Author Archives: DaBoss

Call for Papers: “Mosques, families and Islamic Law”

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‘Danish Mosques – Significance, Use and Influence’ together with the ‘Nordic Mosques Research network’ invites papers and applications for participation. This will be the first workshop as part of the HS-NOS funding and the mid-term conference in the Danish Mosques research project.

The workshop will take place at in Göteborg in Sweden at the Hotel Panorama from 21st to 23rd August 2019.

The deadline for the call for papers is May 1st, 2019.

All contact should be addressed to Niels Valdemar Vinding, lbm993@hum.ku.dk

https://mosques.ku.dk/activities/mosques-families-and-islamic-law/

Call for Papers

For this workshop, we invite scholars and researchers in the Nordic countries (and beyond) that work in the intersection of mosques, family and Islamic law. Mosques are widely understood as Muslim institutions in the discursivity of Islam. Similarly, Islamic law is widely defined as Islamic ethics, norms and practice. In our view and in legal terms, the biggest challenge for mosques and Muslims in the Nordic countries is building authentic and responsive legal institutions that may help Muslims in their ethnic, social and legal dilemmas and problems, where Western society seems to disappoint. There is a significant degree of experimentation and different attempts at articulating a religious legal identity and institutions amongst Muslims in the Nordic countries. This has been going on for a number of years, but now seems to be quasi-institutionalised to point where we are able to find legal documents, interview people and observe the process of legal institutionalization.

However, currently Muslim legal institutions are reaching out to governments and courts to better regulate and establish their practices to mitigate the significant risk of having their work deemed illegitimate and even illegal. The most significant legal concern by far is Muslim family law with the fear of parallel legal orders and subversive counter-normativity.

The operable questions for the workshop are; how are Muslims in mosques (and beyond) articulating their legal, ethical and normative identities? What kind of institutions are being build? How many so-called Islamic councils are there in the Nordic countries? How are they seen and used by Muslims? What kind of Islamic law and ethics issues are seen by the courts and quasi-courts in the Nordic countries, such as family matters, divorce, mediation, inherence, honour, polygamy? How do the courts and the legal systems in general approach and address these issues?

We are inviting submissions for papers as well as for participation in the workshop. We will give preference to papers to be presented during the workshop. For paper presentations, we are expecting written contributions to either an upcoming special issue of a leading journal or to a concluding anthology on Nordic Mosques in Context.

Paper abstracts of 300 words or expressions of interest in participation and a short CV to be submitted to Niels Valdemar Vinding, lbm993@hum.ku.dk, on May 1st 2019 at the latest.

Workshop Series Theme

This is the first in a series of three workshops on Nordic Mosques in Context – On the institutional embeddedness of Islam in the Nordic countries sponsored by a NOS-HS Workshop Grant. The second is on ”Mosques, power and politics,” in Copenhagen, Denmark, in January 2020, and the third is on ”Mosques, communities and finance,” in Oslo, Norway, August 2020. The purpose of the workshops is to investigate the dimensions of institutional embeddedness of Islam in the Nordic countries as mosques seek to be responsive institutions for the needs of Muslims, challenged by economic, legal and political alternatives. We are considering mosques as the focal point of Islam in economic, legal and political terms, the primary objective of this research project is to study the institutional strategies of mosques and Muslims in embedding Islam in the Nordic wider societies. The key here is to see to what extend mosques are responsive institutions for the needs of Muslim in soliciting the wider public, or if Muslims go beyond the mosque in the pursuit of other more apt forms of institutionalised religious life such as invoking Islamic economic, legal and political responses. We argue that the entire future of mosques depends on whether they can give and refine responsive and meaningful answers and make them coherent with the economic, legal and politics questions that Muslims seek the answers to. As such, this may result in the secularisation of mosques as they negotiate and find their place in society. Will these new or re-interpreted institutional expressions clash with the general public, will they fail Muslims or will they be viable alternatives for embedding Islam in the Nordic countries?

Workshop structure

We are aiming to conduct this workshop from the afternoon on Wednesday 21st August and finish with lunch on Friday 23rd August. All accepted participants will have flights, trains and other public transportation and hotel costs covered. We are organising a programme with keynotes, paper sessions with 20 minutes presentation and 10 minutes Q&A, as well as an afternoon open to the public and local stakeholders.

Conveners

Brian Arly Jacobsen, assoc. professor, Sociology of Religion, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Torkel Brekke, Research Professor, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Norway

Göran Larsson, Professor in Religious Studies, Göteborg University, Sweden

Niels Valdemar Vinding, post.doc., Islamic Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Call for Applications: Editor of Sociology of Religion

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Submission Deadline: April 30, 2019

Send applications to:

Rachel Kraus, ASREO@bsu.edu

Please visit our website for complete information

The Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) invites applications for the position Editor of ASR’s journal, Sociology of Religion. The journal has a distinguished record of publishing exceptional sociological research on all facets of religion and spirituality, along with robust two-year (1.556) and five-year (2.000) impact factors.

