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Call for Session Proposals: 3rd Forum of Sociology in Vienna, July 2012. Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion

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RC 22: Research Committee for the Sociology of Religion Call for Sessions:
“Religion, Secularity and Post-Secularity: Crafting Meaningful Futures”

The Third ISA Forum of Sociology “The Futures we want: Global Sociology and the struggles for a better world’’ to be held in Vienna, 10-14 July, 2016. (International Sociological Association)

Programme Co-ordinator: Vineeta Sinha (socvs@nus.edu.sg)

PROGRAM  THEME:  The world’s current socio-economic and political turmoil has a profound impact on religious expressions, sensibilities and worldviews.  Religious expressions and worldviews also affect the surrounding socio-economic and political spheres.   Such dramatic changes produce disquiet, tumult and agitation but also open opportunities to question the status and create novel social possibilities.
Sociologists of religion face a number of challenges in understanding these interactions.  Among these is the need to develop new theoretical and empirical approaches to our subject.  Sociologists have long argued about the continuing place and value of religions in a secularizing and globalizing world .  Although the notion of ‘post-secularity’ is hardly new, it has recently emerged forcefully (and somewhat fashionably) in attempts to theorise the visibility and relevance of religiosity in the world today.  This raises serious questions that deserve sociological attention.   Among these:

  • Do recent developments signal to some extent the passing of a ‘secularist’ moment?
  • What is meant by ‘post-secularity’?
  • Are we living in a post-secular age?  Or are we merely looking forward to one?
  • If so, what would religion look like is such a context?
  • What effect religion could religion have in a rapidly changing world?

The objective of these thematic sessions is to theorise the complex religious landscapes in the present and to contemplate if, where, how and with what effect religions will manifest and organize themselves in a rapidly changing socio-political landscape.

CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS:  We invite RC 22 members to propose sessions that deal with these complex issues.  We especially welcome sessions that include cross-cultural and cross-national comparisons.   Besides the thematic topics above, we also seek sessions that contribute to other recent debates within the field.  Here are some ideas:

  • any of the thematic ideas listed above
  • religion in the public sphere
  • popular religion
  • religion, gender and feminism
  • urban forms of religiosity
  • material religion
  • religious commodification and consumption
  • religious revivalism and religious innovation in a global context
  • other topics of interest.

Both thematic proposals and non-thematic proposals should address the multiple, complex and sometimes opposing strands and arguments on their topics in the social-scientific study of religion.

HOW TO PROPOSE A SESSION:

  • If you wish to propose a session before February 2nd, please send an abstract (no more than 300 words), your full name, institutional affiliation, e-mail and a short bio to Vineeta Sinha (socvs@nus.edu.sg)
  • Starting 2 February, 2015, you can submit your proposals online at the International Sociological Association’s website.  A link will appear at http://www.isa-sociology.org/forum-2016/
  • Session proposals must be in English, French, or Spanish.

Please also note that you must become an RC22 member to have your session proposal accepted; you can join the Research Committee through the ISA website at http://www.isa-sociology.org/memb_i/index.htm 

In order to be included in the programme, all participants (presenters, chairs, discussants, etc.) must join the ISA and register for the Forum by the early registration deadline of 1 April, 2016. Without early registration and membership, presenters, chairs, etc. will not appear in the Programme Book or in the Abstracts Book.

The Research Committee on the Sociology of Religion (RC22) is the section of the International Sociological Association tasked with advancing theory and research in the sociology of religion, in the context of world sociology.  Please visit our website at www.ISA-RC22.org for information about us and about our programs.  Visit the ISA’s website at www.isa-sociology.org for information about our parent organization.  Information about the Third Forum of Sociology can be found at http://www.isa-sociology.org/vienna-2016/

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New Open Access book series on New Religious Movements

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De Gruyter Open, part of De Gruyter publishing group, invites book proposals for the inaugural volume of the new Open Access book series on New Religious Movements.

