“Understanding Religious Change” – 2015 ASR Conference Report
77th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR), 20-22 August 2015, in Chicago, Illinois. Conference report for The Religious Studies Project by Amanda Schutz, PhD student in the School of Sociology, University of Arizona.
The theme of this year’s annual ASR meeting was a familiar one among social science conferences: understanding change. In her presidential address, “Complex Religion:
Conference report: Rethinking Boundaries in the Study of Religion and Politics
“Oganessian proposed that if we were to view politics, or the public sphere, as a “marketplace of ideas,” that would allow us to move beyond the religious/secular binary that dominates western thought. In this “marketplace of ideas” framework, we should view all ideologies, concepts, or moralities as having a societal value, and politics as a kind of flea market for any given worldview to sell their perspective on how to govern the society. This framework frees religious thought of its unfair stereotype of only being suited for one’s private life, putting it on an even footing with all other worldviews.”
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 23 June 2015
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We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who forwarded notifications. On that note, we would also like to encourage you to continue to do so in the future (and invite those who remain hesitant to begin)!
Religious Studies Opportunities Digest – 9 June 2015
Dear subscriber, We would like to remind you that the deadline for the 50th annual BASR conference, our beloved benefactors, is coming up! You only have until June 15 to submit your panels and papers! Now, now, don’t get stressed. Get coffee. Calls for papers Journal: Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion Special Issue: […]
Of Demon Kings and Protestant Yakṣas
The disappointment of Western pacifists here is not unlike the reaction of early Orientalists who, disappointed by the ritualism and deity-worship they found in living Buddhist cultures, described a degenerate Buddhism.
Let me begin by saying that this is not a critique, but an effort to contribute to a conversation about issues that have affected me personally as a scholar. In particular,…
Stephen Jenkins
Stephen Jenkins is Professor of Religious Studies at Humboldt State University. He received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1999. Much of his career has been spent in Asia serving study abroad programs in India, Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Japan. His research has been primarily focused on Indian Buddhist concepts of compassion, their philosophical […]
Sri Lankan Buddhism and Colonialism
Usually one of the first associations upon hearing ‘Sri Lankan Buddhism’ is either the religious violence that swept across the island in the recent decades, or the Pali canon and Theravada Buddhism. In this interview with Anja Pogacnik, Dr. Stephen Berkwitz doesn’t really speak of either.
Sufism is a paradox?
While the tendency to think of Sufism as a kind of individualized or more private form of Islam is quite prevalent, the representation of Sufism as a form of ‘peaceful Islam’ or as a ‘solution’ to the ‘problem’ of radical Islam is equally pervasive.
In his interview with the Religious Studies Project, Milad Milani gives a thoughtful overview of the tradition of Sufism, answering big questions such as: what is Sufism, how did it emerge historically (see Milani 2013),…
Dressing in Skins of Gods: New Approaches to Aztec Religion
Recent scholarship on Mesoamerican religions has been influenced by Mircea Eliade in a persistent fashion that has yet to be critically addressed.
Molly Bassett is an enthusiastic advocate for studying Mesoamerican religion, a welcome new direction in Religious Studies. She credits the critical mentorship of David Carrasco, Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of Latin America Studies at the Harvard Divinity School. Although she does not mention this, his influence makes her an intellectual “granddaughter” of Mircea Eliade, …
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 2 March 2015
Calls for papers BASR 2015 University of Kent, UK Deadline (new): June 15, 2015 registration form (.doc) Events Summer school: Shamanism: Traditional Forms & Contemporary Expressions June 22–July 10, 2015 University of Edinburgh, UK More information Conference: Implicit Religion (secular faith(s)) May 8–10, 2015 West Yorkshire, UK More information Conference: “Folklore of Connections, Folklore of […]
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 27 January 2015
Calls for papers Conference: Tracing the Path of Tolerance: History and Critique of a Political Concept from the Early Modern Period to the Contemporary Debate May 26–27, 2015 University of Padua, Italy Deadline: March 1, 2015 More information Conference: Sociology of Islam: Reflection, Revision & Reconceptualization June 25–27, 2015 Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany Deadline: January 30, […]
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 19 January 2015
Do you have a call for papers to announce? A conference? Workshop? Seminar? Symposium? Colloquium you’d like to share some information on? How about an anthology or a special journal issue?
If you would like to share it with us and other RSP subscribers, it will be our pleasure to include your call or announcement in our Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest,…
Ian Reader
Ian Reader is currently a professor of Japanese and Religious Studies at Lancaster. He has recently published a book titled ‘Pilgrimage in the Marketplace‘ (Routledge) which draws on research in Japan and other places over several years and looks at commercial dynamics and pilgrimage, and his latest book, A Very Short Introduction to Pilgrimage (OUP) […]
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 16 December 2014
Calls for papers Muslim Leadership in Britain: Developments, Challenges and Opportunities April 1, 2015, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM University of Central Lancashire, UK Deadline: January 19, 2015 More information The Role of Religions in the Turkic Culture September 9–11, 2015 Budapest, Hungary Deadline: January 16, 2015 More information Anthology: Female Leaders in New Religious […]
Religious Studies Project Opportunities Digest – 18 November 2014
This week’s digest is packed! Make sure you take the time to scroll through all of it!
We would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who submit calls for papers, information on conferences, events, jobs, networks, grants, and funding.