The International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR) holds bi-annual conferences that serve as a meeting point for scholars from all over the world to share the latest research findings in the field.

We are pleased and honored to announce that the IAPR Conference 2019 will be held in Gdańsk, Poland and will take place from August 31st – September 3rd.

This year, we would like to summarize the current knowledge within the title Psychology of Religion and Spirituality: New Trends and Neglected Themes.

Please refer to the Conference website: https://poland2019.iaprweb.org/

• Open registration: 1st of Nov. 2018
• Deadline for abstracts: 1st of Feb. 2019

Organizers:

• International Association for the Psychology of Religion
• University of Gdańsk (Institute of Psychology)
• Polish Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Sociology of Religion Study Group (SocRel) Annual Conference 2019

9-11 July 2019, Cardiff University

• Charles Hirschkind (University of California-Berkeley)
• Mia Lövheim (Uppsala University)
• Jolyon Mitchell (University of Edinburgh)

As scholars of religion, we are all tasked with communicating religion in one way or another – to students, to the public, and to our research community. Moreover, what we study is itself a message: participants in our studies and creators of the documents we analyse are communicating religion, and what we receive as data is what Giddens referred to as the ‘double hermeneutic,’ or ideas and experiences that have already been mediated. What is the religion communicated to us? How do we communicate religion, and what is it that we communicate when we’re doing it?

Our focus is on “communicating” as a verb-like gerund rather than “communication” as a static, abstract noun. Scholars from different strands of the sociology of religion can imagine their work in it, and our topic engages the interests of colleagues in journalism, media and cultural studies; geography; music; English, communications and philosophy; social psychology; and law and politics.

The substance of communication can include evangelistic and apologistic discourse, education, media, and public policy interventions. We welcome diverse methodological approaches, including multi-modal and multi-sensory approaches to communicating religion. We understand communicating in multiple contexts, including academia, politics, education, social media and mass media. We imagine multiple frameworks that contour how we imagine communicating religion, encompassing the secular and the digital, the individual and the collective, the implicit and the explicit, the theoretical and the empirical.

To deliver a paper, please send an abstract of no more than 250 words, alongside a biographical note of no more than 50 words. We will also be accepting a limited number of panel proposals. To deliver a panel, please send an abstract of no more than 500 words alongside a biographical note of no more than 50 words for each contributor.

Please submit your abstracts online, before midnight Friday 1 February 2019, at: https://portal.britsoc.co.uk/public/abstract/Abstracts.aspx

Conference Bursaries: A limited number of bursaries are available to support postgraduate, early career, low income or unwaged SocRel members to present at the conference. Please visit https://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/24891/socrel-2019-bursary-application-form.docx for instructions, and to download an application form, and submit your bursary application along with your abstract by 1 February 2019.

Socrel is mindful of the various sensitivities people carry concerning content. If you feel that the presentation you give may include material that may be upsetting, please consider including a note about this content in your abstract. We will not restrict or censor presentations that include sensitive or alarming content, but by flagging it in the abstract, those who attend the conference can make informed decisions on which panel they might choose to attend.

• Abstract submission: Open now
• Early bird registration opens: 3 November 2018
• Abstract submission closes: 1 February 2019
• Decision notification: 15 February 2019
• Presenter registration closes: 29 March 2019
• Early bird registration closes: 7 June 2019
• Registration closes: 28 June 2019

Please note that after 7 June 2019, a £50 late registration fee will apply to all bookings.

Should you have other questions about the conference please also contact the conference organisers, Dr Michael Munnik (Cardiff University) or Dr Peter Hemming (Cardiff University) socrel19@cardiff.ac.ukmailto:socrel19@cardiff.ac.uk

For further details, visit the SocRel website: www.britsoc.co.uk/groups/study-groups/sociology-of-religion-study-group/<http://www.britsoc.co.uk/groups/study-groups/sociology-of-religion-study-group/> For further details about the BSA visit www.britsoc.co.uk<http://www.britsoc.co.uk/>

The Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM) is pleased to announce its first annual conference, to be held at the University of Bedfordshire (Bedford Campus) 27-28 June 2019.

