British Association

for the Study of Religions

BASR

Tag: conference

  • CFP: BASR/ISASR 2026 Conference

    Call for Papers: Futures and Frontiers

    BASR logo

    Joint Conference between the British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) and the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions (ISASR) organised in conjunction with the Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM).

    19-21 August 2026

    The conference will be held at Dublin City University, All Hallows Campus, Grace Park Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin, D09 N920, Ireland.

    Confirmed Keynote Speaker:

    Marion Bowman (The Open University)

    Current experiences of ecological, political and economic instability and fragmentation are reconfiguring anticipations of the future. On the one hand, liberal ideas of technological progress, shared prosperity and political freedom increasingly share space with dystopias of climate collapse, re-feudalisation, technological determinism and the rise of authoritarianism. On the other, the idea of the frontier – as a line, border or limit – increasingly defines the public square, whether the conversation concerns AI and the limits of personhood or national identity and the borders of the state. The BASR and the ISASR invite panels, roundtables and papers on the themes of Futures and Frontiers. Contributions may wish to address the following themes:

    • Millenarian and apocalyptic traditions;
    • Secularization or the resurgence of religion;
    • Religion and technology;
    • Divination and prophecy;
    • Transhumanism and posthumanism;
    • Religion and populism;
    • Religion and mobilities;
    • Postcolonial religion;
    • Boundaries of ‘religion’;
    • Future of the study of religion(s).

    Scholars working on religion and related categories are welcome to submit proposals on any topic whether or not it relates to the conference theme, though priority will be given to proposals that address the conference theme.

    Deadline for proposals: May 4, 2026

    Please send title, abstract of no more than 150 words, and your affiliation, if any, to: basrisasr@gmail.com 

    Confirmation of participation by email: May 18, 2026

    Deadline for booking accommodation through DCU: May 31, 2026

    Deadline for registration: June 15, 2026 [registration details forthcoming]

    Several bursaries for postgraduate students and ECRs will be available and, as part of our commitment to diversity, we will be awarding an additional two full bursaries for those who self-identify as belonging to an under-represented Protected Characteristic. As well as these, we are offering up to five partial bursaries of €150 each (covering conference registration and conference meal) for those facing financial challenges, irrespective of their status, though priority will be given to those attending the full conference and who will be travelling by public transport.

    Information on bursary applications available shortly.

    Conference costs

    We have included below a breakdown of the various cost options for the event. As always, we have worked hard to secure the best possible deal for delegates and are thankful for the financial support we have received from CenSAMM to help make the event as affordable as possible. Costs are as follows:

    Full Conference (to include lunches and teas/coffees; accommodation and conference dinner booked separately): €110

    Single Day Rate (one day conference registration, including lunch and coffee breaks): €50 for Wed/Fri, €75 for Thursday

    Conference Dinner (capped at 60 participants): €40 (drinks not included)

    The conference dinner will be held on the evening of Thursday 20th August. There is a cap of 60 attendees on a first come basis. The other evenings are open for delegates to explore Dublin, and we will circulate helpful information closer to the time.

    The conference will begin early afternoon on the 19th and end around lunchtime on the 21st August.

    Accommodation: 

    Rooms are available through DCU on both the DCU All Hallows Campus, and the DCU Glasnevin Campus (ca. 3km from All Hallows). Single, twin, and double rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis. Room rates include bed and breakfast. For those wanting to come early or stay on after the conference, rooms can be booked for a day in advance of and following the conference. Accessible rooms are available on the Glasevin campus. Accommodation through DCU can be cancelled up to one month before the check-in date, so we advise booking as soon as possible with this in mind.

    Accommodation bookings must be made by 31 May 2026. Click here to make your room booking.

    Room Rates (per night, breakfast included): 

    • All Hallows Small Double Ensuite: €120
    • All Hallows Double Ensuite: €130
    • All Hallows Single Ensuite: €110
    • Glasnevin Superior Twin: €130

    For those looking for hotel accommodation, we can recommend the Skylon Hotel, which is a 5 minute walk from All Hallows, or the Maples House Hotel, which is c. 2km from All Hallows.

    General questions concerning the conference should be directed to the Conference Committee at basrisasr@gmail.com.* 

    *Please keep an eye on your junk folders for correspondence!

  • BASR 2024 Conference

    BASR 2024 Conference

    REGISTRATION CLOSED

    Please note we will not be charging for those presenting online, so there is no need to register. However, we would be grateful if you could confirm that you will be presenting. Please also note that the timings for the conference are in British Summer Time (the local time zone for the conference location).

    British Association for the Study of Religions Annual Conference 

    September 2-4, 2024 

    Reckoning with the Past  

    University of Leeds 

    Sponsored by the CenSAMM and the Hibbert Trust 

    The academic study of religion, with its roots in a variety of scholarly disciplines, is currently in a state of reassessment in terms of its history, relationship with colonialism, and problematic frameworks of ‘religion’. This year’s BASR conference, sponsored by the Hibbert Trust and CenSAMM, brings together scholars to reckon with the past – from a variety of perspectives. As well as current issues in how groups are reckoning with their own problematic histories, we expect to cover themes such as the decolonisation of religious studies, anti-racist education and education about the slave trade; in addition to the history of religious studies and colonial impacts.  

    Topics will include, but are not limited to: 

    • Decolonising the study of religion 
    • The history of religious studies 
    • Social justice and anti-racist education 
    • Religion and coloniality 
    • Teaching and learning in the study of religion 
    • Religion and the environment 
    • Apocalypticism and millenarianism  
    • Fieldwork and positionality 
    • New directions in the study of religion

    Accommodation will be superior single en suite rooms in the Storm Jameson building.