The journal is published by Oxford University Press on a quarterly basis and is highly competitive, with a 16% acceptance rate from among the nearly 200 manuscripts that are typically submitted in a given year and a 12-week average decision time frame on submitted manuscripts. Published articles commonly feature research on the contours and antecedents of religious involvement, the consequences of religiosity for other domains of social life (gender, health, etc.), the linkages between religion and other social institutions, trends related to religious participation and disaffiliation, various expressions of faith and spirituality, and diverse methodological and theoretical approaches for examining such topics.

Sociology of Religion focuses principally on the publication of basic research that meets stringent scholarly standards. Theoretical and methodological sophistication are a hallmark of articles published in Sociology of Religion. Articles commonly discuss the implications of research findings for the ongoing investigation of religion, social policy, and religious practice. Thus, while applied research is not a principal focus of the journal, practical considerations associated with research findings are commonly addressed.

Research published in the journal is promoted through various venues, including social media (e.g., @SORJournal Twitter account), podcasts, and the annual meetings of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (held in August).

Interdisciplinary symposium *Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity and Migration*.

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Date: 2-3 of August, 2019

Venue: Parramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University

169 Macquarie St, Parramatta, NSW, Australia

Abstracts due: 10 of April 2019 (title, 250-word abstract, short bio)

Submit to: Dr Kathleen Openshaw k.openshaw@westernsydney.edu.au

Keynote Speaker: Associate Prof Richard Vokes (University of Western Australia)

Symposium Conveners:

Prof Cristina Rocha, Religion and Society Research Cluster, WSU

Prof Mark Hutchinson, Alphacrucis College

Dr Kathleen Openshaw, Religion and Society Research Cluster, WSU

Mrs Ingrid Ryan, Alphacrucis College

Symposium Theme

Over the past few decades, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity (PCC) has exploded in the Global South and grown considerably in the Global North. Much of this grow this fuelled by networks of megachurches, the mobility of community leaders across diasporic networks, migration and media. While traditionally missionaries would travel in a North-to- South direction, more recently megachurches from the Global South have moved horizontally, across to other developing countries, and also made inroads in to the Global North in efforts of reverse missionisation. Such attempts to missionise to locals in the Global North have been largely (though not wholly) unsuccessful and churches have turned their focus to migrants from the Global South. Many studies have shown that migrants, who were not attached to PCCs before migration, join churches in the diaspora as they offer them a home away from home. Meanwhile, diasporic churches also face difficulties keeping these (as well as second generation) migrants, since they may prefer local churches in an effort to integrate. In this symposium we probe these themes and are seeking papers on the following topics:

  • Historical developments
  • Missionary activities and migration
  • Translocal and transnational PCC networks
  • Translocal and transnational families and PCC
  • Young migrants and PCC
  • Second generation migrants and PCC
  • Gender, PCC and migration
  • City infrastructures and diasporic churches
  • Theological themes and migration
  • Cultural translation, negotiation, adaptation of migrant churches
  • PCC, media, music, information communication Technologies and migration
  • Material culture and migrants’ lived experiences in PCC churches
  • Aesthetics and embodied practices
  • Immobility, borders and PCC

Cristina

Professor Cristina Rocha

Director of Religion and Society Research Cluster

Western Sydney University

President: Australian Association for the Study of Religion

Conference: "Theory and Practice in Amish Research"

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Friday, August 2, 2019

Millersburg, Holmes County, OH

Conference hosted by the Amish & Plain Anabaptist Studies Association

Proposals are due by Friday, April 5; registration will follow.

For more details, see: www.amishstudies.org

The ongoing growth of the plain people—the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, German Baptists, Apostolic Christians, and others—means that more and more people are encountering these subcultures in the public sphere. For this reason, those who specifically study or work with the plain people—including health practitioners, public servants, and social researchers—must continue advancing our bodies of knowledge and best practices through critical evaluation of old paradigms and introduction of new concepts. The goal of this conference is to discuss advances in theory—the conceptual understanding of the plain people—and practice—the hands-on experiences of practitioners working with the plain people. We will also explore the connection between the two, how the lessons of one can be used by the other. For the convenience of attendees, the bi-annual Amish Health Conference of the Center for Appalachia Research in Cancer Education (CARE) will be held back-to-back, on Thursday, August 1, with this conference.

Call for conference organisers – Socrel 2020

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Dear colleagues,

Socrel invites proposals for an organising team, theme and venue for the Annual Conference in July 2020. If you would like to host Socrel’s next conference at your university or a suitable conference centre, we encourage you to submit a proposal by May 24th 2019

This is an excellent opportunity to host a prestigious and fully-supported conference (including international keynotes and bursaries).

