Author Archives: DaBoss

PhD Scholarships on “The African Diaspora and Pentecostalism in Australia”

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Dear colleagues,

We are offering 2 PhD scholarships (1 based in Sydney and 1 in Perth) as part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) funded project: “The African Diaspora and Pentecostalism in Australia: New Perspectives on Materiality, Media and Religion.”

This project investigates the new African Diaspora in Australia and its embrace of Pentecostalism, particularly after arrival. The African community in Australia has often been associated with poor settlement outcomes, and has also been on the receiving end of a racialised moral panic. The project aims: to understand the range of challenges African-Australian communities faces; to determine why so many of their members join Pentecostal churches; to investigate how Pentecostal churches support these communities’ translocal and transnational mobility and sense of belonging, and; to contribute to policy efforts to improve outcomes for African new arrivals in Australia.

Within this larger project, the PhD candidates will conduct ethnographic research with Pentecostal churches in Australia, and with African Diasporas in the country. Both projects will investigate questions such as: how do Pentecostal churches support/hinder processes of settlement and ‘integration’? How do some Pentecostal megachurches generate transnational religious fields – ones which may harness resources from branches elsewhere in the world? And what impact does all of this have on Australian cities’ post-secular social landscapes?

We welcome applicants from a range of backgrounds: anthropology, sociology, religious studies, African studies, Migration studies or a related field. In particular, the project is suitable for candidates with strong interests in the intersections of migration and religion. Applications from students of African heritage are especially welcomed.

Deadline: 30 June 2019

For more details, see

1. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/graduate_research_school/grs/scholarships/current_scholarships/current_scholarships/ssap_the_african_diaspora_and_pentecostalism_in_australia (Religion and Society Research Centre, School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney)

2. http://www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au/search?sc_view=1&id=8941 (, at the School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth).

Prof Cristina Rocha
Director of Religion and Society Research Cluster |School of Social Sciences and Psychology
Western Sydney University
President: Australian Association for the Study of Religion

CFP: "Public policies and the production of religious difference"

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The Conference of the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG) that will be held in Groningen on 30 October – 1 November 2019 is now open.

The theme of the conference is “Religion and the Production of Difference”.

Julia Martínez Ariño is convening a panel on “Public policies and the production of religious difference”

This panel will explore how religious difference is produced, reproduced, challenged and/or ignored by public policies as well as how, inversely, notions of religious difference inform policymaking. The panel welcomes papers examining the production of religious difference, and religious-secular and religious-spiritual distinctions by public policies in fields such as urban planning and public space, education, security, immigrant integration, etc. Attention will also be given to how policy-driven categories of religious difference are received by the stakeholders and impact on individuals and groups. Papers analysing policy definitions of acceptable and non-acceptable religiosity in various social contexts and policy fields and papers interested in the reception and consequences of those definitions are also welcomed. Some of the questions that the panel will address are the following: What are the social imaginaries and policy ideas underlying public policies in relation to religion and what are the resulting categories of difference? How do different actors, religious or not, receive and react to those categories and processes of differentiation? What are the (differential) implications of these processes and categories for different religious and non-religious groups and individuals? We are interested in covering a wide range of geographical locations, theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches.

Panel convener: Julia Martínez-Ariño, University of Groningen Please, send your abstracts of no more than 250 words and a short biographical note of 100 words max. to: j.martinez.arino@rug.nl . Deadline: 1 June 2019

Scholars based in Dutch universities and abroad are invited to submit their abstracts. Deadline: 1 June 2019.

For more information, please visit the conference website: http://www.godsdienstwetenschap.nl/index.php…

Centre for Religion, Conflict and GlobalizationFaculty of Theology and Religious Studies University of GroningenNGG – Dutch Association for the Study of Religion

The Donner Institute Prize for Outstanding Research into Religion 2019

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The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History hereby calls for nominations for its annual prize for outstanding research into religion. The nominations should be submitted by 31 May 2019. The prize announcement is posted on our website: https://www.donnerinstitute.fi/en/current-3/nominate-a-candidate-for-the-2019-donner-research-prize/

Åbo/Turku, 15 April 2019
Ruth Illman, Director
The Donner Institute

INFORM Seminar: “How Minority Religions React to the Law”

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Registration is now open for the next Inform Seminar, How Minority Religions React to the Law, in conjunction with the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, King’s College, London.

Saturday 1st June, 10am-5pm (registration at 9.30). Bush House Lecture Theatre 1, King’s College, London, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG.

Please visit https://inform.ac/seminars to book tickets via Paypal or credit/debit card.

Registration costs:

  • Standard: £38
  • Unwaged/ university student: £18
  • A Level student: £10

After 12th May, ticket prices will increase by £10, across all three categories and refunds will not be offered.

