"Lived Religion" - 2013 Annual Meeting of the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG)

2013 Annual Meeting of the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG)
24–25 October 2013, University of Leiden

Theme: Lived Religion: Studying Religious Practice

OUTLINE OF THEME

The 2013 Annual Meeting of the NGG focuses on lived religion, that is religious practice such as it is actually enacted and religious identities and beliefs such as they are actually held. The opposite of lived religion is thus not ‘dead religion’, but ‘prescribed religion’, the religion of catechisms, canons, and creeds. We invite papers that explore the lived religion of groups and individuals, including the unofficial and everyday dimensions of the great religious traditions, non-institutional and post-Christian religion (e.g., ‘new age’, neo-paganism), and tensions between lived and prescribed religion. The conference welcomes anthropological, sociological, cognitive, and historical perspectives, and we especially encourage papers of a methodological or theoretical nature. The conference aims to advance the study of lived religion by critically and systematically reflecting on the core question ‘how do we approach and theorise lived religion’?

We invite proposals for papers, panels, and posters on lived religion from all theoretical perspectives within the study of religion. In addition, PhD and MA students are given the possibility to present their ongoing research either with a poster or in a paper session that is not related to the conference theme. Deadline for all proposals is 1 June 2013. See detailed calls for papers, panels, and posters below.

We are honoured to present two distinguished keynote speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Ronald Hutton, “Lived Religion in History, History in Lived Religion: The Case of Contemporary Paganism” (speaker confirmed; title provisional)
  
• Dr. Nathal Dessing, “How to Study Everyday Lived Religion”
  

A. CALL FOR INDIVIDUAL PAPERS

Each individual paper will be given a total of 30 minutes, i.e. 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion.

We invite proposals from various disciplinary perspectives (the academic study of religion, sociology, anthropology, history, etc.) on lived religion. Topics can include (but are not restricted to):

• Unofficial and everyday religious practices within great religious traditions
  
• Practices, beliefs, and identities in contemporary, non-institutional religion (e.g., ‘new age’, neo-paganism)
  
• Tensions between lived and prescribed religion, between specialists and laity, and between theological correctness and theological incorrectness
  
• Theories of religion focusing on action, activity, or practice (e.g., Weber, Geertz, Bourdieu, Riesebrodt, and Whitehouse)
  
• Processual approaches to religion: Practicing, experiencing, cognising, and feeling as the core of religion
  
• Discursive practices as lived religion
  
• Rituals and religious acts: ritual theory and ritual dynamics
  
• Religion and material culture
  
• Lived religion as a theoretical concept
  
• Lived religion in the past and the historical context of contemporary lived religion
  
• The interlace of lived religion with media, leisure, entertainment, fiction, and play
  
• The internet as a new site of religious practice and the methodological challenges it poses
  
• The study of social organisation beyond the religious group: network analysis, field work, and more
  
• The methodology of studying religious experience (including altered states of consciousness): seeking a third way between going native and scanning brains
  

Candidates should submit both an abstract (of max. 150 words) for the programme book and a more detailed proposal (of max. 400 words). Deadline for submitting abstract and proposal for an individual paper is 1 June 2013. Abstracts and proposals should be emailed to NGG secretary Markus Altena Davidsen ( ).

B. CALL FOR PANELS

Groups of scholars are invited to submit 3 to 5 papers on similar topics as one coherent panel (1.5–2 hours length, depending on the schedule). Panels should fit into the perspectives outlined above.

Deadline for submitting a panel is 1 June 2013. When submitting a panel, please include in one document both individual abstracts and proposals for the papers (respectively max. 150 and 400 words), as well as a panel abstract (max. 150 words) for the programme book and a more detailed panel proposal (of max. 400 words). Abstracts and proposals should be emailed to NGG secretary Markus Altena Davidsen ().

C. CALL FOR PAPERS AND POSTERS FOR OFF-THEME PHD AND MA STUDENT SESSION(S)

PhD students are invited to propose papers for the perspectives outlined above. Additionally, both PhD students and MA students are cordially invited to submit a poster or a paper for a separate off-theme session. This can be a great opportunity for MA students to report on the results of their MA thesis and for PhD students to present some of their preliminary conclusions.

Each individual paper will be given a total of 30 minutes, i.e. 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion.

Posters should be A1 size and should not include too much text. Make sure to include pictures, graphs etc. to enhance readability. We suggest that posters are accompanied with a number of handouts for people to take. Unfortunately, we cannot help with the printing of the poster. Most universities, however, do offer templates and/or facilities for making conference posters.

Abstracts for posters and papers for the off-theme session(s) (max. 150 words) together with a more detailed proposal (of max. 400 words) should be sent no later than 1 June 2013 to NGG secretary Markus Altena Davidsen ().

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Organisers. The Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap) in cooperation with Leiden Institute for Religious Studies, University of Leiden.

Organising committee. Prof.Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad (chair, NGG), Markus Altena Davidsen (secretary, NGG), William Arfman, (PhD representative, NGG), Dr. Wim Hofstee (Leiden Institute for Religious Studies).

Venue. Leiden Institute for Religious Studies, University of Leiden.

Time. 24–25 October 2013. The conference will begin around 14.00 on Thursday the 24th and end around 16.00 on Friday the 25th.

Deadline. Deadline for all proposals is 1 June 2013. Proposals should be sent to the secretary of the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion, Markus Altena Davidsen (m.davidsen@religion.leidenuniv.nl).

Registration. Registration costs will be kept as low as possible (and depend on further funding that the organisers applied for). Discounts will be available for members of the NGG and for students. Registration includes coffee/tea breaks, the conference dinner on Thursday evening, and a lunch on Friday. The organisers will help with finding accommodation in various categories. Please check the website for updates and further information.

Homepage. For updates and information, please see the website of the NGG at www.godsdienstwetenschap.org or follow us on Twitter at @NGG_nl.

Address: Leiden Institute for Religious Studies,
University of Leiden
The Netherlands

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