    The conference will start with lunch on Monday 2nd September and finish with lunch on Wednesday 4th. There will be a walking visit to local places of interest on the Wednesday afternoon for those able to stay later.

    The Full Conference Programme is available below, we hope you will find answers to all of your questions in the programme, but do not hesitate to contact the conference team (basrconference2024@gmail.com) with any questions!

    BASR Annual Conference 2024Download

    Conference Team: 

    Professor Melanie Prideaux, Pro Dean for Student Education, Faculty of Arts Humanities and Cultures

    Dr Aled Thomas, Teaching Fellow in the Study of Religion 

    Erin Clark, BASR Conference Administrative Assistant

  • Update on BASR 2020

    Update on BASR 2020

    The conference page for the upcoming 2020 conference has been updated. The conferencewill now be a virtual event, free to attend. A link will be made available on the conference page nearer the time.

    https://basr.ac.uk/basr-conference-2020/

  • BASR Annual Conference 2017

    BASR Annual Conference 2017

    Theme: Narratives of religion

    Conference dates: 4-6 September 2017

    Keynote (Tuesday 5th September)
    ‘Narratives of Pagan Religion’
    Professor Ronald Hutton

    Call for Papers 

    ‘Narrative’ has emerged as valuable category of analysis in the study of religions. This conference takes narrative as its theme with a view to testing its efficacy and resilience for elucidating constructions of religion.

    The BASR invites colleagues to the University of Chester to contribute papers or panels on the above theme. Papers will be 20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions/discussion. Panels will be 90 minute sessions, to normally include 3 papers. Abstracts for roundtables, poster presentations, and alternative formats are also encouraged – please contact the below email for details. Ideas for papers and panels may include, but are not limited to:

    • Competing narratives
    • Orality and textualisation
    • Ritual and archetypal narratives
    • Representation and reproduction
    • Story, story-telling and communities of story-telling
    • Life-writing, spiritual biography, self-narratives, auto-ethnography
    • Narrative identity
    • Narratives of race, class, age, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, culture, subculture
    • Narratives of religion in fiction, film, media
    • Narratives at the intersection of religion and science (CAM, ayurveda, alchemy etc.)
    • Apocalyptic narratives
    • Official versus popular or subversive narratives
    • Narrative methods and methodologies in the study of religions
    • Curating narratives
    • Narratives of religion in education
    • Grand-, hidden- and meta- narratives
    • Constructing narratives of religion in history, archaeology and other fields

    Abstracts (200 words plus paper title, author name and institutional affiliation in Microsoft Word format) should be submitted to basrconference2017@gmail.com before 30th May 2017. Panels should be submitted in the same way, with details for each paper along with the panel title and the name of the convener/chair.

    If you are an PGT/Taught Masters or early PGR student and wish to present your project for 5-10 minutes there will be a ‘Lightning Talks’ seminar. Please send a proposal of 50 words including a label: ‘Lightning talk’ along with your institutional affiliation, programme, mode of study and year.

    Deadline for paper/panel submissions: 30th May 2017

    Notification of acceptance of papers/panels: No later than 15th June 2017

    Online registration for conference open from: 1st June 2017

    Deadline for registration: 31st July 2017

    A limited number of student bursaries will be made available to support PG students and EC academics to attend the conference. Please see the separate Call for Bursary Applications, which will appear here on the BASR website and mailing list.

    Further updates and announcements, including registration details, will appear here and across social media in due course. For any general enquiries, please contact the Conference Organisers Drs Wendy Dossett, Dawn Llewellyn, Alana Vincent & Steve Knowles on basrconference2017@gmail.com.

    #BASR2017 

    @TheBASR

    @TRSChester

    Chester and clock

  • Conference Programme Published

    Conference Programme Published

    The final programme is now available for the BASR 2015 Conference at the University of Kent. It can be accessed on the conference website at http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/basr-conference/

    There are approximately 70 accepted papers. Please check out the programme and register using this form.
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    In addition to the academic programme, the conference will include a celebration of the 50th anniversary of study of religion at the University of Kent. We also have the AGM of the BASR as well as the AGM of TRS UK (former AUDTRS) – many reasons to join us! At the AGM of the BASR we will welcome the incoming President (Steven Sutcliffe) and say farewell to the outgoing president (Graham Harvey) as well as secretary (Bettina Schmidt).
  • Conference Poster Released

    Conference Poster Released

    The poster for this year’s annual conference at the University of Kent has just been released. Copies are being sent to all UK TRS departments, so we hope to see these popping up everywhere! If you don’t receive one a printable pdf version can be downloaded here.

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  • 2015 Conference Announced

    The BASR 2015 Annual Conference, Religion in the Local and Global: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Challenges, will take place at the University of Kent from the 7th-9th September 2015. It will also include a special launch and reception for 50 Years of the Study of Religion at Kent.

    See our dedicated conference page for more information.

  • 2014 Conference Programme now available

    2014 Conference Programme now available

    The final programme and book of abstracts for the 2014 BASR conference are now available on the website. This is shaping up to be a very stimulating conference indeed. Follow this link for full details of the conference.

  • Conference 2014 – Deadline now extended to July 16th!

    Conference 2014 – Deadline now extended to July 16th!

    The mini-site for the BASR 2014 annual conference is now live!
    The conference runs from 3-5 Sept 2014 at The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, and two themes: “religion, art and performance” and “the cutting edge”. Panels and papers are invited. Deadline now extended to July 16th!