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We invite proposed papers (in English or French) for a panel on Religion and Healing at the SISR/ISSR 2021 online conference this summer (12-15 July). Please submit your abstracts here. Deadline: 28 February 2021 |
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Seminar Series: “Religion, Crisis, and Disaster”
February 24-April 28, 2021
Global via Zoom
Meets weekly on Wednesdays with different speakers each week.
8am UK, 9am Europe, 4pm Perth, 7pm Sydney
except Coleman’s March 3rd lecture
More information from the organizers:
- Richard Vokes/
richard.vokes@uwa.edu.au - Cristina Rocha
c.rocha@westernsydney.edu.au
Call for Papers: Implicit Religion, Race, and Representation 21-23 May 2021 (online)
UK – 2021 Implicit Religion, Race, and Representation
Call for Papers
Deadline for submissions is 15 March, 2021
This online only conference takes place against the backdrop of increased political authoritarianism and a noticeable rise in racial and religious intolerance across the world. Politicians are actively seeking to prevent teaching on critical race theory, colonial brutality and the ongoing legacy of enslavement. Concurrently we increasingly find ‘race’ being dismissed or diminished as a category of oppression within wider social problems and dynamics, at the expense of understanding the lives, cultures, and histories of Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour. To understand how assertions of identity function at the same time as racism, nationalism, and exclusion we need to view these developments as intertwined with religion and in the development of definitions of religion and religiosity. The ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, the burning of the Amazon, attempts to lay pipelines in North Dakota, conducting scientific experiments on indigenous sacred lands and responses to other acts of neo-colonialism might be productively analysed in terms of race, religion, and implicit religion.
Presenters are invited to submit abstracts for consideration on the theme of “Implicit Religion, Race, and Representation”. These might include, but are not limited to:
- Presence, absence, and resistance in representations of race
- New social movements, resistance, and counter movements (civil rights, indigenous rights, anti-apartheid movements, Black Lives Matter, Say Her Name etc.)
- Womanist analysis, thinking, being, and doing
- Agency and social otherness
- Embodying and embracing difference
- Technologies (visual, material, and sound) and racial categories in culture memory and the formation of identity
- Racialisation of religion and religious racism
- Methodologies for decolonising teaching and curricula in the study of religion
- Political and religious authoritarianism: past, present, and future
CFP PDFs
A4 IR UK 2021 CFP | Ltr IR UK 2021 CFP
Proposal Submissions
We invite submissions for proposals for either a paper or a scratch session on these themes, elaborated above, by the 15th March 2021 for #IR43, taking place online May 21st – 23rd 2021.
The submission form is now available. You will be asked to indicate if you are submitting a paper or scratch session, and to provide a 300 word abstract (with references to secondary literature and sources) and other information as specified below, and what we need to know in order to accommodate your participation if your proposal is accepted.
Please note while you can edit your entries before you select the submit button, the form does not allow the submission to be saved and edited later. We suggest looking at the form for context and then composing the abstract and the notes regarding accommodating your participation in a word processing document and then cutting and pasting these elements of the proposal into the form.
PAPERS
Please select the option “Paper” on the form. Those submitting papers are asked to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words.
SCRATCH SESSIONS
There will be a dedicated panel for advanced undergraduates, MA and early stage PhD students to present at – called a scratch session. These will be shorter papers and rather than the usual practise of asking questions of the presenters, the audience will make suggestions for further reading, pathways for improvement, scholars to explore etc. If you wish to apply for the scratch session, please select that option on the submission form and submit a 200–250 word abstract.
Keynote
The 2021 Edward Bailey Lecture, “Designing for Humans, Designing Research on Human Subjects: Race, Representations, and Rights” will be delivered by Dr Ipsita Chatterjea, Executive Director of the Study of Religion as an Analytical Discipline Workshop.
Workshop
A workshop on decolonising the curriculum, with an emphasis on religious studies will be delivered by Dr Malory Nye.
Please note we are a small organisation and as such are not in a position to provide bursaries for participation. We can provide you with an official letter of invite and a subsequent letter of participation if your university or funding body requires it.
Funding: Jack Shand Research Grants for the social-scientific study of religion
Now Accepting Shand Research Grant Applications
A generous bequest from Jack Shand, a long–term member of Society for the Scientific Study of Religion until his death in 2001, has made it possible for SSSR to offer Jack Shand Research Grants to support research in the social scientific study of religion.
For 2021, SSSR Council allocated $45,000 to this program. As part of our commitment to racial equality, 2021 Jack Shand Research Funds will support projects on racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups. While individual grants do not ordinarily exceed $5000, it is possible to make a special request for more, to be considered at the committee’s discretion. Applicants must have finished the Ph.D. degree and must be members of SSSR. In the case of co–authored requests, one author must be a member. Intellectual merit is the criterion by which proposals will be evaluated.