The series welcomes written or edited monographs and anthologies on New Religious Movements (NRMs) and alternative spiritualities – both empirical and theoretical with interdisciplinary approaches. Of particular interest are those that combine perspectives and methods drawn from all social sciences and humanities on the present, historical and newly emerging NRMs, as well as research methods, issues and problems, and new directions in study of NRMs. More information about the series can be found at http://degruyteropen.com/oatheologynrm/

Authors interested in submitting their proposals for the inaugural volume are asked to fill in the New Book Proposal Form (which can be found at http://degruyteropen.com/…/subj…/theology_religious_studies/) and send it to the series editor Dr. Rasa Pranskeviciute at Rasa.Pranskeviciute@degruyteropen.com, together with a sample from the book (introduction, chapter or subchapter). Authors of ready manuscripts are welcome to attach the whole text of the book.

The proposed book should be written in English, contain at least 100,000 words and must not have been published before in any language. The date of submission of the entire manuscript must be no later than November 2015. Earlier date of the submission will be an additional asset.

The author(s) of the inaugural volume(s) will benefit from:

– scrupulous peer-review
- free language edition done by native speakers in English
- no publication fees
- complimentary copies
- royalties from print sales
- unrestricted access to the book for all readers, helpful to reach audiences on a global scale

Our Open Access Books are available through De Gruyter’s publishing platform, libraries, full text repositories and distributors such as Amazon. Each title is also offered as a print version.

Submissions are due by February 15, 2015.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to any interested colleagues or associates.

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Workshop: “Religion and the Political Participation and Mobilization of Immigrant Groups: A Transatlantic Perspective”.

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The Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM) of the University of Liège is pleased to announce the third scientific thematic workshop organized by the working group Citizenship and Political Participation on “Religion and the Political Participation and Mobilization of Immigrant Groups: A Transatlantic Perspective”.  

11 May 2015
CEDEM, University of Liège, Belgium

The scientific thematic workshop will examine the political participation of immigrants in an original perspective. Instead of analyzing it through an exclusive ethnic and racial origin lens, we will focus on the role of religion in the political participation and mobilization of immigrant groups in a transatlantic perspective (Europe-North America). The leading question, of the workshop is: what role does religion play in the political participation and mobilization of immigrant groups in European and North American cities? We don’t want to focus on Muslims but consider Catholics, Protestants, and religions as well as non-religious faith such as secularism.

The papers should cover in priority one of the following topics possibly in a comparative perspective.  However, other topics proposed by the applicants will also be considered.  The topics:

• Electoral behavior of Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, etc. citizens with an immigrant background
• Political mobilization through churches, mosques and religious associations
• Immigrants and organized secularism
• Music, religion and political mobilization of second and third generations
• Immigrants and anti-religious discrimination
• Trans-religious alliances among immigrants

This workshop is open to professors, researchers, MA students, PhD students. The attendance is free but registration is requested before April 15th 2015. Please send an email to Sonia.Gsir@ulg.ac.be

The intention is to prepare a special issue of a journal including a selection of the papers presented at the workshop. Those interested are asked to send a one-page presentation of their paper to Marco Martiniello by February 8th 2015 : mail to: M.Martiniello@ulg.ac.be

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In Memorium: Ulrich Beck

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Renowned sociologist Ulrich Beck has died

3 Jan 2015, Deutsche Welle http://www.dw.de/renowned-sociologist-ulrich-beck-has-died/a-18168851

Renowned German sociologist Ulrich Beck, famous for creating the term “risk society” (Riskiogesellschaft) has died at the age of 70. His books have been translated into 35 languages.

According to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday, Beck passed away on January 1 following a heart attack. Ulrich Beck became one of the world’s most famous and most quoted sociologists in recent decades, with his 1986 work Risk Society (Riskiogesellschaft), a bestseller which was translated into 35
languages. His works have focused on the challenges of our times including climate change, terrorism and financial crises  In a 2012 essay for news magazine Der Spiegel, the politically-engaged academic described German Chancellor Angela Merkel as “Merkiavelli” in relation to her dominant role and policies on European-bailouts.

