CFP: south asian migration and diaspora + religion and conflict in south asia

Nordic Summer University - Summer Session 24-31 July, 2010
Study Circle 3
South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in Multidisciplinary Methodology
Call for Papers!!

This workshop will have two separate themes:
1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora (coordinators Peter B. Andersen and Igor Kotin)
2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia (coordinators Stig Toft Madsen and David Hansen (to be confirmed)

The first theme is a continuation of the workshop in the summer of 2009.

The second theme is the theme originally slated for the summer of 2010.
The two themes will be scheduled separately, but the intention is to let the themes enrich each other in the final discussions.

Theme 1. South Asian Migration and Diaspora

Various patterns of migration have created different South Asian diaspora communities in the Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Europe. In Europe, the research environment has mainly focused on the economic integration of migrant groups into the host community's labour market. The aim of this workshop is to investigate how culture, and the
organisation of culture, constructs various aspects of migration,
integration and diaspora formation.

Under the overall theme "South Asia in the 21st Century: Explorations in
Multidisciplinary Methodology", the workshop invites papers covering:

* The Historical Depth and Geographical Dissemination of South Asian
Migration
* South Asian Diasporas in the Nordic Countries: Identity, Community
Organization and Culture
* The Reflections of Migration in Art, Literature and Music
* Cultural Interaction between Diasporas, Home Communities and Host
Communities
* Migration of Religions, Religions of Migrants: Hinduism, Sikhism,
Jainism and South Asian Islam Overseas

Overseas migration from India is an old phenomenon, but during the last
fifty years it has become a global phenomena of great importance. With
approximately 1.6 billon inhabitants, the migratory potential of South
Asia is huge. Many pull and push factors influence migration, but
opportunities for employment, higher income, education, professional
careers, security and equality are important pull factors.

South Asian migration has changed significantly through history. The
Indian diaspora in the Age of Merchants (11th-18th century) followed the
movement of traders and merchants, religious and other specialists,
seafarers and slaves. Migration in the Age of Colonial Capital
(19th-early 20th century) involved the forced movement of people and the
movement of indentured labourers from India to many parts of the British
Empire, particularly those with plantation economies. It also saw the
beginning of free migration and the continuation of merchant activity in
both traditional areas and in territories newly opened by the expansion
of the empire. The mid-20th century post-colonial movement of people
from South Asia to Western countries and the related re-migration
involved business people and professionals to new and, in some cases,
formerly prohibited areas such as Australia. Now the diversity of the
South Asian diasporas is great: 'twice migrants' from East Africa,
refugees from the civil war in Sri Lanka, IT workers from Tamil Nadu,
nurses from Kerala, descendants of plantation workers from Bangladesh,
Bihar and Bengal, business people from Pakistan and so on.

Contributions may focus on the cultural and social life of the diaspora,
the ways in which language and religious values and practices have been
adopted and transformed, how some languages became languages of
communication and the sacred languages of religion, how popular culture,
theatre, cinema, music, dance, fashion and cuisine have evolved, and the
important role of sports, including cricket.

Within each country with a substantial South Asian population, there are
a number of local and national organizations that centre around
religious affiliation, cultural background, regional languages, regional
origin in the subcontinent, or particular cultural spheres, including
music, art, dance or sport. The transnational connections, communication
technologies, and increased purchasing power have made it easier for
them to establish contacts with communities elsewhere. The South Asian
diasporas are now a complex confluence of many discrete life worlds,
languages and histories. South Asian writers such as V.S. Naipaul,
Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Rohinton Mistry, Amitav Ghosh, Jumpa
Lahiri, and Vikram Seth, as well as Bollywood and Tamil movies have made
diaspora life known to a general Western audience and generated global
interest in the South Asian diasporas.


Theme 2. Religion and Conflict in South Asia

Religious violence continues to be coupled to political conflicts in
South Asia. Such violence challenges not only the writ of government and
the capacity of the security sector, but also the values and daily life
of people in general. This applies most obviously to Pakistan and
Afghanistan, where Islamist religious violence is currently at a peak,
but it also applies to India, which is largely at the receiving end of
Islamism. In Bangladesh, the current government has taken unprecedented
steps to limit the scope for religion in politics. In Sri Lanka, a
long-running civil war has been brought to a violent end exposing
unexpected intra-religious elite conflicts. In Nepal, religion (read:
Hinduism) has lost much of it political clout, while Maoism has gained
currency. Here, left extremism seems to have crowded out religious
fundamentalism. The rise of Maoism is also felt in India, but here
Hindutva revivalism retains a central political position. Thus, in each
of the South Asian countries, religious arguments and religiously
inspired violence have at times structured political debates and
conflicts - while in other instances political conflicts do not wear the
cloak of religious.

Granted the frequency, scale and impact of religiously inspired violence
in South Asia, the region invites renewed examination of political
violence in a global perspective. On that basis, the workshop will ask:
What are the lessons that students of religious and nonreligious
conflict may derive from South Asia? Do political conflicts in South
Asia follow religious fault lines? To what extend does
Islamic extremism define regional political relations? How do religious
and nonreligious civil conflicts influence relations between the South
Asian region, the Middle East, and the West?

The session will also take stock of the capacity of religious movements
to moderate virulent expressions of faith. Within Islam, Sufism has
often been seen as a moderating factor with its rich blend of Hindu,
Buddhist and Zoroastrian culture. In Pakistan and India, religious
leaders have issued fatwas condemning the theories of jihad promoted by
Salafis, Talibanis and others. The question is how such
counter-movements fare in today's South Asia.

Finally, the workshop invites contributions on the role of the media in
reporting religious and nonreligious conflicts in South Asia. Where
doses conflict journalism stand today?


General information:

Language: The presentation at the NSU summer session may be in the
Nordic languages or in English. This workshop will be conducted in
English to encourage non-Nordic participation.

Fee: The fee covers boarding and lodging. Travel costs to the conference
site will be supported for participants from the Nordic countries as
announced on the NSU homepage; see http://www.nsuweb.net/wb/. NSU will
not subsidize the travel costs of non-Nordic participants, but the
coordinators of this workshop will try to subsidize a few non-Nordic
participants. More information about this later.

Registration:
The registration procedure will be announced by NSU around Easter, but
please contact us as soon as possible and send us a preliminary title
and abstract (200-250 characters) of your paper by April 30, 2010.
Please include your name, title, affiliation, phone number, email
address, and postal address.

