ASSOCIATION FOR THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
2009 Annual Meeting
San Francisco – 8 to 10 August
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The complex, frequently vexing, relations between religious, political, and cultural processes confound sociological theorists, policy makers, funding agencies, journalists, political pundits, and whole societies, communities and individuals. While some scholars welcome our current era as the dawning of post-secular society, others declare it the secular age. Meanwhile, religion penetrates politics and culture in societies once considered secular (e.g., France) as well as persisting in multiple guises in the U.S., at once the most rational and most religious of western societies. World leaders establish foundations to facilitate global inter-religious dialogue, while religious leaders in secular societies (e.g., England) call for religiously infused civil laws. What are we to make of these many puzzling and contradictory developments? This year’s Annual Meeting encourages scholars to reflect on the varied relations between religion, politics, and culture as they affect local, national, and global society, as well as the conduct of their own research, writing, and teaching. |
Papers and discussions are invited on a broad range of issues in the sociological study of religion relating to the meeting theme, including but not limited to the following:
Measuring and assessing progress in religious-political dialogue
Religion as an emancipatory force in the deepening of democracy
Religion, political conflict, and rational political discourse
The continuing tensions within religious cultures and organizations with the politics of gender, racial, and sexual equality
The effects of political and cultural changes on religious beliefs and institutions
The cultivation of religious and spiritual identities in religiously inhospitable environments
Religious-political realignments
The politics and culture of atheism
The establishment of civic institutions and knowledge curricula that advance religious pluralism rather than sectarianism
Religious ecumenism in practice
Religious symbols and ceremonies in public culture
The influence of religious worldviews on political and economic decisions
And as always, we seek an inclusive mix of substantive, theoretical, and methodological approaches. Therefore, proposals for sessions and papers that fall outside the formal theme are also welcome.
DEADLINES: -Session Proposals are due by 31 January 2009 Click Here
-Paper Abstracts are due by 28 February 2009 Click Here
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Membership in ASR is required for program consideration (one author, for multi-authored papers). See the ASR website (www.sociologyofreligion.com) for information/forms.
PROGRAM CHAIR: Melissa J. Wilde, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania. Using the links provided on the ASR homepage, send all proposals to the following address: