Past Conferences

Past IAHR Special & Regional Conferences

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2024. “Nature, Ecology, and Religious Responses to Climate Change” (21st EASR Conference), Gothenburg, Sweden, August 19-23, 2024. Conference website: https://easr2024.se/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2024. “Religion in the Global South. Contributions and Challenges from Latin America” (21st ACSRAL Conference), Montevideo, Uruguay, July 23-26, 2024. Conference website: https://www.acsral.org/en-us/jornadas-ascral/

  • IAHR Special Conference 2024: “Religious Diversity and Social Cohesion in Central and Eastern Europe and Beyond” (16th ISORECEA Conference), Tirana, Albania, April 25-27, 2024. Conference website: https://www.isorecea.net/conferences/2024-tirana-conference.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2023: “Can the IAHR be engaged and relevant without being political or confessional? The position of ‘science (Wissenschaft)’ in 2023,” hosted by Japanese Association for Religious Studies, Tokyo, Japan, December 16–17, 2023.

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2023: “Religions and Technologies,” hosted by Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Society for the Study of Religions (20th EASR Conference), Vilnius, Lithuania, September 4–8, 2023. Conference website: https://www.easr2023.org/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2023: “Creativity, Innovation, and Imagination in African Religions,” hosted by University of Nairobi and the African Association for the Study of Religions (9th AASR Conference), Nairobi, Kenya, August 2–4, 2023. Conference website: https://www.a-asr.org/9th-aasr-conference-university-of-nairobi-kenya-2-4-august-2023/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2023: “Sacredness, Symbolism, and Society: Practices in South and Southeast Asia,” hosted by Central Department of Nepalese History, Culture, and Archaeology, Tribhuvan University and the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (9th SSEASR Conference), Kathmandu, Nepal, April 2-4, 2023. Conference website: https://sseasr.org/images/pdf/9th_SSEASR_Kathmandu_Nepal_2023_Third_Announcement.pdf

  • IAHR Special Conference 2022: “Esotericism, Art and Creativity,” hosted by Study of Religions Department at University College Cork and European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (8th ESSWE Conference), Cork, Ireland, July 5-7, 2022. Conference website: https://esswe8.com/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2022: “Religions and States of Freedom,” hosted by Study of Religions Department at University College Cork and European Association for the Study of Religions (19th EASR Conference), Cork, Ireland, June 27-July 1, 2022. Conference website: https://www.easr2022.org/

  • IAHR Special Conference 2021: “From Religious Studies to the Study of Religion/s: Disciplinary Futures for the 21st century,” hosted by British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR annual conference) and the University of Edinburgh, online, September 6-7, 2021. Conference website: https://basr.ac.uk/2021/08/13/2021-basr-annual-conference/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2021: “Resilient Religion,” hosted by Italian Society for the History of religions/Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni (SISR), the University of Pisa and European Association for the Study of Religions (18th EASR Conference), Pisa, Italy, August 30-September 3, 2021. Conference report: https://sway.office.com/FpUZzMoAWR6xZb7b?ref=Link

  • IAHR Special Conference 2019: “Conceptualising Religion,” hosted by Leibniz Universität Hannover and the German Association for the Study of Religion (DVRW, 33rd Biannual Conference), Hannover, Germany, September 3-6, 2019. Conference website:  https://www.dvrw2019.uni-hannover.de/en/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2019: Religion – Continuations and Disruptions,” hosted by the Estonian Society for the Study of Religions, University of Tartu and the European Association for the Study of Religions (17th EASR Conference), Tartu, Estonia, June 25-29, 2019. Conference website: https://easr2019.org/
    Videos of its opening ceremony and plenary sessions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbPfNgEhGVnXyilgsdbe-ug/videos

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2019: “Rivers and Religion: Connecting Cultures of South and Southeast Asia,” hosted by University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (8th SSEASR Conference), organized by Center for Archaeological Studies, ULAB, Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 13-16, 2019. Conference website: http://sseasr.org/8th-conference.html 
    Videos of opening/closing sessions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZrJovIyxps | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpS9LufCFVw

  • IAHR Special Conference 2019: “Religion/Water/Climate: Changing Cultures and Landscapes,” hosted by University College Cork and the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (ISSRNC), Cork, Ireland, June 13-16, 2019. Conference website: https://www.issrnc.org/conferences/2019-conference/cork-cfp/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2018 African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) & the University of Zambia and Justo Mwale University: “Revisiting Religion, Politics, and the State in Africa and the African Diaspora,” August 1-4, 2018, Lusaka, Zambia. http://www.a-asr.org/pastmeetings/

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2018 Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Religionswissenschaft/Société Suisse pour la Science des Religions (SGR/SSSR), European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) & the University of Bern, Institute for the Science of Religion: “Multiple Religious Identities – Individuals, Communities, Traditions,” June 17-21, 2018, Bern, Switzerland. http://www.easr2018.org/