Individuals are expected to use the Jack Shand award for expenses connected with their research. SSSR prioritizes applications that support direct research expenses. Shand Award funding is transferred to the principle investigator’s university unless other arrangements are made. Please note that SSSR does not allow for any indirect cost recovery.
All applications must be submitted via the online submission form, which is accessible through the link at the top of this page. Applications emailed to the committee chair or executive office will not be accepted. A Shand Research Grant application must include a project proposal (up to 4 pages, single-spaced), budget (expenses with descriptions/justifications), and the principle investigator’s curriculum vitae in PDF format. The deadline is May 1, 2021.
Funding decisions will be made by August 1, 2021.
More information: sssreligion.org/awards-grants/jack-shand-research-grants/
Final Call for Papers: SocRel Annual Conference July 13-15, online
This is just a quick reminder that abstract submission for the socrel annual conference closes tomorrow. Please follow this link for the call for papers and to access the portal to submit your abstract. We can also now confirm the registration rates for the conference but please note bursary winners for the 2020 conference will have their fees waived.
- BSA Member Full Conference: £20
- Socrel Study Group Member Full Conference: £25
- Non-Member Full Conference: £40
The conference will take place via zoom from 13th to 15th July 2021 and we have a great line up of speakers planned including: Sarah-Jane Page (Aston University), Sam Perry (University of Oklahoma), Colin Campbell (University of York), Eileen Barker (London School of Economics), Grace Davie (Exeter University), Jim Beckford (Warwick University) and Linda Woodhead (Lancaster University) so please do consider submitting an abstract. It would be great to see as many of you there as possible for our first online conference.
Key Dates:
- Abstract submission closes: 10 February 2021
- Decision notification: 26 February 2021
- Presenter registration closes: 26 March 2021
- Registration closes: 30th June 2021
Should you have any questions or queries, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Dr Rachael Shillitoe
Research Fellow
Conference and Events Officer for the British Sociological Association, Sociology of Religion Group (SocRel)
Call for Papers: SISR/ISSR Session on Religion and Social Theory
We invite proposed papers (in English or French) for a panel on Religion and Social Theory at the SISR/ISSR 2021 online conference this summer (12-15 July). Please submit your abstracts here. Deadline: 28 February 2021
Religion and Social Theory // Religion et Théorie Sociale
Session Convener(s):
- Jim Spickard
- Titus Hjelm
Session Abstract:
The aim of this session is to stimulate debate about theoretical ideas that have a bearing on the sociological study of religion.
We welcome contributions from researchers applying both familiar and less familiar traditions of social theory to religious topics. We especially invite papers that connect sociological theories of religion to the social, cultural, and/or historical contexts in which they arise and/or are used. Such papers might explore what such shaping has prevented sociologists from seeing about religious life or, on the contrary, what such shaping has enabled sociologists to understand that theories generated in other contexts has not. We also welcome papers on other aspects of the relationship between religion and social theory.
Call for Papers Leaving religion and institutional belonging behind
Dear colleagues,
Please, find below the description of the session I am organizing at the ISSR 2021 online conference this summer (12-15 July). You are cordially invited to submit your abstracts here. Deadline: 28 February 2021
Call for Papers: Leaving religion and institutional belonging behind
Chair: Julia Martínez-Ariño
(University of Groningen)
This session will investigate the phenomenon of apostasy, understood broadly as the rejection of religion, faith, institutional belonging or a previously held religious identity. While a big part of the contemporary research on the religious “nones” has focused on those who define themselves as “indifferent”, less sociological research has been done on those who actively decide to leave religion and institutional belonging. There are some exceptions, especially in relation to New Religious Movements, but this field of inquiry deserves more attention. How do people narrate their experiences of leaving a religious group, faith or form of identification? How do these people navigate the apostasy process and which meaning do they attach to it? Which implications does apostatizing have for the everyday lives and social environments of these people? Which factors do apostates identify as triggering the process and how do the self‐narratives make sense of them? What are the political underpinnings and implications of apostasy within different socio‐political contexts? The session welcomes papers analyzing these and other questions, focusing on a range of religious traditions and geographical contexts. Papers based on empirical and comparative research are especially welcome. The session also welcomes theoretical reflections on the meaning of apostasy and its implications for the sociological analysis of religion and non‐religion.
Best wishes,
Julia
New Book: Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions
Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions
Eileen Barker and James T. Richardson (eds)
Routledge, http://bit.ly/3jlhGEA
Much has been written about the law as it affects new and minority religions, but relatively little has been written about how such religions react to the law. This book presents a wide variety of responses by minority religions to the legal environments within which they find themselves.
An international panel of experts offer examples from North America, Europe and Asia, demonstrating how religions with relatively little status may resort to violence or passive acceptance of the law; how they may change their beliefs or practices in order to be in compliance with the law; or how they may resort to the law itself in order to change their legal standing, sometimes by forging alliances with those with more power or authority to achieve their goals. The volume concludes by applying theoretical insights from sociological studies of law, religion and social movements to the variety of responses.