For theme 1 please email title and abstract, etc. to Peter B. Andersen,
Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, peterba@hum.ku.dk ,
+45-35 32 91 90/+45-35 42 81 53 with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.

For theme 2 please mail title and abstract, etc. to Stig Toft Madsen,
Fil. Dr., stm@ruc.dk with a copy to Katrine Herold, Project
Coordinator, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Leifsgade 33,
DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Katrine.Herold@nias.ku.dk, +45-35 32 95 04.

Looking forward to see you in Finland!



Peter Birkelund Andersen and Stig Toft Madsen
April 19, 2010

CFP: RELIGION AND POWER IN AND OUT OF AFRICA: DEVOTIONS AND MIGRATIONS

7º Iberian Congress of African Studies Lisbon, September 9-11, 2010
Centro de Estudos Africanos, ISCTE

RELIGION AND POWER IN AND OUT OF AFRICA: DEVOTIONS AND MIGRATIONS

Clara Saraiva clarasaraiva@fcsh.unl.pt Departamento de Antropologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa-CRIA e Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa
Ramon Sarró ramon.sarro@ics.ul.pt Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS-UL), Lisboa
Ruy Blanes ruy.blanes@gmail.com Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS-UL), Lisboa

Following the new routes of African migration, African religiosity has spread throughout Europe in the last decades. Recent scholarship has shown how Pentecostal, Neopentecostal and Evangelical churches have crossed the Atlantic and impacted in local scenes, with important implications at both civic and political levels. But other continents have also, throughout history, established complex and transatlantic dialogues with African religious matrixes, thus producing “Afro-” religious experiences. Umbanda and Candomblé in Brazil, Santería in Cuba, Vodou in Haiti, etc.). Therefore the dialogue and between “new” and “old” routes continues to raise important questions regarding mobility, universalism, territory and belonging, as well as regarding Africa’s “place in the world” in what concerns religion.

In this panel we invite scholars to present and discuss contexts of African transnational and/or diasporic religious practices and developments, through the scope of globalization, mobility and multi-sited ethnography. We accept both ethnography-based and theoretical proposals.

Papers must be submitted via: http://cea.iscte.pt/ciea7/index.html
Papers can be submitted in English, Portuguese, Spanish or French.
Deadline for submission: April 30, 2010.




7º Congresso Ibérico de Estudos Africanos
Lisboa, 9-11 Setembro, 2010
Centro de Estudos Africanos, ISCTE


O PODER RELIGIOSO DE ÁFRICA: DEVOÇÕES E EMIGRAÇÕES AFRICANAS

Clara Saraiva clarasaraiva@fcsh.unl.pt Departamento de Antropologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa-CRIA e Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa
Ramon Sarró ramon.sarro@ics.ul.pt Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS-UL), Lisboa
Ruy Blanes ruy.blanes@gmail.com Instituto de Ciências Sociais (ICS-UL), Lisboa

As religiões africanas, acompanhado os movimentos dos emigrantes africanos, têm-se espalhado pela Europa; igrejas evangélicas, pentecostais e neo-pentecostais atravessaram o Atlântico e adquiriram um espaço relevante. Mas também noutros continentes as religiões de origem africana engendraram complexos diálogos intercontinentais e transatlânticos—como o caso das religiões de origem africana desenvolvidas nas Américas (Umbanda e Candomblé no Brasil, Santeria Cubana, Vodu do Haiti, etc.). Estas relações africanas têm muitas vezes também importantes implicações ao nível civil e político.

Neste painel procuraremos desenvolver e analisar o fenômeno da expansão das religiões formadas ou desenvolvidas em várias zonas de África, e o modo como elas seguem a diáspora africana, relacionando essa expansão com a análise do transnacionalismo religioso e questões de etnografia multi-situada. Aceitaremos comunicações que expandam em torno destas temáticas e que apresentem quer estudos de caso com base etnográfica quer comunicações dirigidas para uma reflexão teórica sobre os fenômenos de imigração e religião que tomem como ponto de partida o cenário africano.

Submissão de propostas através de: http://cea.iscte.pt/ciea7/index.html
As propostas podem ser submetidas em português, inglês, espanhol ou francês.
Prazo para submissão: 30 de Abril de 2010.

CFP: Twenty Years After: Secularization and Desecularization in Central and Eastern Europe

Conference "Twenty Years After: Secularization and Desecularization in Central and Eastern Europe",
December 16-19, 2010, Brno, Czech Republic
The International Study of Religion in Central and Eastern Europe Association (ISORECEA), the Czech Association for the Study of Religions (CASR), the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Brno and the Department of Sociology, Masaryk University, Brno are pleased to announced the conference "Twenty Years After: Secularization and Desecularization in Central and Eastern Europe", which will be held on December 16th – 19th, 2010, Brno, Czech Republic.

Suggested topics may relate: The contemporary religious situation in Central and Eastern Europe and how it may be seen from the point of view of major theoretical approaches; Religiosity (and non-religiosity) from a comparative perspective; Religiosity versus spirituality. Individualization and privatization of religion in Central and Eastern Europe; Religion in the public sphere; Religion and regulation: Has religion become more private or more regulated? Religions and multiculturalism: Principles of coexistence of religions in one particular political and/or legal area; The academic study of religions in Central and Eastern European countries and its place in European research; Contacts between religions: Encounters, communication and mission; Reconsidering identities: Religious, ethnic, and political. Language: English. Fee: 40,- € to 160,- €.

Deadline: June 30th, 2010. More details are available at: http://www.phil.muni.cz/relig/isorecea2010/call-for-papers.php. Contact: Dr David Vaclavik, email: vaclav@phil.muni.cz.

CFP: Totalitarian movements and Political Religions

Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions (TMPR) is a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by Routledge. We are currently accepting research articles and book reviews in the following areas of interest:

- The historic and ongoing interaction between religion and politics.
- The impact of religious radicalism on public policy, political attitudes and decision-making.
- Secular but 'totalising' movements, such as Fascism, Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, and Ba'athism.
- Conflicts between illiberal ideologies (both religious and secular) and their opponents.
- Publicly enforced (ir)religion and dissent.
- The contemporary politics of religious revivalism, in Europe, North America, and the Muslim World.
- The politics of memory and memorialization as pertains to political religions and totalitarian ideologies.

Book reviews must be under 1,000 words, thematic review articles up to 3,000 words, and research papers up to 8,000 words.

For publication in the next issue, please submit book reviews by 10 April 2010. Research articles are subject to peer review and are typically published within six months.