Born in May 1944 in what was then the town of Stolp in Pomerania, now Slupsk in Poland, Beck grew up in Hanover and studied sociology, philosophy, psychology and political science in Munich in the 1960s and 70s. Following short stints at several German universities, Ulrich Beck took up the role of Professor of Sociology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) in 1992. He held several other academic positions, including being visiting professor in the sociology department of the London School of Economics since 1997. Beck was awarded honorary doctorates by at least eight universities and received numerous international awards. His essays have appeared in several German and international media outlets, including Deutsche Welle.

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Public Lecture: ‘Socializing Influences on Young People’s Attitudes to Religion and Religious Diversity: Findings from a Nation-Wise Project in the UK’

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The University of Western Sydney’s Religion and Society Research Centre invites you to attend a Public Lecture:

‘Socializing  Influences on Young People’s Attitudes to Religion and Religious Diversity: Findings from a Nation-Wise Project in the UK’

Speaker: Dr Elisabeth Arweck, University of Warwick

Date:  Monday, 09 February 2015

Time:  11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Venue: UWS Bankstown Campus, Building 23, Room G.40

RSVP: SSAP-Travel@uws.edu.au by 02 February 2015 (for catering purposes)

This is an open and free event.

Abstract

The presentation will draw on data from a three-year project (2009–2012) in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) at the University of Warwick, which explored the attitudes of 13–16 year-old pupils across the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland) towards religious diversity. The project was funded by the Religion and Society Programme of two major funding bodies in the UK: the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The project took a mixed method approach, combining qualitative with quantitative data: focus group discussions with, and a survey by questionnaire of, young people in secondary schools.

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CFP: Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies, March 2015

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Invitation to the Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies, 2015, at the Old Library in the Oxford University Church Of St Mary

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies to be held and 18, 19 and 20 March, 2015.  The meeting will be held at The Old Library.  Constructed in 1320, The Old Library is the first university (as opposed to college) building in Oxford and therefore uniquely important; this is where the nascent University began.

The session will be hosted by Canon Brian Mountford, Vicar of St Mary’s. Dr. Mountford is a Fellow and Chaplain of St Hilda’s College in the University of Oxford.

You are invited to present a paper on an aspect of religious studies, or you may wish to attend as an observer.

For more information visit our website Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies

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New Deadline: January 5th Sociology of Religion: Foundations and Futures

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Sociology of Religion: Foundations and Futures

Sociology of Religion Study Group (Socrel) Annual Conference

www.socrel.org.uk

Tuesday 7 – Thursday 9 July 2015 hosted by Kingston University London

High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, UK

http://www.cct.org.uk/high-leigh/introduction

Keynote Speakers:

  • Professor Nancy T. Ammerman (Boston University)
  • Professor James Beckford (University of Warwick)
  • Professor Grace Davie (University of Exeter)
  • Professor Sophie Gilliat-Ray (Cardiff University)
  • Professor Linda Woodhead (Lancaster University)

Since its foundation in 1975, the Sociology of Religion Study Group has become one of the largest in the British Sociological Association (BSA). Its membership includes educators and researchers from across the UK and internationally, and in 2015 the Sociology of Religion Study Group will be celebrating 40 years!

Given this occasion, it is an opportune moment to reflect on religion in society, and religion in sociology. From its foundation, Socrel has foregrounded research on secularisation, gender, spiritualities, embodied and lived accounts, materiality, generational innovations, atheism, social difference, migration, institutions, politicised expressions and methodologies in the study of religion. While this list does not account for all the many ways scholars have been investigating religion in social life – its various forms, intersections and spaces – it does speak to how religions continue to be important subjective and collective experiences that are stable and continuous, resistant and shifting. This conference will bring together scholars who have shaped and are shaping the discipline. It will be an opportunity to pay heed, not only to the Study Group’s and discipline’s accomplishments, but also an opportunity to address questions that are emerging to inform future agendas and areas of concern and study, such as:

  • - What are the key points of continuity and innovation in theorising religion?
  • - How are methodologies emerging and informing research on religion?
  • - How are new approaches adapting and transforming old practices?
  • - What are the key controversies that will occupy sociologists of religion?
  • - What are the pedagogical challenges and innovations in teaching the sociology of religion?

