Almighty God in Asylum Cases – Massimo Introvigne and Rosita Soryte 

12 Minority Religion Reactions to the European Court of Human Rights  Effie Fokas 

13 Minority Religions Respond to the Law: A Theoretical Excursus – James T. Richardson