The first systematic collection focussing on how minority religions respond to efforts at social control by various governmental agents, this book provides a vital reference for scholars of religion and the law, new religious movements, minority religions and the sociology of religion.
Table of Contents
- Fight, Flight or Freeze? Reactions to the Law by Minority Religions — Eileen Barker
- Stand Up For Your Rights: (Minority) Religions’ Reactions to the Law in Estonia — Ringo Ringvee
- Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Law: “Caesar’s Things to Caesar, but God’s Things to God” — Tony Brace
- Scientology Behind the Scenes: The Law Changer — Eric Roux
- No Stranger to Litigation: Court Cases Involving the Unification Church/Family Federation in the United States —Michael L. Mickler
- Legal Challenges Posed to the Unification Church in Europe: Perspectives from a Unificationist Advocate for Religious Freedom — Peter Zoehrer
- The “Doukhobor Problem” in Canada: How a Russian Mystical Sect Responded to Law Enforcement in British Columbia, 1903–2013 — Susan Palmer and Shane Dussault
- Making Sense of the Institutional Demarcation: Tenrikyō’s Response to Legal Environments in France — Masato Kato
- Strategies in Context: The Essenes in France and Canada — Marie-Ève Melanson and Jennifer Guyver
- Reactions to Legal Challenges by Aum Shinrikyō and its Successor Organisations —Rin Ushiyama
- Religious Persecution and Refugees: Legal and Communication Strategies of the Church of Almighty God in Asylum Cases — Massimo Introvigne and Rosita Šorytė
- Minority Religion Reactions to the European Court Of Human Rights — Effie Fokas
- Minority Religions Respond to the Law: A Theoretical Excursus — James T. Richardson
RFP: Religion, Spirituality, & Democratic Renewal Fellowships
The Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal (RSDR) Fellowship of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), with the support of the Fetzer Institute, aims to bring knowledge of the place of religion and spirituality into scholarly and public conversations about renewing democracy in the United States.
These fellowships offer research support over a period of up to 12 months to doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy and to postdoctoral researchers within five years of their PhD.
We welcome proposals on all aspects and dimensions of religion and spirituality in its relation to democracy from across all fields in the social sciences, humanities, and theology.
Applications are due April 6, 2021. More information on the fellowship, eligibility, and application process is available on the Program’s website.
https://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/view/religion-spirituality-and-democratic-renewal-fellowship/
Job Opening: Science and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge
Research Fellow, ‘Science and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge in Britain’, Department of Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham
Part time 80% FTE, fixed term for 24 months
This position is for a post-doctoral Research Fellow to work on the new Templeton Religion Trust-funded research project, ‘Science and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge in Britain’. This project will investigate how the relationship between Islam and science is understood and discussed by those involved in the transmission of Islamic knowledge and the establishment of Islamic authority in Britain. It will examine: if, and how, scientific concepts are used by Muslim religious leaders to legitimise their arguments; if Islamic education centres and religious leaders oppose any scientific theories, and if so what movements influence them; and how Muslim leaders’ answers to questions about science and Islam are affected by UK policy context and Muslims’ position within British society. It will provide one of the first in-depth portraits of whether, when and how Muslim religious leaders interact with scientific concepts and popular narratives about science.
The post holder will work with the Principal Investigator and external Co-investigator to conduct ethnographic observation of women’s and co-educational Islamic educational institutions as well as interview research with current and in-training Muslim religious leaders. They will also assist in research by carrying out literature reviews, conducting data analysis and writing up research findings. The post holder will be expected to engage in, and support, aspects of project dissemination, team meetings and international networking activities, including contributing the project-related websites, workshops and seminars. They will also be expected to effectively contribute to the presentation and dissemination of research outputs, including developing academic and non-academic publications/presentations.
Some of the responsibilities of this role are outlined below.
- With the PI and Co-I, negotiate access to research sites and interviewees.
- Conduct ethnographic and interview research at two case study sites, as well as interviews at a variety of settings around the UK.
- Undertake research administration and support the PI and Co-I in research management.
- Analyse and interpret data gathered for the project.
- Co-ordinate the collaborative preparation of findings for dissemination to academic and non-academic audiences both in the UK and internationally.
- Present research outputs at UK-based and international conferences and contribute to academic publications.
- Actively contribute to public reports based on the data collected and related public/media engagement activity.
- Work with Muslim educational and community organisations to set up forums for the discussion and dissemination of the research.
- Provide guidance to support staff and any students and colleagues who may be assisting with research.
For informal inquiries, please contact Dr Stephen Jones (PI) at s.h.jones@bham.ac.uk.
As this vacancy has limited funding, the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7, salary £30,942.
Closing date: 24th Feb 2021 Reference: 12098