The theme of the conference is The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements: Critical and Interdisciplinary Approaches.

The aim of the conference is to facilitate critical and interdisciplinary discussion of apocalypticism, millenarianism and associated movements across time, place, and culture, and will cover academic fields such as anthropology, archaeology, biblical studies, critical theory, cultural studies, history, literary studies, political studies, psychology, religious studies, sociology, etc. The interdisciplinary scope is broadly understood to include methodologies, comparative approaches, and showcasing of research more specific to individual fields of expertise.

Speakers include:

• John J. Collins (Yale Divinity School)
• Vanessa Harding (Birkbeck College, University of London)
• Bill McGuire (University College London)
• Sarah Rollens (Rhodes College)
• Beth Singler (University of Cambridge)
• Fatima Tofighi (EUME, Berlin/University of Religions, Qom)
• Paul-Francois Tremlett (Open University)

We invite individual paper proposals from scholars at all stages of their career, including postgraduates, and we welcome suggestions for group panels. Please submit proposals to conference@censamm.org. Submissions for papers should include a 300-word abstract and short CV.

Deadline for proposals: 31 March 2019.

Please see the Censamm website for more information: https://censamm.org/conferences

The Cluster of Excellence “Religion and Politics” and the chair of the sociology of religion at University Münster as well as the chair of practical theology at University Siegen are organizing the conference “Religiosity in east and West – Conceptual and Methodological Challenges” in Münster, Germany, on 25-27th June 2019. The conference results from collaboration between Dr. Sarah Demmrich (psychologist of religion, Post-Doc at the chair of sociology of religion) and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Riegel (Professor for practical theology and religious education).

Proposal deadline: January 15, 2019

We welcome contributions with a scope on the psychology of religion, the sociology of religion as well as on theology. Additionally, we would be glad to attract scholars from different cultural backgrounds. Please submit a paper abstract (250 – 300 words) to Sarah Demmrich by January 15, 2019.

Conference description:

The concept of religiosity as a highly individual aspect of religion and its research was shaped in Protestant circles in the Western context (Belzen, 2015). It inspired a huge body of research and further developments in the psychology of religion, the sociology of religion, and theology. In non-Western contexts, however, this concept has been proven only partially effective for the description and measuring of religiosity. This observation raises the question if research on religiosity is a science of Western Christianity (Cutting & Walsh 2008; Hill & Hood, 1999). Even within the Western context the present concepts and instruments are only partially applicable to measure religiosity in highly religious individuals adequately. For example, an orthodox belief, which is practiced in some Protestant Free Churches, often does not contradict with life in a modern society (Vermeer & Scheepers, 2017). This observation raises the question if the contemporary conceptualizations and operationalization of religiosity are too strongly oriented towards the ideal of an enlightened and individualized belief.

In light of these two observations, the Münster conference discusses the established concepts of religiosity and aims to expand them by alternative concepts where appropriate. For example, genuine approaches from non-Western cultures can add to the contemporary discourse of religiosity research (e.g., concepts of Muslim or Hindu religiosity). Similarly, a new understanding of highly religious milieus, which are – against the secularization theory – growing in modern societies, can stimulate a new concept of religiosity beyond individualized belief (e.g., Fresh Expressions, Mega Churches).

Besides conceptualizing non-individualized religiosity, another challenge is the application of measures that grew out of the classic concepts of religiosity to the non-Christian and/or non-Western context (Dover, Miner, & Dowso, 2007; Ghorbani, Watson, Sarmast, & Chen, 2018). However, first approaches of religion- and culture-sensitive measures for different contexts have been developed during the last years (e.g., Abu-Raiya & Pargament, 2011; Ağılkaya-Şahin, 2015; Kamble, Watson, Marigoudar, & Chen, 2014; Loewenthal & Solaim, 2016; Ok, 2016). These do not only allow a more differentiated description of such religiosities, but also facilitate a valid research on its correlates. However, there has been only a few of such alternative measures of non-individualized religiosity until today and more instruments of this kind are needed which proof appropriate to various cultural contexts.

