Religious and Spiritual Capital: Reproducing, Overcoming or Going Beyond Inequality? ISA Yokohama 2014

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CALL FOR PAPERS
RC22, ISA WORLD CONGRESS, YOKOHAMA 2014

Religious and Spiritual Capital:
Reproducing, Overcoming or Going Beyond Inequality?

Scholars exploring the function of religion and spirituality do not seem to reach agreement regarding the issue of inequality: some researchers identify religion and/or spirituality as factor/s in reproducing existing patterns of inequality, whereas other authors argue the opposite, that religion/spirituality contribute to overcoming social inequality. A third position is possible in this debate, expressed by a minority of authors who argue that religion/spirituality go beyond the issue of inequality because they point to something other than social order. These authors often interpret religion and spirituality in terms of gift.

This panel will focus on the understanding of religion/spirituality as forms of “capital” or gift, and will therefore investigate religious/spiritual capital in relation to inequality. We invite papers which approach these issues both theoretically and empirically.

Furthermore, we would like to draw attention to the fact that an increasing body of literature distinguishes between religion and spirituality as two opposing instances. Within journalism a kind of tradition has been developed in which “spirituality” is most often used with positive connotations when “religion” is used with negative implications. This reflects the developing wider societal reflex to regard religion as restrictive, whilst spirituality offers more open engagement with existential questions (e.g. with a popular slogan that one’s orientation could be “spiritual but not religious”). In theology “religion” most often still describes traditional dogmatological and institutional concerns, whereas “spirituality” refers to the wider and deeper, that is more experiential and more intuitive, aspects of religiosity. Recent developments in religious studies have shown that “religion” is in decline, whereas “spirituality” is on the rise.

Surprisingly, this differentiation is not entirely clear when it comes to identifying specific capital-type resources religion/spirituality give rise to. Much of the literature about religious/spiritual capital uses these terms interchangeably and fails adequately to explain the content underpinning the concepts. We encourage papers which can contribute to addressing specificities of religious and spiritual capital and relate them to the issue of inequality.

PLEASE SUBMIT A 200-300 WORD ABSTRACT AT THE ISA WEBSITE: http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2014/rc/rc.php?n=RC22

ALSO SEND THE ABSTRACT TO:

ChristoLombaard@gmail.com
maria.haemmerli@unifr.ch

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: SEPTEMBER 30th 2013.

Session Chairs

Christo Lombaard teaches Christian Spirituality at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. His 2012 volume The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality (Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical
Literature) has been awarded the 2013 Krister Stendahl prize by the Graduate Theological Federation, USA.

Maria Hämmerli is sociologist of religion and currently researches Orthodox Churches and their migration to traditionally non-Orthodox countries. She is currently editing a volume about Orthodox Identities in Contemporary Western Europe. Additionally, she takes great interest in broader issues related to religion and spirituality (see publication Religion and Spirituality between Capital and Gift). Maria Hämmerli is based at the Insitute of sociology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland and at Religious studies department of the University of Fribourg.

Religion, Democracy and Law

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Religion, Democracy and Law” International Conference January 2014 London Metropolitan University, London, UK 14 – 15 January 2014

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/faculties/law-governance-and-international-relations/lgir-research/lgir-research-centres/csrcc/religion-democracy-and-law-international-conference-january-2014/

CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE 30 August 2013

We are delighted to announce our latest international conference focusing on “Religion, Democracy and Law”. This thought provoking event will be taking place at our Goulston Street campus on the 14 & 15 January 2014 with keynote speeches given by:

– Professor Sharyl Cross (Distinguished professor and director of Kozmetsky Center of Excellence (Global Studies), St. Edward’s University, USA)
– Professor Grace Davie (Professor of Sociology, University of Exeter, UK)
– Professor David Kirkham (Senior Fellow for Comparative Law and International Policy, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, USA).