We invite you to celebrate with us by engaging in the conference questions from your particular area of research in the Sociology of Religion.

Abstracts for individual papers (250 words max.) and panels (500 words max.) are invited by 5 January 2015. Panels may take a standard format of 20-minute papers or take alternative modes such as pre-circulated papers/work in progress/or ‘points of view’ that are 10-minutes long. Submissions should be made in Word format and include in the following order: Name, institutional affiliation, email address and paper title.

**All presenters must be members of Socrel.

Abstracts will be subject to peer review. Please note, presenters will be limited to one paper per person at the conference, but you may also organise a panel.

  • -Abstract submissions open: 1 September 2014
  • -Early bird registration opens: 1 September 2014
  • -Abstract submissions close: 5 January 2015
  • -Decision notification: 15 January 2015
  • -Presenter registration closes: 16 March 2015
  • -Draft programme online: 16 April 2015
  • -Early bird registration closes:  11 May 2015
  • -Registration closes: 15 June 2015

Please send abstracts to the attention of the conference organisers:

  • Dr Sylvie Collins-Mayo (Kingston University London) and
  • Dr Sonya Sharma (Kingston University London) at:socrel2015@gmail.com

Should you have other questions about the conference please also contact the conference organisers at the above email address.

Online Registration:http://portal.britsoc.co.uk/public/event/eventBooking.aspx?id=EVT10391

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 www.socrel.org.uk for instructions, and to download an application form, and submit your bursary application along with your abstract by 5 January 2015.

Socrel is the British Sociological Association’s study group on Religion. For more details about the study group and conference please visit www.socrel.org.uk .

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New Book: Secularism, Religion, and Politics: India and Europe

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Secularism, Religion, and Politics: India and Europe
Edited by Peter Losonczi, Walter Van Herck
Routledge India – 2014

http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138796003/

This book highlights the relationship between the state and religion in India and Europe. It problematizes the idea of secularism and questions received ideas about secularism. It also looks at how Europe and India can learn from each other about negotiating religious space and identity in this globalised post-9/11 world.

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Call for Papers: “Religion in Civil Society”

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The 10th Annual Patuxent Defense Forum will be held at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, Maryland on April 22, 2015. The Center for the Study of Democracy and The Patuxent Partnership jointly present this forum. The  forum  includes  a  mix  of  international representatives, policymakers, academics, government officials, and other interested parties, providing a unique environment for discussing critical issues related to international affairs.

We are soliciting paper proposals for our 2015 topic “Religion in Civil Society: Lessons from Policies Past and Present”

Recent developments around the world underscore the importance of addressing religious diversity and developing policies that support civil society. Whether it is discord between Sunni and Shia in the Middle East, Christians  and  Muslims  in  Africa,  Asia  and  the Middle  East,  or  Palestinian,  Jewish  and  other  religious extremists in more secular Western states, this forum will help us better understand the history of these tensions, the impact of U.S. foreign policy approaches to religious diversity and the ethics of taking action when these tensions flare.

Discussion of these issues is particularly fitting at St. Mary’s City, the site of Maryland’s first capital, settled by Catholics.  Considering this legacy, the forum will contemplate precedents and current policies.

Proposed  Conference  Topics:

  • How have past policies shaped religious tensions today in specific nations?
  • What is the role of religious plurality in modern democracy? 
  • How and when should Western nations (1) engage, (2) provide humanitarian assistance to religious groups?