Please send articles to: editor-tmpr@intr.keele.ac.uk
Please send reviews to: reviews-tmpr@intr.keele.ac.uk

Further details about the journal are available online:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14690764.asp

CFP for the ECPR conference, to be held in August 2011 in Reyjavik, Iceland.

The politics of Christianity: conservative, traditionalist, radical

In The Next Christendom (2003) Philip Jenkins suggested that the Christian centre of gravity was changing. Echoing other scholars of religious affairs, he argued that the majority of Christians were now to be found in the ‘global south’ and that within 50 years the concept of a white Christian might seem a ‘curious oxymoron’. At the same time Jenkins noted that this new Christianity was more conservative, traditionalist and supernaturally oriented in its understanding of the faith, and that this might impact upon the very nature of Christianity as a faith and have implications for the world of politics. Leaving aside the critiques of his work, some of which echo similar critiques of Samuel Huntington’s simplistic analysis of civilisations, the experience of several major Christian communities bears out at least some of this analysis. Roman Catholicism is more and more a world religious community, regardless of the current Pope’s attempt to reassert the centrality of its European identity; Anglican debates over homosexuality has seen northern traditionalists appeal to more conservative colleagues in the south when they have lost their battles at home; the ever expanding Pentecostal community clearly believes in the supernatural phenomenon associated with the ‘gifts of the spirit’ but the political consequences of this movement are hotly debated

In this section we explore some of the ways in which these developments are impacting in the political sphere, within religious communities, in domestic political contexts and in the international arena. Individual panels might focus on:

• the ways in which globalisation and ‘southernisation’ are affecting Christianity;
• debates surrounding the religious politics of specific issues – sexuality, family values, poverty and debt, disease etc;
• developments within specific faith communities – has Benedict XVI made a difference, is Eastern Orthodoxy different in its approach to politics, can Anglicanism survive, must Pentecostalism be conservative;
• developments within specific countries – how will the Obama presidency impact upon the Christian Right, is establishment dead, does Orthodoxy reinforce authoritarian trends in Russia, Serbia etc
• developments within the international arena, eg. new Christian activism at the UN and associated agencies;
• connections being made with other faith communities.


Please submit preliminary expressions of interest or proposals for panels within the section to: John Anderson (jpa@st-and.ac.uk) and Sandy Livingstone (slivingston@abdn.ac.uk) by 26th March

CFP: Muslim Circuits, Western Spaces

MUSLIM CIRCUITS, WESTERN SPACES

CFP: Panel for 2010 American Anthropological Association, New Orleans, Nov 17-21.
Organizers: Alisa Perkins (UT Austin) and Dr. Zain Abdullah (Temple University)

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: March 8, 2010

The session explores how Muslims are negotiating their identities in the West through circuits of mutual alliance-building, collective and personal identity formation, and cultural border crossings. The diverse ways in which Muslims constitute and are constituted by western spaces is important for how we comprehend group belonging and cultural citizenship, among other things. Since 9/11, the idea of a war between “the West” and “the Islamic world” has profoundly affected the encounter between Muslims and non-Muslims in places like Europe, Australia or the United States. Mainstream media portrays Islam as a doctrine of both faith and terror, creating stereotypes that engender Islamophobia (a fear of Islam) and anti-Muslim backlash in the western public sphere. Yet at the same time, we find countervailing trends.
Muslim communities in the West are finding new pathways, transcending old boundaries and forming new collectivities. These groupings operate within a range of social, cultural and political realms and entail national and transnational contexts.

In light of this year’s theme, Circulation(s), the papers in this panel will examine Muslim circuits and western spaces by exploring social, cultural, political, economic or other arenas in which Muslims and non-Muslims either forge new alliances or maintain old or new boundaries. This exploration will allow us to theorize, for example, how religious identity serves at once as a boundary marker; a site of interface; and a basis for expanded notions of community and self. We are looking for papers that explore the meaning of these collectivities or disjunctures along racial, ethnic, class, gender, sexual, religious, national, or other lines. Papers may also interrogate points of convergence or departure between Islam and the secular; ummah (worldwide Muslim community) and civil society; transnational Islam and national citizenship; Muslim quarters and community life.

Please contact Alisa Perkins (alisaperkins@gmail.com) with a proposed title, a 250-300 word abstract, and a CV by Monday, March 8th. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified via email by Monday, March 15th.

CFP: North American Hinduism

AAR Annual Meeting
October 30-November 1, 2010
Atlanta, Georgia

The North American Hinduism Consultation invites you to submit both panel and paper proposals for our annual meeting in Atlanta. Please submit online at the OP3 system: http://op3.aarweb.org/proposals

Proposals are welcome on any topic relevant to North American Hinduism, including proposals which might be done jointly with another program unit of the AAR.

CFP: Religion and politics in Germany (in german)

Ankündigung und Call for Papers
zur Jahrestagung 2010 des Arbeitskreises „Politik und Religion“
der Deutschen Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft
„Religion und Politik in Deutschland 20 Jahre nach der deutschen Einheit“