About Socrel and the annual conference
Socrel is the Sociology of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association (BSA). It is the second largest study group in the BSA and has been in operation for over 40 years. Socrel currently has over 200 active members and organises a range of events each year, including the annual conference, a Socrel response day focused on an issue of particular current relevance and a study day for postgraduate and early career researchers. Socrel publishes one edited volume each year with Routledge.
The theme of a Socrel conference should be distinctive enough to form a focus for discussion, but broad enough to allow a wide range of sociologists of religion, postgraduates, and other scholars interested in social scientific study of religion to relate the conference to their own work. Over the last ten years Socrel conference themes have included: On the Edge? Centres and Margins in the Sociology of Religion (2017), Construction and disruption: The power of religion in the public sphere (2016), Foundations and Futures (2015), Religion and Crisis (2014), Material Religion (2013), Religion and Inequalities (2012), Religion and Social Theory (2011), The Changing Face of Christianity (2010), Religion and Knowledge (2009), Religion and Youth (2008), Religion and Media (2007) and Religion and the Individual (2006).

The Annual Conference will take place over three days in early -mid July. Socrel’s annual conferences attract 100-140 participants. Your venue should be able to provide lecture or seminar rooms for at least four parallel sessions and accommodation for at least 100 overnight guests.

Your organising team will be supported by the Socrel committee and the BSA Events Team.

Please visit: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/groups/study-groups/sociology-of-religion-study-group/  for more information about this year’s conference and the group.

Proposal details
Your proposal should include the following headings:

  1. Conference title and theme, with an explanation (no more than 300 words) of why you believe this theme will make for an interesting and successful conference
  2. Suggested dates for the conference, which should be held in July
  3. Your proposed venue for the conference, including a brief explanation of why you believe this venue is appropriate
  4. A list of the team members who will help you to organise this conference (the principal organisers must be Socrel members).
  5. Suggested keynote speakers
  6. A list of the major sub themes you hope to include among the conference presentations. What will people be talking about at your event?

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your ideas before submitting a formal proposal, please contact the Socrel Conference and Events Officer, Rachael Shillitoe, at Rachael.shillitoe@york.ac.uk

Church of England, Research & Statistics Unit presents Faith in Research 2019

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Wednesday 19th June 2019
9.30am – 4.45pm,
Novotel Hotel, Birmingham

This exciting conference will provide you with insights from keynote speakers: Professor Christopher Southgate (“How can congregations be helped in times of tragedy?”) and Dr Kathryn Kissell (“Boundaries in Ministerial Life? The Why, Where and How for Longevity in Ministry”).

You will also be able to attend two of four breakout sessions which will tackle:
  *   Clergy and wellbeing
  *   Social action
  *   Church and culture
  *   Children and young people

Book your ticket here

Booking closes Friday 7th June 2019
For further information please contact charlotte.sibtain@churchofengland.org

Charlotte Sibtain
Statistical Researcher
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3AZ

Call for Session Proposals: ISA 4th Forum of Sociology–Deadline March 15, 2019

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Call for Sessions
ISA Forum of Sociology
Porto Alegre, Brazil July 14 -18, 2020
Research Committees, Working and Thematic Groups of the International Sociological Association solicit session proposals for the forthcoming Fourth ISA Forum of Sociology.
Session proposals (250 words) in English, Spanish and/or French must be submitted by March 15, 2019 through the ISA online system available at: https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/conferences/forum/porto-alegre-2020

No extension of deadline is possible.

Kind regards,
International Sociological Association

CFP: Conference on Racism and Religion 2019

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Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism

Uppsala University

6-8 NOVEMBER, 2019

  • Submission of abstracts: 30 April (200 words)
  • Session proposal: 30 April (400 words)
  • Decision on acceptance: 15 May
  • Registration opens: 1 September
  • Registration closes: 30 September
  • Conference fees: Regular 1 500 SEK. PhD Student 1 000 SEK

The histories of racism and religion are entangled. To understand how processes of racism, nationalism, and exclusion come about in different forms we need to view these developments as intertwined with religion and ideas of religion and religiosity.

The rise of islamophobia and antisemitism, discrimination and violent persecution of minorities in the name of religion or secularism, and controversies around the visibility of religious practices in public space, all point to the need for a deeper understanding of in what ways religion historically and in the present plays a central role in producing and upholding racism and colonial practices/structures.

Religion has also played a central role in counter movements such as civil rights, indigenous rights, anti-colonial and, anti-apartheid movements. An additional aspect to explore is religious symbols and representations that have been part of anti-racist art and music and the place of spiritualism in artistic resistance to racism. What role has and does religion play in developing and upholding racist and nationalist structures? In what ways are different entangled forms of racism and religion being manifested? How can we for example understand antisemitism and islamophobia on a global and local scale? What does it mean to be living in a supposedly post-racial, post-secular world? What role does religion and/or spirituality play in antiracist struggles and movements?