Conference details:  https://www.uni-muenster.de/Soziologie/organisation/religiosity_east_and_west.shtml

The Donner Institute will arrange a symposium 5–7 June 2019 in Åbo/Turku, Finland

Approaching esotericism and mysticism: Cultural influences

Conference website: www.abo.fi/esomyst

Hashtag: #esomyst2019

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1954347284622536/

This multidisciplinary conference approaches the traditions of Western esotericism and mysticism from a cultural-historical perspective. The aim is to analyse the diverse influences of esoteric ideas and practices and the various forms of mysticism in their cultural-historical surroundings. We promote approaches that focus on individuals, groups and networks, and various archival source materials, but we also welcome papers dealing with esoteric or mystical textual traditions.

The conference will consist of keynote lectures and sessions that can be either traditional paper sessions or roundtable talks, panels and/or artistic performances. The social program of the conference will consist of e.g. esoteric and occult walking tours in Turku and artistic performances (plans for an event together with Art Teatro Circus -group). An excursion to the exhibition on Finnish art and clairvoyance at the Gallen-Kallela Museum (Espoo/Esbo, 11.5.–8.9.2019) is also being planned. The exhibition is part of the research project Seekers of the New and is curated by Nina Kokkinen.

Keynote speakers:

• Per Faxneld, senior lecturer/associate professor at Södertörn University, Stockholm

• Christine Ferguson, professor in English Literature at the University of Stirling

• Olav Hammer, professor in the Department of History, Study of Religions at The University of Southern Denmark

• Maarit Leskelä-Kärki (PhD, Adjunct Professor), University Lecturer at the Department of Cultural History at the University of Turku

The expert symposium is arranged jointly by the Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural history and the research project Seekers of the New: Esotericism and the transformation of religiosity in the modernising Finland at the University of Turku. The project is funded by the Kone Foundation.

To apply, please send an abstract (or panel proposal with abstracts) of approximately 150 words to the Donner Institute, donner.institute@abo.fi, no later than 31 December 2018. Letters of acceptance will be posted no later than 31 January, 2019.

On behalf of the organizing committee,

Björn Dahla

The Donner Institute

The Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM) is pleased to announce its first annual conference, to be held at the University of Bedfordshire (Bedford Campus) 27-28 June
2019.

The theme of the conference is The Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements: Critical and Interdisciplinary Approaches.

The aim of the conference is to facilitate critical and interdisciplinary discussion of apocalypticism, millenarianism and associated movements across time, place, and culture, and will cover academic fields such as anthropology, archaeology, biblical studies, critical theory, cultural studies, history, literary studies, Political studies, psychology, religious studies, sociology, etc. The interdisciplinary scope is broadly understood to include methodologies, comparative approaches, and showcasing of research more specific to individual fields of expertise.

Speakers include:

• John J. Collins (Yale Divinity School)
• Vanessa Harding (Birkbeck College, University of London)
• Bill McGuire (University College London)
• Sarah Rollens (Rhodes College)
• Beth Singler (University of Cambridge)
• Fatima Tofighi (EUME, Berlin/University of Religions, Qom)
• Paul-Francois Tremlett (Open University)

We invite individual paper proposals from scholars at all stages of their career, including postgraduates, and we welcome suggestions for group panels. Please submit proposals to conference@censamm.org.

Submissions for papers should include a 300-word abstract and short CV.
Deadline for proposals: 31 March 2019.

Please see the CenSAMM website for more information https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcensamm.org%2Fconferences&amp;data=01%7C01%7Cmunnikm%40cardiff.ac.uk%7Cbb29cb68eed24657341e08d6610d800a%7Cbdb74b3095684856bdbf06759778fcbc%7C1&amp;sdata=tB7V9mCVO4RkmVKpghrBa15UiCGwHcEYVm9rfh4ncuE%3D&amp;reserved=0

The Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race (TRRR) invites presentation proposals for its 2019 conference, which will convene at Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations (HIPSIR), Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya, July 1-5.