Ort: Leipzig

Termin: voraussichtlich 18.-20. November 2010

Seit dem tiefgreifenden politischen Umbruch der Jahre 1989 und 1990 sind mittlerweile zwanzig Jahre vergangen, die scheinbar nicht nur von einem weiteren sozialen Bedeutungsverlust des Religiösen in Westdeutschland gekennzeichnet waren, sondern die auch keineswegs jenen Aufschwung der Religion in Ostdeutschland mit sich brachten, der direkt nach 1989 vielfach erwartet wurde. Diese Entwicklung hat Folgen für die Stellung der Kirchen in der deutschen Gesellschaft. Immer weniger können sie auf eine breite Verankerung in der Gesellschaft zurückgreifen, welche ihnen bisher eine hohe Legitimität für gesellschaftspolitische Vorschläge gewährte. Dies dürfte nicht unwesentliche Folgen für die soziale und politische Präsenz von Religion und Kirche in Deutschland besitzen. Nicht nur die öffentliche Bedeutung kirchlicher Äußerungen steht zur Diskussion, auch institutionelle Veränderungen, die den Einfluss der Kirchen auf Politik und Gesellschaft reduzieren, scheinen möglich. Parallel führen Entwicklungen religiöser Pluralisierung und Individualisierung zu neuen Herausforderungen, die eine Umgestaltung der kulturellen, rechtlichen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen von Kirche und Religion zur Folge haben. Auf der Gegenseite könnten sich mit der propagierten „Wiederkehr des Religiösen“ in die Öffentlichkeit und den Diskussionen über einen „postsäkularen“ Umgang mit religiösen Argumenten neue Felder des Umgangs zwischen Politik und Religion in Deutschland ergeben. Wie sich diese angesichts der unterschiedlichen innerdeutschen Religionskulturen in die politischen Räume auf Bundes- und Landesebene einordnen lassen und welche Bedeutung die Religion für das politische Alltagsleben (Wahlverhalten, politische Kultur, Parteien, gesellschaftliche Integration) heute im wiedervereinigten Deutschland besitzt, ist zu untersuchen.
20 Jahre nach der deutschen Einheit können und müssen somit verschiedene Fragen aufgeworfen werden: Führt ein weiterer Abbruch religiöser Traditionen zu einer Erosion in der politischen Bedeutung der christlichen Kirchen? Welche Strategien haben die ostdeutschen Kirchen gewählt, um dem Prozess der Entkirchlichung zu begegnen? Wie erfolgreich waren sie in ihren Bemühungen? Welche Konsequenzen hat die religiöse Pluralisierung auf die Stellung der Religion in Deutschland? Welche Folgen ergeben sich aus den immer noch bestehenden unterschiedlichen Kulturen der westdeutschen Konfessionszugehörigkeit und der ostdeutschen Konfessionslosigkeit für die Kirchen und deren politische Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten? Was bedeuten die Entwicklungen und Differenzen für die politische Gemeinschaft? Kommt es zu einem Verlust des für die Identitätsbildung wichtigen religiösen Sozialkapitals? Kann sich eine (post)säkulare Kultur des Umgangs mit Religion in Deutschland etablieren? Gibt es immer noch ein unterschiedliches politisches Verhalten zwischen den Zugehörigen unterschiedlicher Konfessionen und auch Konfessionslosen? Wie sind die Haltungen der Kirchen und Gläubigen zu aktuellen politischen Tagesthemen aber auch einzelnen Policies? Und unterscheiden sich diese Positionen von denen säkularer Deutscher?
Das Anliegen der Tagung besteht darin, die seit 1989 abgelaufenen Wandlungsprozesse im Verhältnis zwischen Politik und Religion in Deutschland in den Blick zu nehmen und die Folgen für die gegenwärtige Beziehung zueinander zu analysieren. Unter Bezug auf
theoretische Modelle der politikwissenschaftlichen und religionssoziologischen Erklärung sind Studien, welche die Entwicklungen der letzten zwanzig Jahre in Deutschland den Blick nehmen, besonders erbeten. Dabei sollte ein besonderer Fokus auf der Entwicklung in Ostdeutschland liegen. Diese ist aber nicht isoliert zu betrachten, sondern soll im Vergleich zur westdeutschen Entwicklung gesehen werden. Willkommen sind ebenso Detail- und Fallstudien zu verschiedenen Bereichen der Entwicklung des Verhältnisses von Politik und Religion wie auch Analysen, die zwischen West- und Ostdeutschland systematisch vergleichen.
Erwünscht sind Vortragsvorschläge, die
(a) empirische Studien zur Entwicklung des Verhältnisses von Religion und Politik im innerdeutschen Vergleich vorstellen. Dies umfasst sowohl historische wie auch politikwissenschaftlich-qualitative bzw. -quantitative Studien.
(b) die Tragfähigkeit theoretischer Ansätze der Politikwissenschaft als auch der Religionssoziologie unter Bezugnahme auf die deutsche Situation diskutieren.
(c) Analysen der in Deutschland bestehenden Kirchen und ihrer (politischen) Reaktionsformen auf die gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen beinhalten.
(d) den Prozessen des Bedeutungswandels von Religion und Kirchen für einzelne Policy-Felder nachgehen.
(e) die (unterschiedliche) Präsenz religiöser Akteure und Argumente in den relevanten Diskursen der Sozialethik beleuchten und ggf. konfessionell aufschlüsseln.
(f) den Konsequenzen der Veränderungen der Bedeutung von Religion für den einzelnen Bürger in seinen Verhaltensweisen nachspüren.
(g) das Verhältnis zwischen Religion und Politik oder den Bezug der Religion zur Zivilgesellschaft im gesamtdeutschen Vergleich thematisieren.
(h) die spezifische Rolle der Religion für den Transformationsprozess der Jahre 1989/1990 beleuchten.
(i) die die Frage „Religion und Politik in Deutschland zwanzig Jahre nach der Einheit“ in interreligiöser Perspektive behandeln und dabei vorwiegend die Positionen von Christen und Muslimen darstellen und kontrastieren.
Eine Veröffentlichung der Beiträge in einem Tagungsband ist vorgesehen. Um eine bessere Diskussionsgrundlage für die Tagung zu schaffen, wird darum gebeten, die schriftlichen Fassungen der Vorträge zwei Wochen vor der Tagung bereitzustellen. Damit soll allen Beteiligten die Möglichkeit eröffnet werden, die Beiträge zu kommentieren und Verbesserungsvorschläge für die spätere Publikation der eigenen Beiträge aufzunehmen.
Wir bitten interessierte Kolleginnen und Kollegen um die Zusendung von Vorschlägen/Abstracts zu den Vortragspapieren von ca. ein bis zwei DIN A4 Seiten bis 30. April 2010 an folgende Adressen:
Prof. Dr. Gert Pickel
Universität Leipzig
Professur für Kirchen- und Religionssoziologie
Otto-Schill-Str. 2
04155 Leipzig
Email: pickel@rz.uni-leipzig.de
Dr. Oliver Hidalgo
Universität Regensburg
Institut für Politikwissenschaft
Universitätsstr. 31
93040 Regensburg
Email: oliver.hidalgo@politik.uni-regensburg.de

CFP: Demystifying the Caliphate: Advocates, Opponents and Implications for Europe

Demystifying the Caliphate: Advocates, Opponents and Implications for Europe

Workshop a King’s College, London, 12-13 November 2010

We writing to invite you to present a paper at our forthcoming workshop Demystifying the Caliphate: Advocates, Opponents and Implications for Europe, to be held at King’s College London on 12-13 November 2010.

