Religious Communities in the Age of Migration, October 24-25, 2019, Kaunas

Vytautas Magnus University Research Cluster “Church Relations with State and Society in Lithuania”
is pleased to invite you to the international conference

Religious communities in the age of migration: challenges, experiences and opportunities
October 24-25, 2019

Migration is an inherent part of global history, as well as a component of the modern world that influences politics, economics, social life, as well as religious communities.
Lithuania’s geopolitical location between the East and the West, the periods of its independent development and experiences of many occupations have led to the fact that Lithuanian society and its religious communities have a rich heritage of migration-related background. After 1990 when Lithuania regained its independence, and become a member of the European Union and the Schengen area, the challenges posed by migration became an integral part of public debate and decision-making by policy makers.
In the times of value pluralism, the position of religious communities towards the challenges caused by migration, their historical experience becomes particularly relevant to the general and academic communities of Lithuania and other countries.

• Theology and ecclesiology of migration and diaspora.
• Migration and development of religious communities’ structures (history and modern experience)
• Religion / religious practices in the migration process.
• Diaspora pastoralism: history and the possibilities of modern technology.
• Religion of migrants and change of ethnic identity in the process of integration.
• Religious art and migration experiences.

Especially welcome are papers on broader, problematic, interdisciplinary, and comparative aspects of topics related to religion, diaspora and migration research.
The organizers invite proposals for individual 20 minutes papers from established scholars, early career academics and postgraduates alike. The Ph.D. students are also encouraged to submit proposals.
The languages of the conference are English and Lithuanian.
Paper proposals must include: Name, affiliation and e-mail address of the participant | Title of the abstract | An abstract of 300-500 words | Short biographical note.
This information should be sent to the conference coordinator Inga Puidokiene at inga.puidokiene@vdu.lt
The deadline for abstract submission: 15 June 2019.
We very much look forward seeing you this October in Kaunas!