Speakers include:

  • Professor Eileen Barker, FAcSS, FBA, OBE, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the London School of Economics and Founder and Honorary Acting Director of Inform.
  • Dr Effie Fokas, Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), host institution to the Grassrootsmobilise project, which studies grassroots level mobilisations ‘in the shadow’ of European Court of Human Rights religious freedoms jurisprudence.
  • Professor Susan Palmer, Director of a four-year (SSHRC Insight) research project, ‘Children in Sectarian Religions and State Control’ at McGill University’s School of Religious Studies, who will present a paper on The Trials of the Old Order Mennonites of Manitoba, 2013-2106.
  • Ringo Ringvee, a government official from Estonia who will speak about minority religions’ reactions to recent laws in Estonia.
  • Eric Roux, President of the Union of Churches of Scientology of France and Vice President of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights.
  • Dr Rin Ushiyama, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, an expert on Aum Shinrikyo, and its offshoots Aleph and Hikari No Wa.
  • Peter Zoehrer, Secretary General of FOREF Europe (Forum for Religious Freedom), Austria, and a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Call for Contributions on Religion for the Encyclopaedia for African Studies

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Colleagues,

I have been assigned to be the subject editor of African Religions section of The Encyclopaedia for African Studies. This is a proposed resource centre for people interested in the study of Africa. As we all know, African religion(s) is a significant part of this. We hope that this will serve African scholars, advanced researchers, professors, and specialists and especially undergraduate and graduate students taking courses or doing research on Africa. The entries should include articles and multimedia resources on different aspects of the African continent, and should also provide direction to other related content within the encyclopaedia. When we speak about African religions, we cover content about African indigenous religions, and Africanized religions including African Christianity and African Islam, and African religions in the Diaspora. This is an opportunity for us to contribute to this important volume. Entries vary from 1,500 to 8,000 words depending on significance/relevance and topic of discussion.

Entries should be meticulously and academic, thus it is important that guidelines related to copyright infringements are followed as well as intellectual property rights. As an editor on the subject area of religion, my job is to suggest a list of themes for the discipline, once approved the writing process will commence. We hope that the proposed Routledge Online Encyclopaedia will be one of the top reference resource for students, professors and professionals interested in African studies.

I have suggestions for entries, or you may propose your own.  If interested, let me know as soon as possible. All entries should be submitted latest by July 15, 2019. Contact me at wangilam@ecu.edu  if you have any further questions on this.

Thank you,
Mary Nyangweso

wangilam@ecu.edu

Apply for Generations in Dialogue about the Sociology of Religion

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The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California (USC) is seeking applications for its Generations in Dialogue (GID) program about the Sociology of Religion.

The GID program involves a widely-recognized senior Catholic scholar sharing his or her time, expertise, and wisdom with several junior scholars in the same or related disciplines. Over a two-year period these scholars convene for four weekend dialogues that include discipline-specific discussions, personal reflection, shared prayer, and presentations from distinguished scholars and public intellectuals.  Besides benefitting from two years of mentorship, junior scholars will establish relationships with other dedicated scholars in their field.

A generous stipend is included. Early-career (pre-tenure and dissertation stage) social scientists are eligible. Applications are welcome from anyone interested in a substantive and critical engagement with Catholicism’s multiple intellectual traditions

For more information and an application:

https://ifacs.com/programs/generations-in-dialogue/

Call for Papers:r the 1st European Conference for Religious Dialogue and Cooperation

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Conference Theme: “THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN PEACE AND CONFLICT”

October 14-17, 2019
Struga, Republic of North Macedonia

One of the key questions that contemporary sociology is faced is what exactly is the role of different religions when conflicts emerged between civilizations, ethnic groups and states? How do religious individuals and groups use their power in a development tending toward either peace or conflict? Sociological, philosophical, anthropological, historical, psychological and theological approaches are welcome in this Conference to contribute in an attempt to answer these questions.

The First European Conference on Religious Dialogue and Cooperation will provide scientific analysis of this global challenge.  It will pay particular attention to their interconnections and to possible solutions.

We encourage authors to submit paper proposals based on the results of their scientific studies, as well as the methodological and theoretical aspects of the study of religion in Europe. The official language of the conference is English. All papers that successfully pass the reviewing process will be published in a journal with an international editorial board.

Please submit a 200-300 words abstract of your presentation by e-mail to: Ivana Dragovic, M.Sc., President of the Conference Organizing Committee email : ivana@fzf.ukim.edu.mk by June 15, 2019.

Key dates:

  • Submission of paper proposals: June 15, 2019.
  • Notification of acceptance and opening of the registration: July 1, 2019.
  • The final date of the registration for the conference: September 15, 2019.
  • Final program: October 1, 2019.
  • Submission of full papers: March 1, 2020

Registration Fee: 150 Eur The costs of travel and accommodation have to be covered by the conference participants. We offer organized transport from the Skopje Airport to Hotel Drim in Struga.

For participants of the conference, Hotel Drim (www.drim.com.mk) offers reduced prices for accommodation with included meals.

All necessary information can be obtained from the official website of the Conference http://icrd.mk/ 

We are looking forward to receiving your papers!