The workshop aims to investigate the controversial revival of the concept of the Caliphate in the Muslim world and Europe. While many academic publications have dealt with the historical rise and fall of the Islamic Caliphate up to the twentieth century, no substantial scholarly work on its current revival has appeared. With the exception of a few case studies, the topic has not been addressed in historical and social scientific perspectives. This conference promises to fill a gap in our understanding of the contemporary debates, mobilization and advocacies that take place among Muslims in different contexts and asks whether there are certain new conditions that prompt contemporary Muslims to mobilise along demands for the revival of this mode of political governance.

The workshop is an interdisciplinary project that brings historians and social scientists to discuss debates on the Caliphate in different regional and geographical areas. It also aims to bridge the gap between scholars in the Muslim world and those working on the Muslim Diaspora. The workshop will have four panels:

Historical Debates on the Caliphate
Controversies in the Middle East and North Africa
The Caliphate in Asia
Contemporary Revival among European Diaspora Muslims.

If you would like to contribute, please email Dr. Marat Shterin at marat.shterin@kcl.ac.uk by the 22nd of February 2010.

The workshop proceedings will be published by Hurst and Co in an edited volume. If you decide to contribute, we will ask you to send us a 7000-8000 word paper by15 September 2010. Papers will be circulated among conference participants prior to the meeting. Participants will have 25 min for an oral presentation, followed by a 30 min discussion.

The workshop is sponsored by the European Science Foundation. We will be able to cover travel, accommodation and hospitality in London for those who will present papers. We also have a limited number of non-sponsored places for general participants.

In particular, we’re looking for two scholars from European countries to present at the panel on Europe.

CFP: religion and politics in multilevel governance

Call for Papers für das Panel „Politik und Religion in Mehrebenensystemen“ im Rahmen der Tagung der Sektion „Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft“ der Deutschen Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft „Regieren, Government, Governance - Institutionen, Akteure und Politikfelder in Vergleichender Perspektive“ in Duisburg vom 20.-22.09.2010


In modernen politischen Mehrebenensystemen kommt beim Regieren dem Ausgleich zwischen verschiedenen Institutionen, Organisationen und Interessenverbänden eine wesentliche Bedeutung zu. Ein „good governance“ kann nur unter Einbezug auch anderer gesellschaftlicher Akteure erfolgreich umgesetzt und in der Gesellschaft implementiert werden. In modernen Demokratien finden in dieser Hinsicht vielfältige Aushandlungsprozesse statt. Dies gilt in einem ganz besonderen Ausmaß für die Beziehungen zwischen dem Staat und den Kirchen. So stehen Kirchen in den meisten europäischen Gesellschaften – aber auch über Europa hinaus – in vielfältigen Beziehungen zu den Entscheidungsträgern in politischen Systemen (z.B. durch die Umsetzung des Substitiaritätsprinzips in wohlfahrtstaatlichen Strukturen). Sind auf der einen Seite bestimmte Aushandlungsprozesse zwischen beiden Institutionen bereits lange eingeübt und zum Teil rechtlich fixiert und institutionalisiert, entzünden sich auf der anderen Seite in öffentlichen Debatten nicht selten neue Konfliktherde oder neuer Abstimmungsbedarf, der erhebliche Rückwirkungen auf das Regierungshandeln besitzen kann.
Gleichzeitig erfordert die in den letzten Jahrzehnten erfolgte Verlagerung von Entscheidungsstrukturen vor allem in das europäische Mehrebenensystem, seitens der Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften eine neue Form von Organisation, die über bloße nationale Regelungen und Vereinbarungen hinausgeht. Auseinandersetzungen etwas um die Verankerung eines Gottesbezugs im Entwurf der Europäischen Verfassung, die Einführung eines eigenen staatlich unterstützten Religionsunterrichtes der islamischen Glaubenstradition oder Debatten um den Einfluss religiöser Argumente in „säkularen Diskussionen“ (J. Habermas) belegen die intensiven Bemühungen der Kirchen um die Erhaltung des Einflusses auf regionale, nationale und europäische Entscheidungen. Und verstehen sich nicht gerade die christlichen Kirchen als Bewahrer wichtiger europäischer Werte? Gerade dieser Einfluss scheint aber in den zunehmend säkularen europäischen Gesellschaften immer stärker in Frage und zur Disposition gestellt. Allerdings kann von diesen Prozessen der „Säkularisierung“ nicht ohne weiteres auf eine Säkularität im Sinne eines nicht mehr bestehenden Einflusses der Kirchen auf politische Entscheidungen geschlossen werden. Das zeigt die von J. Casanova angestoßene Debatte um den Ort von Religion in Zivilgesellschaft und Politik. So werden Verlautbarungen wie jüngst von der EKD-Ratspräsidentin zum Afghanistan-Einsatz der Bundeswehr sehr wohl breit diskutiert und alle Fragen im Bereich der Regelung des privaten Zusammenlebens (Heirat, Partnerschaft, Familie) sind ohne Auseinandersetzung mit kirchlichen Positionen nicht denkbar. Die Art und Weise, wie Staat und Parteien, Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften im politischen Prozess miteinander umgehen, ist dabei auch ein Gradmesser der Demokratiefähigkeit der beteiligten Akteure und damit der jeweiligen Gesellschaft.
Da sowohl die Durchsetzung der Säkularisierungsprozesse als auch die Verhältnisse zwischen Kirche und Staat über Europa deutlich variieren, sind nicht unwesentliche Differenzen in den Einflussgraden von Religion auf das Regierungshandeln zu vermuten. Entsprechend erscheint
es angebracht diese vielfältigen – und im Fluss befindlichen – Beziehungen näher in Augenschein zu nehmen. Vor diesem Hintergrund möchte sich das Panel sowohl mit theoretischen als auch mit empirischen Studien zum Wirkungsverhältnis von Religion und Kirche auf die politischen Entscheidungsprozesse in Mehrebenensystemen des politischen Regierens in vergleichender Perspektive auseinandersetzen.
Erwünscht sind Vortragsvorschläge, die
(a) empirische Studien zur Bedeutung von Religion und Kirche für politische Entscheidungen. Dies umfasst sowohl politikwissenschaftlich-qualitative als auch -quantitative Studien, die idealerweise einen komparativen Zugang zur Thematik wählen,
(b) vergleichende Perspektiven der Institutionalisierung des Einflusses von Kirchen auf politisches Entscheidungshandeln und den Wandel institutioneller Arrangements untersuchen,
(c) die Relevanz religiöser Akteure und Argumente in den relevanten Diskursen gesellschaftlicher Steuerung und politischen Entscheidens beleuchten,
(d) die Wirkung bestehender Kirche-Staat-Beziehungen auf einzelne Policy-Bereiche identifizieren,
(e) den Folgen des Bedeutungswandels von Religion und Kirchen (Säkularisierung) für deren Einflussgrad auf einzelne Policy-Felder sowie im Gefüge politischer Willens- und Entscheidungsfindung nachgehen,
(f) die Akzeptanz der Position und des Einflusses von Kirchen und Religion in und auf Governance in den Bevölkerungen vergleichend analysieren sowie
(g) das Verhältnis von Religion und Kirchen in Systemen mit Mehrebenenentscheidungen theoretisch einzuordnen und im Rahmen der empirischen politischen Theorie zu konzeptionalisieren suchen.
Die Beiträge können also sowohl Fallstudien zur Prüfung bestehender Theorien als auch komparative Analysen für Europa oder im weiteren internationalen Vergleich als auch neue theoretische Konzepte vorstellen. Vorschläge sind erwünscht bis 30.Juni 2010 an eine der beiden folgenden Adressen.

