12-14 september 2012: Conferentie Religion on the Move
Call for Papers
Religion on the Move: How Motion and Migration influence Religion
10th Conference of the Working Group on Ethnology of Religion, Szeged, Hungary 12-14 September, 2012
A second strand of movement is connected to migration for, by moving, people bring faiths and religious practices to other places in the world where they were not previously known or practised. Nowadays, through mass migrations, refugees, displacements because of war and other translocations, religions and beliefs can expand both spatially and quantitatively. These are processes in which the faiths which are moving are being transformed, and the religion(s) of the areas in which people and their religion are newly settled are likewise affected (examples include Islam in Europe and the new Christians from Africa in Europe). Sometimes beliefs are appropriated through tourism or by ‘spiritual seekers’; aspects of Eastern religion and esoterism have been imported to Western society. In that regard modern media and even more the Internet have become migratative instruments, in their capacity of ‘posting’ religion all over the globe and into people’s homes, regardless of what religion is practised there. The extension of religion through (digital) migration has an impact on social, cultural and political contexts (Woodhead et al. 2002). The movement of religion might lead to an adaptation to new circumstances, to inculturation, but also potentially to a transformation in the religious constituents of the local culture as well. Sometimes there is openness and religion finds new host communities. Evangelical, Pentecostal, neo-Pentecostal churches have spread across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe (Coleman 2007) and so have Afro-American religions, as CandombleÌ, Umbanda, or Santeria cubana (Capone 2004; Saraiva 2010). Sometimes the members of the host country become involved in such new practices, but movement may also lead to segregation within host communities and contested situations.
- The influence of migration on religion
- Movement as constituative element in religion and rituality
- Effects of globalisation and transnationalism on religion
- Changes in religion through digital movement, via the Internet.
- Movement and spatiality related to the practice of religion
Format: the conference takes place over two days, followed by an excursion on the third day. Paper presentations are limited to 20 minutes each, followed by ten minutes of discussion. In total 20 paper presenters will be selected. Colleagues who do not present a paper are welcome to participate in the conference and its discussions. A business meeting of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion will be held during the conference.
Organizers: the conference is organized by the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the University of Szeged together with the BaÌlint SaÌndor Institute for Research on Religion and the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF).
Venue: University of Szeged and GaÌl Ferenc Theological College of Szeged
Fee: the conference fee is 60 €, including conference materials, reception, coffee, brunch, excursion. Participants are responsible for travel and accommodation; there is no funding for expenses available.
Application: submit an abstract of your paper of maximum 300 words, together with your name, position, and institutional affiliation to Dr. IstvaÌn PovedaÌk povedak@yahoo.com by March 15, 2012. The selection of the papers will be done in collaboration with the Board of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion. The final selection will be communicated by April 1, 2012.
Contacts: povedak@yahoo.com; peter.jan.margry@meertens.knaw.nl