This conference takes place against the backdrop of an era of increased political authoritarianism and a noticeable rise in racial and religious intolerance across the world. In Africa the issues of migration, review of conflict intervention mechanisms and an ideological shift on the war on terrorism have raised questions on US strategy in Africa. There has also been a noticeable increase in recent years of suspicions toward known and settled facts and of an economic and cultural nationalism that is fuelling conflicts across the World.

This time of global uncertainty requires a bold and progressive agenda, that also recognizes assets and cultures of cooperation to challenge the existing order. We seek papers that will address these issues with urgency, clarity and an understanding of what is at stake and what can be imagined.

Themes to be addressed include:
  *   Political and Religious Authoritarianism: Past, Present and Future
  *   Deconstructing Conflict, Violence and Sovereignty in Africa and Across the Diaspora
  *   Assets, Cooperatives and the Culture of Cooperation
  *   Patriarchy, Sexism and the Role of Culture in Africa and the Diaspora
  *   Faith-based Responses to the Immigration Crisis
  *   New Formations of African Identity on the Continent and Across the Diaspora
  *   Old Media New Media, Social Media and the Production of Knowledge-based Development
  *   Religion, Race and Morality in the Age of New Social Movements

We invite analysis of these and other tensions at the intersections of religion, race, class, gender and nationality, especially bearing upon faith sector positioning and responses within Africa and diasporic contexts. Contemporary and historical analysis of these contexts are welcome. Best practices presentations and scholarly papers should be outlined in an abstract of 250 words or fewer and emailed by January 30th, 2019 to Dr. William Ackah  (w.ackah@bbk.ac.uk<mailto:w.ackah@bbk.ac.uk>) and Dr. R. Drew Smith (rsmith@pts.edumailto:rsmith@pts.edu).

Further details at: http://www.religionandrace.org

International Conference in Manilla, July 26-27, 2019

We are pleased to announce the International Conference in Theology and Religious Studies, jointly organized by Liverpool Hope University (LHU) through the Andrew Walls Center for the Study of African and Asian Christianity and the Theology and Religious Education Department of De la Salle University (DLSU), Manila, Philippines. The Conference shall take place on July 26 – 27, 2019 in De La Salle University Manila, Philippines under the theme, “Church-State Relations: Religion in the Public Square”. The Conference shall bring together scholars engaged in the academic study of Theology/ Religion in public life in Asia and other regions. The conference will have paper presentations from notable scholars from Europe, Asia and the Philippines.

The “separation of Church and State” is a modern development that ensures freedom of religious expression. At the same time, it prevents governments from imposing particular religious doctrines on everyone. While modern states have upheld the separation between Church and State, the Church, in particular, has supported particular political interventions, movements, and advocacies pertaining to moral issues (e.g. on dictatorships and other human rights violations, legislations on reproductive health issues, divorce, LGBTQ rights, etc.).

This conference therefore explores the varied ways of living out and interpreting the separation and interaction between Church and State. It seeks to respond to the questions: What have been the various models of relations between Church and State? How has religion informed public advocacy? What were the extra and intra-ecclesial factors that shaped religious intervention? What were the consequences of such relations? What can scholarship learn from the experiences that is useful for facing issues today?

We invite scholars from other regions to join in the interdisciplinary conversations to understand the challenges Church-State relations pose for theological reflection and religious studies.

Follow this link for online registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUHCExTLFwWgotWdMl2_8ZGrG24gW0lEaZ_3bmczI4fvxZUw/viewform

• Please send your abstracts (250 words) with 5 keywords (and brief author background) to rito.baring@dlsu.edu.ph by December 15, 2018
• Payment Schemes for the Conference Registration (Inclusive of Simple Conference Kit, 2 Lunches, 4 snacks and certificates):

Local Participants Regular Registration – Php 1,500

Foreign Participants – US $ 50.00 – UCPB P. Ocampo Branch Savings Account 01-120-300035-8 Swift Code: UCPBPHMM

For other conference-related inquiries, kindly email: rito.baring@dlsu.edu.ph

thank you.

—

Dr. Rito Baring

Chair

Theology and Religious Education Department

De La Salle University

Manila