Prof. Dr. Gert Pickel
Universität Leipzig
Professur für Kirchen- und Religionssoziologie
Otto-Schill-Str. 2
04155 Leipzig

Email: pickel@rz.uni-leipzig.de
Prof. Dr. Antonius Liedhegener
Zentrum für Religion, Wirtschaft und Politik (ZRWP)
Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Universität Luzern
Postfach 7455
CH-6000 Luzern 7
Email: antonius.liedhegener@unilu.ch

CFP, The Fully-Veiled Woman in France: Commissions, Secularism, and the Limits of the Law

Panel title: The Fully-Veiled Woman in France: Commissions, Secularism, and the Limits of the Law
Session Abstract:

Following a six-month investigation by a 32-membered mission, the “Rapport on the Practice of Full-Face Veiling in the National Territory” was presented to the National Assembly in France on Tuesday, January 26th 2010. Led by André Gerin, the 644-page rapport follows several others since 2003, including the Stasi Commission which led to the 2004 ban on conspicuous religious signs in public schools. The rapport considers several factors including the Qur’anic legitimacy of full-face coverings, women’s rights, and secularism in France.

This panel seeks to broadly contextualize the 2010 Gerin rapport. We are looking for papers which compare this report alongside others released in France and Europe, which map the legalities of a possible ban on full-face coverings, which take up secularism vis-à-vis this development, which consider the implications for women’s rights within a feminist discourse, or which consider religion and Islam in France more generally and its depiction of fully-faced covered women.



This panel is being organized by Dr. Melanie Adrian (adrian@fas.harvard.edu) and Dr. Jennifer Selby (jselby@mun.ca). Please contact Dr. Adrian with a proposed title and 250-word abstract by Friday, February 26th, 2010. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified via email by March 1, 2010.

Call for articles: Transnational Islam

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR A SPECIAL ISSUE OF EJEPS, ON TRANSNATIONAL ISLAM*

European Journal of Economic and Political Studies (EJEPS) is a refereed academic journal, publishing research articles in the field of economics, business administration, international relations, political science, public administration and related fields. The aim of *EJEPS* is to provide an intellectual platform for social-scientific studies, a platform in which research in alternative paradigms for economic and social inquiry could be presented and debated. The journal seeks to promote interdisciplinary
studies over the issues of theoretical, practical, and historical importance in dealing with the rich array of problems in economic, political and social processes.

The 3(1) issue of EJEPS will be devoted to transnational Islam. This special issue that will be guest edited by Ihsan Yilmaz is open to contributions from all areas of social sciences and humanities. Papers in major fields such as anthropology, theology, sociology, political science, international relations, law and interdisciplinary studies are most welcome.

The topics suitable for the issue include but not limited to:
· How transnationalism impinges on debates about Muslims in Europe
· Transnational Islam, globalization, regional security, international migration
· Transnationalism vis-a-vis Muslim identity issues
· Transnational Islamic movements and politics, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Muslim Brotherhood, Tablighi Jamaat etc
· Intersecting transnationalism
· Skilful transnational navigators
· Transnational Islam & Jihadism
· Muslim scholars, fiqh and transnational Islam
· Pluri-national agendas
· Muslims in the west and western foreign policies
· Imagined unity of ummah: Predicaments and prospects
· Competing transnational Islams
· Hybridization of Islams

The deadline for submission of completed papers is *15 March 2010*.
The maximum length of the article, including footnotes and endnotes, is *9000* words.

You can submit your electronic manuscripts, for this issue only, to:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz: iyilmaz@fatih.edu.tr
Or
editors@ejeps.com

**

*GUIDE FOR AUTHORS:*

Any paper submitted to the European Journal of Economic and Political Studies (EJEPS) should* NOT *be under consideration for publication at another journal.

*1.* Papers must be in English.
*2.* Submit manuscripts electronically to *editors@ejeps.com*
*3.* Papers that are submitted to the EJEPS for publication should not be under review at other journals.
*4.* The first page of the manuscript should contain:
(i) the title
(ii) the name(s) and institutional affiliation(s) of the author(s)
(iii) the address, telephone and fax numbers (as well as the e-mail address) of the corresponding author.
(iv) an abstract of 50-200 words.
(v) JEL categories
*5.* Manuscripts should be 1.5 spaced, Please use Times New Roman font in 12 pt. type and maintain a 1-inch (2.5-cm) side, top, and bottom margin. Equations and symbols should be typed as well.
*6.* Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively.
*7.* References should be listed at the end of the main text in alphabetical order. They should be cross-referenced in the text by using the author's name and publication date in the style of Sen (1970).
*8.* The maximum lenthg of the manuscript, including footnotes and endnotes, is 9000 words

*References should be typed in the following style:*

*Books:*
Sen, A. (1970) Collective Choice and Social Welfare. San Francisco: Holden-Day.

*Articles:*
Ng, Y.K. (1971) "The Possibility of a Paretian Liberal: Impossibility Theorems and Cardinal Utility." Journal of Political Economy 79: 1397-1402.

*Chapters in Books:*
Watkins, J.W.N. (1968) "Methodological Individualism and Social Tendencies," In M. Brodbeck (Ed.), Readings in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences pp. 269-280 London: Macmillan.

*Web sites: *
Biography Center. http://www.gayegroup.com/BiographyRC/. (accessed October 25, 2007).