Paper proposals should be emailed to Adrienne Dozier, Program Assistant, Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, at   amraines@smcm.edu, and should include a title, institutional affiliation, and short abstract of no more than 150 words. Proposals are due by February 9, 2015.

Accommodations will be provided for panelists.

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Call for Papers: “Cognitive Science of Religion”

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Open Theology – the online journal published by De Gruyter Open (http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/opth) invites submissions for the topical issue “Cognitive Science of Religion”, under the general editorship of Dr. Jason Marsh (St. Olaf College, USA).

In the last couple of decades, the cognitive science of religion (CSR) has established itself as a major area within the scientific study of religion. According to this general approach, if we want to understand religion – and specifically why human beings tend to be religious – then in addition to doing what traditional scholars of religion do, we also need to think about the nature of human cognition. For, goes the claim, various cognitive structures and habits naturally give rise to a belief in supernatural agents in diverse environments. This approach to the study of religion, though it does not pretend to answer every question about religion, nonetheless raises a number of important questions for science, philosophy, theology and their various relationships. We invite submissions that address one or more of these relationships. Some possible questions are as follows, though we welcome papers that address other topics related to CSR:

Philosophical and Theological Questions

  • · Much recent work in CSR suggests that people distrust atheists. What are the moral or political implications of such claims, if they are true? Can anything be done to change this pattern?
  • · Does CSR threaten to undermine or explain away religious belief or the reliability of religious testimony? Might it be supportive of religious claims?
  • · Can one think that CSR debunks religious beliefs without also thinking that CSM (cognitive science of morality) debunks moral beliefs?
  • · How might CSR shape the challenge of religious diversity? Does CSR support the idea that the divine, if such there be, isn’t too concerned about the specifics of people’s religious outlooks?
  • · What is the relationship between CSR and the problem of divine hiddenness? Is the so-called ‘problem of natural nonbelief’, according to which some nonbelief in God naturally occurs, answerable?
  • · Many theologians want to resist the idea that the divine is literally a person. Does CSR pose a cultural challenge to their claims? Does it show that abstract conceptions of the divine (i.e. that God is the ground of being or the Ultimate nonpersonal reality) will not likely enjoy cultural success? If so, does this matter?

Scientific Questions

  • · How far has CSR gone in explaining religion? And how far might it reasonably be expected to go?
  • · What is the cognitive and/or evolutionary relationship between religion and morality? Did one evolve first?
  • · Is the common selection versus by-product dichotomy in the scientific study of religion a false one?
  • · CSR has had a lot to say about religious belief, ritual, and morality. But has it paid insufficient attention to religious experience? If so, how might CSR fruitfully incorporate investigation into religious experience?
  • · Are we really natural born dualists, as Paul Bloom has claimed?
  • · What is the relationship between religious belief and autism?

Questions for Religious Studies

  • · Can CSR help to illuminate the vexing question of what religion is, or is the latter question entirely immune to scientific investigation?
  • · Some within CSR (e.g. Cohen, Lanman, and Whitehouse 2008) have suggested that standard criticisms of CSR (e.g. it is irrelevant, reductionist, ethnocentric, narrow-minded etc.,) voiced within religious studies are unjustified and unfair. Are they right?
  • · Does CSR have any interesting implications for recent discussions about religious pluralism or religious dialogue?

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submissions are due by August 30, 2015. To submit an article for the special issue of Open Theology, please use the on-line submission system http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/choosing as article type: ‘Special Issue Article: Cognitive Science of Religion’.

All contributions will undergo a critical review before being accepted for publication.

Further questions about the thematic issue can be sent to Dr. Jason Marsh at marshj@stolaf.edu. In the case of technical questions or problems please contact Managing Editor of the journal Dr. Katarzyna Tempczyk atkatarzyna.tempczyk@degruyteropen.com.

Authors publishing in the special issue will benefit from:

· transparent, comprehensive and fast peer review

· efficient route to fast-track publication and full advantage of De Gruyter Open’s e-technology,

· no publication fees,

· free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions.

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