NGG Najaarsconferentie, georganiseerd vanuit NOSTER themagroep
INTERNATIONAL AUTUMN CONFERENCE NEDERLANDS GENOOTSCHAP VOOR GODSDIENSTWETENSCHAP (DUTCH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF RELIGION)Kontakt der Kontinenten, 22-23 October 2010
THEME: Religious Authority - Past and Present
CALL FOR PAPERS
Following up on our national conference on Religious Authority in October 2009, we are now organising an international conference on this topic. Our key-note speaker is Dr Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam in the UK at Cardiff University, who will discuss religious authority in contemporary Islam. Those who would like to present a paper are asked to study the outline of our theme below and send an abstract to the Secretary before 1 July 2010 (see also below).
Outline of the theme
Sometimes certain phenomena, which are not only rooted in but also seem to transcend daily life, inspire awe in people. People then may attribute authority to these phenomena. We speak of religious authority if this authority is related to a religious context. Not only persons and institutions but also concepts can embody religious authority. Examples are oral or written messages, which are experienced and acknowledged as 'revelation'. Meta-empirical entities, deemed to be superior to human beings, are a source of religious authority as well. Believers claim to obey the authority of such entities, while these entities themselves are not empirically verifiable. Religious authority - both in its abstract and concrete forms - is the research object of many disciplines, and especially for the academic study of religion, anthropology and sociology.
What is religious authority exactly? Which insights are supplied by the academic discourse on this topic?
The concepts that we use in studying religious authority offer a rich array of approaches which will be scrutinized in this conference. The extensive debate on concepts, such as charisma, authority, power and status, shows that religious authority is a captivating object of research in the academic study of religion. Under the influence of Max Weber's ideas, 'charisma' is defined as a characteristic that is not inherent in a person but can only be attributed to such a person by a community, according to sociological approaches. Authority is then a social process. In anthropological and psychological circles, however, studies aim at establishing a set of characteristics that a person needs to make their authority effectual. Symbols of power and authority within a community are research object within anthropology as well. Discourse-theoretical approaches focus on power relationships that determine the 'capital' of a person in relation to other people.
Nowadays we notice a decrease in authority in traditional religious contexts. Secularisation processes, globalisation and anti-authoritarian movements have made a substantial impact. The relationship between the state (or politics) and religion is an important factor of influence on the dynamics of religious authority. Many traditional scholars within Islamic traditions, for instance, have lost authority because they were hedged in by the structures of official Islam (which is partly a political and partly a bureaucratic problem; cp. the ideas of Weber). The sociologists Heelas and Woodhead observe a 'spiritual revolution', marked by a sacralisation of the 'Self' and subjectivity. According to the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, the facts supplied by modern scholarship and arts are unmistakable evidence that the era in which revelations were merely received is over.
Into which directions will religions and societies develop? Could we say that there is a general decrease in respect for external social authority? Political religions, an increase of ideology and totalitarian organisation - are these reactions to loss of authority? Does 'new' religious supply arise, wherever possible, as the Rational Choice theory maintains? For which ways do religious leaders opt nowadays? How do they manipulate 'religious notions'? How can scholars of religion, anthropology and sociology collaborate in their historical and empirical research in order to gain insight into contemporary phenomena related to power, politics and religious authority? These are leading questions for the International Autumn Conference of 2010.
PAPER CALL
If you want to present a paper, please send a title and abstract BEFORE 1 JULY 2010 to the Secretary of the Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap, Prof. Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad (c.k.m.von.stuckrad@rug.nl).
POSTER CALL
If you want to present a poster, please send your title to the secretary.
PhD- and MA-students are cordially invited to present their research and ideas in this way.
DEADLINE FOR THE PROPOSALS: 1 JULY 2010
FOR UPDATES AND INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE THE WEBSITE OF THE NGG AT www.godsdienstwetenschap.org
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