*Working Papers *
Isabel, M. (2004) "An Efficient Descending-Bid Simultaneous Auctions for Multiple Objects." NBER Working Paper 97-06

*Conference Papers *
Bacık, G. (2006) "The Evolution of Political Stabilization of Middle East ." Fatih University International Relations Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.

CFP: Religion and media

Moscow Society for the Study of Religions (www.mro.su) Faculty of Philosophy, Moscow State University

VIII MSSR CONFERENCE "RELIGION & MEDIA"
MAY 12-15, 2010

"Whether we like or not, then, as teachers working in publicly funded institutions, we are public intellectuals already."
Russell T. McCutcheon

"Religious life, knowledge about religion, the one or the other, our own or the others, takes place and is produced and acquired in and by the media."
Tim Jensen

Keynote address by
Prof. KAREL DOBBELAERE
(Catholic University Louvain, Belgium)



Nowadays at the beginning of the XXI century we keep observing an explosion of new media that caused profound changes in human categories of communication, on the one hand. And on the other hand, the role of religion has been increasing on a global scale.

The 8th Annual MSSR Conference on "Religion & Media" solicits research papers on the multiple problems raised by an interdisciplinary approach to these multifaceted phenomena. The conference brings together scholars of religion, anthropologists, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and all interested in academic Study of Religions as well as specialists
from the Media for joint discussion.

The Moscow Society for the Study of Religions (MSSR) takes a broad view of the conceptual, analytical, and empirical problems involved in addressing the complex relationship between religion and media. We especially encourage submissions that highlight different approaches to the historical and systematic background for the study of religion and media, ranging from the religious prohibitions of images to its modern interpretations.

Also we seek papers covering a broad range of difficulties dealing with role or 'status' of scholar as 'specialist' and the Study of Religions as science in the Media and in modern and post-modern societies.

Suggested panels of the conference:

1. Definitions of Religion in the Media
2. Communicative functions of Religion
3. Religious mass-media & professional mass-media on Religion
4. Religion in the Popular Culture (movies, music, literature, etc.)
5. Popular Culture in Religion (e.g. TV shows of priests and preachers)
6. Religion as Mass Culture (Fan-Clubs, The Health Wealth Cult, etc.)
7. Religion and Social Networks (LiveJournal, Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter, etc.)
8. Role of the Media in creation and transformation of religious identity
9. Religion and Gender in the Media
10. Online religions & Religions online
11. Role of the Media in generation of religious traditions (e.g. cargo cults, etc.)
12. The Media & Religious Education
13. Ways of using the Media in the Study of Religions (web-sites, online-conferences, etc.)

If topic of your paper does not fit to any of the panels above, it might be submitted as a "single paper". Such papers will be collected into special panels.

Each participant could make a panel proposal. In this case he/she should submit title and abstract of the panel (up to 100 words) as well as paper proposals to this panel from no less than three participants (including himself).

Languages of the Conference: Russian and English
REGISTRATION FORM should be submitted to the MSSR Conference Officer,
Anna B. Yudkina [conf2010.mro@gmail.com] by February 28, 2010.

KEY DATES
Panel Proposal till February 28, 2010
Paper Registration & Abstract
Notification of Paper Acceptance March 14, 2010
Conference (Moscow, Russia) May 12-15, 2010
Publication of proceedings Fall 2010

CFP: Youthful spaces of belief

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS: ‘YOUTHFUL SPACES OF BELIEF’

RGS –IBG Annual International Conference: London, 1st-3rd September 2010
Session Organiser: Peter Hemming (Brunel University)
Sponsored by the RGS-IBG Children, Youth and Families Research Group

Religion is currently on the social and political agenda like never before, and this development has been reflected through increasing interest in the Social Sciences. In Geography, the ‘new’ geographies of religion have gained in prominence (Kong 2001) and the issue of space has received greater attention from other disciplines (e.g. Knott 2005).
Scholars from within the sub-discipline of geographies of childhood and youth have also begun to consider the significance of religion in the spaces that shape the everyday lives of children and young people (e.g. Dwyer, Hemming, Hopkins, Olson). But the word ‘belief’ encompass much more than religion. It includes ethical, moral and political views that structure the lives of religious and non-religious children and young people alike. These perspectives often provide innovative ways of
thinking about and understanding contemporary global issues such as the environment and living with diversity. As such, beliefs and the way in which they intersect with space and place will be of central concern for both geographers and other researchers interested in children, youth and families.

Papers on youthful spaces of belief might include, but would not be limited to, any of the following interdisciplinary topics:

· The role of belief in constructing childhood and youth
· Influences of and influences on beliefs
· Religious education and education spaces
· Belief and spaces of inclusion/exclusion
· Communities of belief
· Social cohesion
· Emotional, affective and embodied aspects of belief
· Belief and social identity
· Intergenerational issues and home spaces
· Nationhood and belief
· Moral and ethical geographies
· New social movements
· Governing beliefs
· Transitions and the life course
· Innovative methods for researching childhood, youth and belief


Please send your proposed title, along with your name, affiliation, email address and abstract (max 250 words) to peter.hemming@brunel.ac.uk by Friday 5th February 2010.

CFP: Changing Gods

The 2010 International Conference

Changing Gods. Between Religion and Everyday Life

International Conference organized by CESNUR, Italian Association of Sociology (AIS) - Sociology of Religions Section, and the School of Political Science - University of Torino

Torino, Italy, 9-11 September 2010

http://www.cesnur.org/2010/to_cfp.htm

CALL FOR PAPERS

The conference will assess the international, global-local, and local dimensions of religious change, religious pluralism, spirituality, minority religions, new religious movements, new movements within Islam and Christianity, Esotericism and the New Age, survey the current situation, and consider the fate of religious and spiritual groups as they change and relate to everyday life in an increasingly multi-cultural and trans-national world. Papers will be accepted from a variety of perspectives (sociology, history, anthropology, psychology, law, religious studies).

Topics will include: Change in Old and New Religions; Religion and Everyday Life; Societal Responses to Religious Diversity and Pluralism; Religious Movements between Mainstreaming and Marginalization; Religion, Spirituality, and Body; Religion Online and Online Religion; Magic, Esotericism, and the Sacred; Bio-religion and Politics; Prayer and Everyday life; Young Generations; Lifestyles, Religion, and the Sacred; Gender and the Sacred; and The Emergence of New Movements and Groups.

Those who would like to present papers are invited to submit a 200-word abstract of their paper (in English or Italian) and a 200-word curriculum vitae to cesnur_to@virgilio.it before February 28, 2010.
Speakers will be allocated 20 minutes for their talks (but they can bring longer papers to give to interested participants or e-mail these later).

