Theme: “Communicating Religion”

Call for Papers

Date: July 9-11, 2019

Venue: Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales

Abstract Submission Deadline: February 1, 2019

As scholars of religion, we are all tasked with communicating religion in one way or another – to students, to the public, and to our research community. Moreover, what we study is itself a message: participants in our studies and creators of the documents we analyze are communicating religion, and what we receive as data is what Giddens referred to as the ‘double hermeneutic,’ or ideas and experiences that have already been mediated.

Our focus is on “communicating” as a verb-like gerund rather than “communication” as a static, abstract noun. Scholars from different strands of the sociology of religion can imagine their work in it, and our topic engages the interests of colleagues in journalism, media and cultural studies; geography; music; English, communications and philosophy; social psychology; and law and politics.

The substance of communication can include evangelistic and apologistic discourse, education, media, and public policy interventions. We welcome diverse methodological approaches, including multi-modal and multi-sensory approaches to communicating religion. We understand communicating in multiple contexts, including academia, politics, education, social media and mass media.

Plenary Speakers

• Charles Hirschkind (University of California-Berkeley)
• Mia Lövheim (Uppsala University)
• Jolyon Mitchell (University of Edinburgh)

Source: religiousstudiesproject.com