The Center for Multidisciplinary Research on Racism (CEMFOR) invites scholars to send in abstracts for paper presentations and/or session proposals.

More information: http://cemfor.uu.se/events2/conference/conference-2019/

Public Lecture: Muslims in the Balkans between Nationalism and Transnationalism

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Dr Ina Merdjanova
Coventry University London Campus: G03 & G04
Thursday 7th March 2019
6pm- 6.30pm: Refreshments
6.30pm-8pm: Lecture/Q&A

After 1989, Islam reappeared as an important social and political factor in the Balkans. With the newly-emerged religious freedom, and in the context of multiple structural and cultural post-communist transitions, Muslim communities underwent remarkable transformations. They sought to renegotiate their place in formally secular legal and normative environments, mostly as minorities in majority-Christian societies. They reclaimed their Islamic faith, practices and identities in a complex geopolitical situation dominated by anti-Muslim sentiments, particularly after 9/11, which mapped upon already existing national and regional apprehension of Islam related to the legacies of the five centuries of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. Post-communism created conditions for a rising political and cultural awareness of Muslims, which was frequently expressed by recourse to two frames of reference: the national and the transnational. Despite a certain level of tension between those two perspectives, they were closely intertwined. Generally, it can be argued that transnational Islamic influences in the region often reinforced Muslim ethno-national identities rather than prompting a radical redefinition of religious allegiances in the key of a “universalist” Islam.

Bio:  Ina Merdjanova is a senior researcher and adjunct assistant professor in religious studies at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, & Leverhulme visiting professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University.  Her recent publications include Religion as a Conversation Starter: Interreligious Dialogue for Peacebuilding in the Balkans (with Patrice Brodeur; Continuum, 2009, paperback 2011), and Rediscovering the Umma: Muslims in the Balkans between Nationalism and Transnationalism (Oxford University Press, 2013, paperback 2016).

RC22 2019 Midterm Conference: Accra, Ghana — Nov 14-18, 2019

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CALL FOR PAPER PROPOSALS

Rethinking Religion in the Public Sphere in 21st century Global South

RC-22 Mid-Term Conference
University of Ghana, Accra
Dates: November 14-18, 2019
Proposal Abstract Deadline: April 15, 2019
Notification of accepted abstracts: May 31, 2019.

The politics of knowledge that seeks to posit it as a preserve of the West has exacerbated a criticism against the dominance of Euro-American Scholarship in the sociology of religion, particularly in its interpretation of religious reality in Africa, and the global South more generally. In advancing the changing dominant pattern of knowledge production and consumption, which reflects a very stratified global division of intellectual labour, this conference draws on historical and methodological trajectories to explore innovative ways in which the sociology of religion can employ both theoretical and epistemological insights into sociological understanding of religion in the global South and its diaspora. What are the current trends and trajectories within the sociology of religion in the global South? What knowledges are being produced by sociologists of religion in the global South? How and to what extent do they contribute to global sociology of religion scholarship? How is religion located in private and/or public spheres? To what extent is religion engaged in the public sphere? How is religion even defined and negotiated in the global South within wider processes of secularization? Also important is the distinction between secular and sacred domains in public life.

The conference draws on ethnographic data of researchers in the field to demonstrate how religious forms, expressions and experiences in the global South either reinforce or transcend socio-political, ethnic, regional, class, age and gender identities and boundaries. Paper and panel proposals are invited from scholars of religion, sociologists of religion and others engaged in interdisciplinary research that extend debates on these and related questions.

Abstract proposals of not more than 150 words should reach the organizers by April 15, 2019 through the following email address: UG-ISA-RC22-Conference@ug.edu.gh  Notification of accepted abstracts: May 31, 2019.

Sub-themes:

  • Religion in private and public spheres
  • Public reason, public religion and the public sphere
  • South-south transnational networks
  • Religion and global South publics
  • Global South, secularism and post-secularism
  • Religion, migration and the public sphere
  • Controversies, religious transformation and innovation
  • Religion, environment and sustainable development
  • Religion and the political economy
  • Religion, governance and politics
  • Religion, leadership and public accountability
  • Religion, gender, sexuality
  • Religion, culture and media
  • Religion, conflict and violence
  • Sacred places and spaces

Organizers:

Host and local organizing committee:

  1. Michael P.K. Okyerefo, School of Arts, University of Ghana & Board Member, Africa Rep.
  2. Rose Mary Amenga-Etego, Department of Religions, University of Ghana
  3. Genevieve Nrenzah, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana

With the support of:

  • Afe Adogame, Princeton Theological Seminary & RC 22 President
  • Anna Halafoff, Deakin University, Australia, RC22 Secretary/Treasurer