Those who would like to arrange a full session should assume that they will have 2 hours, allowing time for 5 speakers or, if they prefer, 4 speakers and more time for discussion. The session organiser should, in turn, submit a 200-word synopsis of the whole session and 200-word CVs and abstracts for each speaker to cesnur_to@virgilio.it before February 28, 2010. The selection panel will be looking for empirical and theoretical contributions to the scholarly understanding of religious and spiritual change and pluralism, religion and everyday life, and to the variety of societal and individual responses to religion. Authors of papers that have been accepted will be notified before April 15, 2010.

The conference will begin in the morning of Thursday September 9 and it will end in the afternoon of Saturday September 11. The venues will be in downtown Torino. A field trip will be arranged in the afternoon of Friday September 10. Participants will be responsible for arranging their own accommodation: there are plenty of good hotels in downtown Torino and you may want to consult your travel agent. Further details about the conference will be available in due course on the CESNUR (www.cesnur.org) website.

Unfortunately no scholarship will be available for participants. Each participant, including speakers, will be expected both to pay his or her travel and accommodation expenses, and to register before being included in the final programme.

Spirituality against religion: the role of gender and power - Call for paper

"Spirituality against religion: the role of gender and power" EASA conference, Maynooth, Ireland, August 24th till 27th, 2010

Convenors:
Dr. Anna Fedele (Lisbon University Institute, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
Dr. Kim Knibbe (dept. of social and cultural anthropology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)
Deadline for submissions: 1st March 2010.

In this panel we want to discuss the processes of (gendered) power among people who call themselves 'spiritual' rather than 'religious' and problematize the opposition between these two terms. What kinds of power can we discern despite people's assertions that they only follow their own ‘inner voice'? We invite papers rooted in ethnographic research that explicitly discuss processes of (gendered) power in "New Age" or Neopagan movements or other social and religious movements using the distinction/opposition between religion and spirituality.

N.B.: We plan to turn the papers of this panel into a publication. This means that if your paper is selected for the panel, we expect you to send it to us before the conference, so that we can start looking for a publisher and working on a book-proposal.


Abstract

In social sciences, the debates on the increasing popularity of alternative spiritualities and the fate of religion in Europe and Northern America has in the past few years been dominated by the thesis that posits a 'shift' from religion, recognizing a transcendent authority outside the self, to spirituality, focused on the inner self as the ultimate authority. This shift is furthermore linked to a broad array of attitudes (Paul Heelas et al. 2005, Peter Berger et al. 2008: 14-15). However, we might wonder whether this thesis does not in fact replicate the internal discourses of alternative spiritualities, obscuring the ways in which the fields of alternative spiritualities are themselves socially structured and the role of various kinds of power in them. What kinds of critique are embedded within the distinction between 'religion' and 'spirituality'? How can we theorize power in these settings? Gender, for example, is one issue that is hardly addressed except descriptively. Although people might be searching for a 'religion without power', from a social scientific point of view there is no such thing as religion without power.

In this panel we want to address the question how the categories 'religion' and 'spirituality' are constructed, how this relates to gender and what theories of power to bring to this field.


Submission

You can submit a proposal for a paper via the EASA website choosing the workshop W014

http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2010/panels.php5?View=Workshops


Or access the panel directly and click on “Propose a paper”:

http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2010/panels.php5?PanelID=591

Please note that you do not need to be a EASA member in order to submit a paper, you can become a member and register once your paper is accepted.

Religion in global perspective - Call for papers and sessions

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting October 29-31, 2010
Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland
"Religion in Global Perspective"

http://www.sssrweb.org/

Religious identities, belief systems and institutions have been transformed by globalization, and globalization has accelerated the rate of this transformation. Everywhere, the processes of economic liberalization and migration interact with the religious aspects of society and individuals' lives. For example, immigration is changing the religious make-up of countries' populations; economies open to foreign capital and investment are also experiencing the challenge of change.

This is an intellectually challenging, pioneering time for the scientific study of religion. As last year's call for papers noted, researchers are studying an ever changing religious landscape using new concepts and theoretical ideas, sharper analytical tools, and increasingly rich, sophisticated, and accessible quantitative and qualitative data. We tackle this transformation as scholars by coming together to engage in an ambitious, far-reaching and inclusive annual meeting.

Proposals for sessions and papers on any topic in the scientific study of religion are welcome. We particularly invite proposals for sessions that include perspectives from around the globe and papers that situate their research within a global context. We anticipate tackling important issues and debates in the scientific study of religion; illuminating new developments and emerging trends in religious institutions, movements and social groups; expanding our understanding of the role of
religion in individuals' lives; exploring progress in conceptualizations; and foregrounding advances in methodology. Proposals including research from experiments, computer simulations, analysis of narratives, historical or ethnographic case studies and large-scale data projects, and from scholars in all disciplines are invited.

All session and paper proposals must be submitted via the on-line submission system that will be available on the SSSR's web site, http://www.sssrweb. org beginning January 15, 2010. In addition to the session petitioner's full contact information, a session proposal requires a session title and an abstract of not more than 150 words describing the goal of the session and how the petitioner expects the session to contribute to the scientific knowledge of religion. Paper proposals require the name(s) of the author(s), first author's full contact information, abstract of not more than 150 words that succinctly describes the question(s) motivating the research, the data and methods used, and what the paper contributes or expects to contribute to the
knowledge or understanding of religion. The submission deadline is March 1, 2010.

The meetings are taking place in Baltimore, Maryland, a central location on the U.S. East Coast, well known for its Inner Harbor and Harborplace, fresh seafood, and ethnic neighborhoods. It is home to the Baltimore Basilica (1806-1821) which is the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the U.S.; the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1870 and noted for its stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany; the 1845 Greek Revival style Lloyd Street Synagogue which is one of the oldest synagogues in the U.S.; and the Sharp Street United Methodist Church, a National Historic Landmark established in 1787 and the home of Baltimore's first black congregation. Well known for its unique histories, immigrant populations, foods and cultures, Baltimore is an ideal setting for the 2010 SSSR meetings.

Please direct questions to:

Korie Edwards, Program Chair
Department of Sociology
The Ohio State University
kle[at]sociology.osu.edu

Important Dates:

Submissions Close: March 1, 2010
Decision Notification: April 5, 2010
Papers to Discussants: September 24, 2010