PROFESSOR ZORAN MATEVSKI, Ph.D. Director of the Center for Intercultural Studies and Research At the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje

AASR 2019 CONFERENCE Conference Theme: Religion and Violence

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AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION

The 2019 AASR conference will be held from December 5-6 at the city campus of the University of Newcastle, co-hosted by the AASR, the Centre for the Study of Violence and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

Conference Theme: Religion and Violence

We invite scholarly reflections on the complex and diverse relations between religion and violence, incorporating counter discourses of peace and social justice.

The relationship between religion and violence continues to be contentious and marked by significant changes in global and domestic politics including humanitarian crises, displaced peoples particularly asylum seekers, the rise and fall of extremist religious movements, the status of hate speech, the role of social media and the ongoing threat of religious terrorism. 

These major upheavals, particularly the claims to religious authority and legitimacy through violent means, have led to a growth in collective anxiety threatening global and local security.  Religious violence can be direct and institutional; aimed against individuals or groups; administered by the state or by non-state actors; material and symbolic.

A counterpoint is provided by religiously-motivated peace and social justice movements, including those for welcoming religiously-diverse refugees and migrants, interfaith initiatives and movements for gender and sexuality equality and animal rights. For example, values of religious diversity, social solidarity and pluralism have been notable in responding to recent expressions of violence including the events in Christchurch in March 2019 and provide notable moments of hope in moving towards religious diversity as a global value.

The conference invites papers engaging these issues from relevant disciplines including religious studies, politics, history, philosophy, law, theology, sociology and anthropology, social work, criminology, gender and women’s studies and education. Of particular interest are contributions examining:

  • ·         the relationship between religious identity and violent extremism
  • ·         state management of religious violence including the regulation of social media and hate speech
  • ·         state perpetration of religious violence
  • ·         perceptions and constructions of religious violence
  • ·         theoretical approaches to the meaning of religious violence including examples of scapegoating and symbolic forms of violence
  • ·         the relationship between gender, sexuality, religion and violence with particular attention to current issues of clergy abuse and domestic violence
  • ·         representations of religious violence in popular culture
  • ·         race, ethnicity, otherness and religious violence
  • ·         religion and animal rights
  • ·         religious movements for peace and social cohesion

How to Submit

Send proposals to the conference convenor Kathleen McPhillips: Kathleen.mcphillips@newcastle.edu.au

Please include Title, Author, Abstract (maximum 150 words) and university affiliation by 1st August 2019.

We are particularly interested in panel proposals on the conference theme, which must include no more than 4 panel members with a theme, paper titles, abstracts and authors.

Confirmations of acceptance will be sent by 1st September 2019. Late papers will not be considered.

Membership

Please note: submissions will only be considered if authors are members of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion.

For membership please visit the AASR website https://www.aasr.org.au/join-us. Members of NZASR do not need to also have AASR membership.

Conference Venue

The University of Newcastle is Australia’s leading regional university and has a record of global excellence in enquiry and engagement. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences supports the interdisciplinary study of religion including via the Centre for the History of Violence, where researchers work on projects across a breadth of themes including religion. The University’s city campus– Newspace – is located in the centre of the business district close to transport, accommodation, the harbour, beaches and the entertainment area. See https://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/our-environments/new-space

Newcastle is located 2 hours north of Sydney and is easily accessible by road, air and train.  Transport to and from Newcastle airport provides easy access into the city and hosts international flights, including direct flights from Auckland and most major Australian cities.

SocRel Stream Plenary at BSA Conference

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The Sociology of Religion study group will be hosting its own stream plenary at the BSA Annual Conference, Challenging Social Hierarchies and Inequalities, Glasgow Caledonian University 24–26 April 2019.

The plenary is titled ‘Religion and The Good’ with keynote speakers, Prof Chris Baker (Goldsmiths), Prof Gordon Lynch (University of Kent) and Dr Marta Trzebiatowska (University of Aberdeen). The session is intended to explore the idea of the good and morality in shaping social life and how religion connects to such meaning making, while also exploring what does ‘the good’ mean in different spaces and spheres. It will consider how religion responds to notions of ‘the common good’ and the different forms morality and ethical meaning making might take within religions and beyond. The stream plenary is scheduled for 9:30-10:30 Thursday 25th April.

To register for the conference please visit: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/bsa-annual-conference-2019-challenging-social-hierarchies-and-inequalities/

Jameel Scholarships

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The Islam-UK Centre at Cardiff University is pleased to invite applications for this year’s Jameel Scholarships, starting September 2019.

Three fully-funded scholarships are available for the MA course ‘Islam in Contemporary Britain’.  Each scholarship will cover full UK/EU tuition fees and provide students with a £15,000 stipend as well as a £1,000 research
allowance.  For more information, refer to http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/islamukcentre/jameel-scholarships/

*Closing date for scholarship applications: 24th May 2019.*

Please circulate among your networks and encourage interested final year undergraduate students to apply!

For all enquiries, please contact: jameelscholarships@cardiff.ac.uk