Call for Presentation Proposals: Survey Research and the Study of Religion in East Asia

East Asia, a region rich with diverse religious traditions, presents
exciting opportunities as well as unique challenges for survey researchers
interested in religion questions. On October 11-12, 2017, Pew Research
Center will host a small conference to advance the state of the art in the
study of religion using surveys in East Asia (focusing particularly on
China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan).

The conference will be a gathering of survey researchers based in East Asia
as well as those based outside the region. Survey researcher and
Confucianism scholar Anna Sun <http://personal.kenyon.edu/suna/> will be
our keynote speaker. Plenary sessions will feature survey researchers and
religion scholars invited to discuss what it means to be religious in East
Asia and the major challenges of conducting survey research on the topic.
Breakout sessions will feature presentations submitted in response to this
call for papers.

*Breakout sessions will be composed of 10-minute presentations.* With
limited time, presenters are encouraged to get straight to the most
interesting kernel of their work. This efficient format permits more
presentations and discussion than would otherwise be possible and creates
opportunity for follow-up conversations during breaks.
Proposals that focus on the methodology of how survey work can be improved
are particularly welcome. Presentations could assess existing survey
measures of a concept and present a new alternative. They might focus on an
important religious practice or belief that tends not to be measured in
surveys, particularly if one has suggestions for how this practice/belief
could be captured with surveys. Presentations that describe interesting
findings from existing surveys are also welcome, particularly if they point
toward how future survey work might be improved.

*Space is limited for this event*, both on the program and in the meeting
facilities at our Washington, DC headquarters. Thanks to the generous
support of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, there is no
cost to attend the event. Additionally, thanks to a grant from the Global
Religion Research Initiative <http://grri.nd.edu/r1awards>, airfare and
lodging expenses will be covered for a limited number of scholars based in
East Asia traveling to the conference from Asia. Some participants may wish
to stay for the annual conference <http://www.sssrweb.org/> of the
Scientific Study of Religion, which will be held nearby October 13-15.

*To propose a 10 minute presentation, please email a title and abstract of
no more than 300 words along with a short statement about why you are
interested in this conference to Conrad Hackett (chackett@pewresearch.org
<chackett@pewresearch.org>) by June 20.*

*Key dates*
June 20 Deadline for presentation proposals
June 30 Proposal decision notification
July 1 Registration opens (if space permits, those not presenting can apply
to participate in the conference)
August 1 Registration closes
October 11 Day 1 of conference 9 am – 6:30 pm
October 12 Day 2 of conference 9 am – 5 pm