PANELS

Religious Dissent in the Global Political Economy Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Loughborough University, UK

Political Theology: A Sign of The Times In Periods Of Institutional Crisis Emilce Cuda, Department of Theology, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Argentina

Public Debates on Religious/Ethical Issues in Western Europe Alberta Giorgi, University of Coimbra, Portugal Luca Ozzano, University of Turin, Italy

Future Of The European Union And Religion Miro Jevtic, University of Belgrade, Serbia

Representing Non-Religion Steve Kettell, University of Warwick, UK

Religion and Legal Boundaries in Islamic Contexts Carimo Mohomed, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, New University of Lisbon, Portugal

Religious conservatism versus universal human rights?: The struggle for LGBTi rights in Africa Martin Ridley, London Metropolitan University, UK

Individual Attitudes towards Religion and Politics Chair: Jolanda van der Noll, UCL, Louvain, Belgium

Religious fundamentalism, egalitarianism and informal law Dr. Yohai Hakak, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Portsmouth University, UK

Gender and Secularization Yolande Cohen, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada

Post-Secularism: Between Public Reason and Political Theology

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Post-Secularism: Between Public Reason and Political Theology

A Special Issue of THE EUROPEAN LEGACY
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cele20/current

Guest Editors:
Camil Ungureanu (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) Lasse Thomassen (Queen Mary, University of London)

This special issue is scheduled for late 2014.

CALL FOR PAPERS

In recent years, leading philosophers, including Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and or John D. Caputo, have criticized “old-style”
secularism and proposed instead a post-secular model for understanding the relation of religion and democracy, faith and reason. There are however profound theoretical and practical divergences in the post-secular models proposed. First, what are the precise characteristics of post-secularism as a philosophical alternative? In what sense could it be said to break with secularism? Second, what are the practical political and legal consequences of adhering to a post-secular approach? From a critical theoretical perspective, Habermas focuses on a revised concept of public reason and deliberation in promoting an active interaction of democracy and religion. From a hermeneutical perspective, Taylor’s recent work centres on the new “conditions of belief” and the dilemmas inherent to both religious and atheist experience. In contrast, Caputo and Richard Kearney develop a Derridean aporetic understanding of the nexus of democracy and religion, faith and reason, whereas Hent de Vries, William Connolly and Simon Critchley reject Habermas’s rationalist approach and propose a distinct understanding of post-secularism by focusing on Schmitt’s and Benjamin’s re-appropriation of the tenets of Saint Paul in their political-theological works. Although these trends have been studied to some extent, there has been no sustained attempt so far to subject them to a comparative analysis that would more fully address the issue of “post-secularism.”

Our “Call for Papers” invites scholars to submit a study, with a comparative dimension, that addresses both the philosophical import and the practical-political effects of the post-secular alternative. The work of the following authors will be at the centre of our proposed special issue: Habermas, Taylor, Caputo, Critchley, Connolly, Gianni Vattimo, Jacques Derrida, Slavoj Žižek, Giorgio Agamben, and Jean-Luc Nancy. Comparative studies that focus on various religious traditions (Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Confucian, etc.) and theologians, and those that focus on the public role of religion in democracy (e.g., Rawls, Weithman, Wolterstorff) are particularly welcome.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
– Significance and varieties of post-secularism
– Open secularity, post-secularism or political theology?
– Deliberative post-secularism or political liberalism
– Post-secularism: religious imagination and practice (Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Confucian, Buddhist, etc.)
– Discussion of (legal, moral or political) practical cases from a post-secular perspective – Is political theology useful for re-thinking democracy?
– Varieties of political theology today
– Re-thinking the legacy of Saint Paul
– Visions of sovereignty: between proceduralism and political theology – Faith: religious? secular?
– Post-secularism and feminism
– The state of exception between deliberation and political decision – Rethinking solidarity from a post-secular perspective

Deadline for submissions: 27 October 2013 Length of essay: 6,000-8,000 words, including notes. (For the referencing style, please consult http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cele20/current).
Potential contributors are welcome to contact the editors to discuss their proposed essay.

Camil Ungureanu (camil.ungureanu@upf.edu)
Lasse Thomassen (l.thomassen@qmul.ac.uk)

Religion, Democracy and Law

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Religion, Democracy and Law” International Conference January 2014 London Metropolitan University, London, UK 14 – 15 January 2014 http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/faculties/law-governance-and-international-relations/lgir-research/lgir-research-centres/csrcc/religion-democracy-and-law-international-conference-january-2014/ CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE 30 August 2013 We are delighted to announce our latest international conference focusing on “Religion, Democracy and … Continue reading →

Call for Proposals and Films

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The Bodily and Material Cultures of Religious Subjectivation www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/anthropology-news/call-for-proposals-religious-subjectivation<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/anthropology-news/call-for-proposals-religious-subjectivation Program Details Intended date of conference: 17-18 June, 2014. Venue: UCL, Dept. of Anthropology.* Deadline for CFP: 31 December, 2013. Conference Convenors: Jean-Pierre Warnier and Urmila Mohan. For further information please … Continue reading →

CfP Conference on Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, Universität Bern

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Call for Papers
Working with A Secular Age – Interdisciplinary Reflections on Charles Taylor’s Conception of the Secular International Conference
Berne, Switzerland, 6-8 March 2014

Keynote speakers: Akeel Bilgrami (Columbia University, NY), Jonathan VanAntwerpen (SSRC, NY)

Since its publication in 2007, Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age has been generating a lively discussion. Understandably so: In his seminal work, the Canadian philosopher aims at nothing less than a re-telling of the (hi)story of the secular. While some enthusiastically welcomed A Secular Age as a breakthrough in the ongoing reconfiguration of secularity, others pointed to certain weaknesses and limitations of Taylor’s work. Moving one step beyond general appraisal and the already existing and important critique of A Secular Age, this conference aims at exploring the applicability (and its limits) of Taylor’s conception of the secular.

Participants’ common goal will be to critically reflect on the general potential of Taylor’s conception for individual disciplines. In their presentations, scholars working within the fields of Theology, Philosophy, Sociology, History, Religious Studies, Area Studies (incl. Islamic Studies), Political Science and Law, Literature and Art or Gender Studies will tackle the following questions concerning their respective discipline: Which aspects and assumptions of Taylor’s work can be adopted easily; when does a need for translation and transformation arise; and where are the barriers of disciplinary understandings, approaches and traditions too large to be overcome? Next to these theoretical considerations, participants will have the opportunity to present their completed or current research projects, which in one way or another integrate, modify or built upon a specific theoretical aspect or a phenomenological finding brought forward in A Secular Age.

We welcome contributions from advanced MA students, PhD students and Postdocs from all of the disciplines mentioned above as well as related disciplines. Please note that in order to ensure a red thread and common ground for discussion, both for theoretical contributions as well as for case studies the reference to A Secular Age is a must. The presentations should not exceed 15-20 minutes in order to allow time for discussion afterwards.

Please submit an abstract of 300-400 words and a short bionote in PDF format to: florian.zemmin@iash.unibe.ch. As the panels will be organized around individual disciplines, please state in which of the above-mentioned fields you would like to present your paper.

Deadline for proposals: November 15, 2013.

For proposals accepted for presentation, we will try to fully cover the costs for travel (2nd class) and accommodation in Berne.

Please note: In preparation of this conference, the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) is organizing a workshop on A Secular Age in October/December 2013, addressing both MA and PhD students, for which there are still some places left. For further
information, please visit: http://www.iash.unibe.ch/content/events/programme/index_eng.html

IASH_Working with A Secular Age_CfP.pdf

Conference: Religious Right-wing Radicalism: Mapping the Territory.

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Invitation: Religious Right-wing Radicalism: Mapping the Territory.

Conference: Religious Right-wing Radicalism: Mapping the Territory.

We are delighted to invite you to submit proposals for papers.Deadline for proposals and registration: 12 September, 2013

Please share information on the conference to your colleagues.

Date: 26 – 27 September 2013
Place: University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Humanities, Njalsgade 122, 2300 Copenhagen S
Official website: http://tors.ku.dk/religiousrightwingconference/

Best wishes,
Katrine Willadsen & Brian Arly Jacobsen