  • IAHR Special Conference 2018  International Study of Religions in Eastern and Central Europe Association (ISORECEA) & the University of Szeged: “Un(b)locking Religion: Studying Religion in Today’s Central and Eastern Europe,” May 24-26, 2018, Szeged, Hungary. See the ISORECEA conference website.  https://www.isorecea.net/conferences/szeged-conference

  • IAHR Special Conference 2017  Belgian Association for the Study of Religions (BABEL), European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) & Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leuven, Belgium: “Communicating Religion,” September 18-21, 2017, Leuven, Belgium. https://kuleuvencongres.be/easr2017/

  • IAHR Regional Conference2017  South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR) & Vietnam Buddhist University in collaboration with Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute: “ASEAN Region’s Culture and Religion by the end of 21st Century: A Dialogue of Past with Present?” July 09-12, 2017, 7th SSEASR Conference, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. http://www.sseasr.org/7th-conference.html

  • IAHR Special Conference 2016  Finnish Society for the Study of Religion (SUS), European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) & Study of Religions at the University of Helsinki, in collaboration with Comparative Religion at the Åbo Akademi University and the Donner Institute, Turku, Finland: “Relocating Religion,” June 28-July 1, 2016, Helsinki. http://blogs.helsinki.fi/easr-2016/

  • IAHR Co-Sponsored Conference 2015: “Cognition, Religion, and Science” hosted by the University of Macau, co-sponsored by the Philosophy and Religious Studies Program, FAH, the University of Macau and the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion, Toronto, Macau, PRC, January 12-13, 2015.

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2014: “Religion, Ecology, and the Environment in Africa and the African Diaspora” hosted by the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR), Cape Town, South Africa, July 30‐August 3, 2014.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2014: “Religion and Pluralities of Knowledge” hosted by the Dutch Association for the Study of Religion (NGG), Groningen, the Netherlands, May 11‐15, 2014.

  • BASR Annual Conference,EASR Annual Conference, IAHR Special Conference: "RELIGION, MIGRATION, MUTATION", Liverpool Hope University, JSeptember 3-6, 2013. Conference website: http://www.hope.ac.uk/religionmigrationmutation/

  • 5th SSEASR Conference: "Healing, Belief Systems, Cultures and Religions of South and Southeast Asia", hosted and co-organised by National Museum of the Philippines and Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila, May 16-19, 2013. Conference website at:  http://www.sseasr.org/about.html

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2012: "Sports, Leisure,  Religion and Spirituality in Africa and the African Diaspora", hosted by The African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) (in collaboration with PANAFSTRAG), Egerton  University, Njoro, Nakuru/ Kenya, July 18- 23, 2012.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2012: “Ends and Beginnings”, hosted by the Swedish Association for the History of Religions (SSRF) & The European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR), August 23- 26, Södertörn University, Stockholm/Sweden. Conference website: www.sh.se/EASR2012

  • IAHR Special Conference 2012: :"Religions, Science and Technology in Cultural Contexts: Dynamics of Change", hosted by NTNT & The Norwegian Association for the History of Religions,  Trondheim/Norway,  March 1-13, 2012. Conference website: http://www.ntnu.no/iar/konferanser/relsci/call-for-papers

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2011: "Mountains in the Religions of South and Southeast Asia; Place, Culture, and Power", hosted by The South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR), Thimphu/Bhutan, June 30-July 03, 2011. Conference website at:  http://www.sseasr.org/about.html

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2009: "Waters in South and Southeast Asia: Interaction of Culture and Religion", hosted by The South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR), Denpasar/Indonesia, June 3-6, 2009. Conference website at: http://www.sseasr.org/about.html

  • IAHR Special Conference 2009: "Religion in the History of European Culture", hosted by The Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni (SISR) & The European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR), Messina/Italy, September 14-17, 2009. Conference website: http://ww2.unime.it/easr09/eng/index.php

  • IAHR Special Conference 2008: “Time of Decline, Time of Hope : Scientific, Cultural and Political Engagement of the Study of Religions”, hosted by The Czech Society for the Study of Religions (CSSR) & The European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR), September 7-11, 2008 in Brno /Czech Republic. Conference website: http://www.phil.muni.cz/relig/easr2008/

  • IAHR Special Conference 2007: ”Secularism and religious resurgence” hosted by the Turkish Association for the History of Religions (TAHR), Ankara-Turkey, October 22-23, 2007. For further information please consult the conference announcement.

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2007: "Syncretism in South and South East Asia: Adoption and Adaptation" hosted by the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religion (SSEASR), Bangkok, Thailand, 24 May- 27 May, 2007. Please consult the webpage of the conference or the announcement.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2007: ”Religion on the Borders: New Challenges in the Academic Study of Religion” hosted by the Swedish Association for the History of Religions (SSRF), Stockholm, Sweden, 19-22 April 2007. See the conference webpage: http://www.stocon.se/religion2007.

  • IAHR Regional Conference 2007: ”Health, Healing, & The Study of the Religions of Africa” hosted by the African Association for the Study of Religions (ASSR), Gaborone, Botswana 8-13 July 2007. For further information see the conference webpage: http://www.a-asr.org/index.php?id=155.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2006: "Religious History of Europe and Asia". EASR VI Conference;  hosted by the Romanian Association for the History of Religions and the Centre for the History of Religions, University of Bucharest. Has taken place: Bucharest, 20-23 September 2006. For further information see the Conference webpage.

  • IAHR Special Conference 2006: “Society in Transition. The Interdisciplinary Study of Religion in Modern Reality” hosted by the Greek Society for the Study of Culture and Religion (GSSCR), Thessaloniki, Greece, June 2‐5, 2006.

  • XIX IAHR World Congress: "Religion: Conflict and Peace" hosted by the Japanese Association for Religious Studies in cooperation with the IAHR, Tokyo, Japan. Has taken place: 24 March - 30 March 2005. Consult the website: http://www.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/iahr2005/, the second call (pdf-format) or the academic programme (pdf-format).

  • IAHR Regional Conference: inaugural conference on the topic "The Culture and Religious Mosaic of South and Southeast Asia: Conflict and Consensus through the Ages", was hosted by the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture and Religions, New Delhi, India, 27 - 30 January 2005. 

  • IAHR Regional Conference: "Religious Harmony: Problems, Practice and Education", hosted by the State Institute of Islamic Studies in Yogyakarta and Semarang, Indonesia, 27 September - 3 October 2004. See the announcement here (rtf-format). The proceedings are available: Wasim, A. T. / Mas'ud, A. Franke, E. and Pye, M., eds. Religious Harmony: Problems, Practice and Education, Yogyakarta, Oasis Publisher, 2005 (ISBN 979-97829-2-0).

  • IAHR Special Conference: "Religious Tolerance and Intolerance", hosted by the Spanish Association for the Science of Religions (SECR) and the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR), Santander, Spain, 8 September - 11 September 2004. See the announcement in English (Word-format) or in Spanish (Word-format).

  • IAHR Regional Conference: "The Role of Religion in the Socio-Cultural Transformation of West Africa", hosted by the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) and the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, 5 February - 8 February 2004. See the announcement here (Word-format). For information please contact Prof. Elom Dovlo, University of Ghana; Prof. Abdulkader Tayob, University of Nijmegen; or Dr. Matthews A. Ojo, Obafemi Awolowo University.

  • IAHR Regional Conference: "Religions in the Indic Civilization", at The India International Centre, Delhi, India, 18 December - 21 December 2003. For information please contact Dr. Madhu Kishwar.

  • IAHR Special Conference: "The Globalisation and Localisation of Religion" (pdf-file 565KB), Bergen, Norway, 8 May - 11 May 2003, in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Religion and the Norwegian Association for the History of Religions.  

  • IAHR Regional Conference: "What Is Religion For? Asian-Pacific Perspectives" at The Department of Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 11 December - 13 December 2002

Past IAHR Affiliate Conferences

  • Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa. 2010 Congress. 26th – 27th August 2010, UNISA (Pretoria).Theme: ‘Religion and Civil Society’. Conference updates and further details will be posted on the Association’s website:
    http://asrs.ukzn.ac.za

  • Age and Ageing– from the Viewpoint of Religions and Religious Studies. 18th – 19th June 2010, Kleiner Festsaal. der Universität Wien.
    CLICK HERE for more information about this symposium.

  • Spanish Society for the Sciences of Religions (Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones), "Lex Sacra". VIII National Congress. 15-18 October 2008, Valladolid (Spain). The academic programme (in Spanish) is available here (pdf format).

  • Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio de la Religión (ALER): XII Latin American Congress on Religion and Ethnicity: Cultural Change, Conflicts and Religious Transformations. Bogotá, Colombia, July 7-11 2008. The original conference announcements (in Spanish) are available here (pdf format).

  • European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) and Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft (DVRW): Plurality and Representation: Religion in Education, Culture and Society. September 23-27, 2007 in Bremen (Germany). The conference maintains a web page at: http://www.religion.uni-bremen.de/dvrweasr2007

  • Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio de las Religiones (ALER) and Asociación Andaluza de Antropología (ASANA). Fifth International Conference on Religion and Society. 24-26 May 2007, Seville (Spain). More information (in spanish) at http://www.naya.org.ar/eventos/5cirs.htm.

    New Zealand Association for the Study of Religions (NZASR), Biennial Conference, June 7-8, 2007 in Mercure Resort, Queenstown, New Zealand.  

  • Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio de la Religión (ALER): XI Latin American Congress on Religion and Ethnicity: Religious Worlds: Identities and Convergences. Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 3-8 2006. The original conference announcement (in english) is available here (html format). Further information is available at the conference: http://ploneweb.metodista.br/ev/aler2006/

  • Spanish Society for the Sciences of Religions (Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones), "Religion and Power". VII National Congress. 21-24 February 2006, Toledo (Spain). The academic programme is available here (pdf format)

  • Indian Association for the Study of Religions (IASR). "Creative Encounters of Religions". II Annual Conference. 4-5 February 2006, Santiniketan, Visva Bharati (India).The original conference invitation  is available here (html format). An approach paper of the conference is available here (html format)

  • Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones: Homo religiosus. Divine Mediators in the Ancient Mediterranean World. University of the Balearic Islands (Mallorca Spain). 13-15 October 2005. For further information and academic requests, please contact Prof. Mª Luisa Sánchez León. The academic programme is available here (html format)

  • Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionsgeschichte (DVRG): "Religion and Criticism - The Critical Potential of Religions and Religious Studies" at the Unviersity of Bayreuth, 25 September - 28 September 2005. This will be the XXVIIth biannual congress of the DVRG. Further information is available at the conference website.

  • Finnish Society for the Study of Religion: "Exercising Power: The Role of Religions in Concord and Conflict" at Linnasmäki Conference Center in Turku, 17 August - 20 August 2005. Jointly hosted by the Association, the Donner Institute and the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR). The conference is an EASR congress. Further information is available at the conference website, or contact the Donner Institute at donner-symposium@abo.fi.

  • British Association for the Study of Religions celebrated its 50th anniversary with a conference entitled: "The Study of Religions: Mapping the Field", Harris Manchester College, Oxford, England, 13 September - 16 September 2004. The conference announcement is available here (word format).

  • Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionsgeschichte (DVRG): "The Study of Religion under the Impact of National Socialist and Fascist Ideologies in Europe", Tübingen, Germany, 16 - 18 July 2004. Further information is found at the conference website and the announcement is available here (rtf-format).

  • Asociación Cubana de Estudios sobre la Religión (ACER): "Religión, pobreza y violencia en el contexto de la crisis neoliberal", Cuarto Encuentro Internacional de Estudios Sociorreligiosos, Centro de Prensa Internacional (CPI), La Habana, Cuba, 7 - 10 July 2004. In association with Departamento de Estudios Sociorreligiosos del Centro de Investigaciones Psicológicas y Sociológicas (CIPS) and a number of other institutions. The conference announcement is available here in English or in Spanish in word format.

  • Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio de la Religión (ALER): "Plualismo religioso y transformaciones sociales", X Congreso Latinoamericano de Religión y Etnicidad, Centro de Convenciones El Carmen, San Cristóbal de las Casas Chiapas, México, 5 - 9 July 2004. The conference announcement is available here (word format).

  • Finnish Society for the Study of Religion (FSSR): "Method & Theory in the Study of Folk Religion", the Linnasmäki Conference Centre in Turku, Finland, 23 October - 25 October, 2003, in association with the Kalevala Institute and the Graduate School for Cultural Interpretations.  The conference will mark the 40th anniversary of the association and the 40th anniversary of the Department of Comparative Religion and Folkloristics at the University of Turku. Call for papers in pdf (14.3KB) or at the link above.

  • Deutsche Vereinigung für Religionsgeschichte (DVRG) Jahrestagung: "Religion(en) im Konflikt", Erfurt, Germany, 28 September - 1 October 2003.

  • British Association for the Study of Religions: "Religions in Tradition: Diachronic and Synchronic Perspectives", University College Chester, September 2003.

  • Sociedad Mexicana de Estudios de la Religión: "II Coloquio Internacional de Religión y Símbolo", Taxco, México, 2 to 4 October 2002. For information write to:
    administration.deas.cnan@inah.gob.mx

  • Société Ernest Renan. Société française d'histoire des religions & European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR): "Le Monotheisme: Diversité. Exclusivisme ou dialogue?/Monotheism: Diversity. Exclusivism or dialogues?", College de France and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France, 11 September - 14 September 2002

  • British Association for the Study of Religions: "Religion and the State", University of Surrey, Roehampton, 9 September - 11 September 2002

  • Asociacíon Latino Americana para el Estudio de las Religiones (ALER): "IX Congreso Latinoamericano sobre religion y etnicidad: La religión en el nuevo milenio. Una mirada desde los Andes", Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú, 5 August - 8 August 2002 (information & list of symposia)

  • Associacão Brasileira de História das Religiões/Brasilian Association for History of Religion (ABHR/BAHR): "IV Simpósio de História da Religião. O Estudo das Religiões: Desafios Contemporâneos", Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 22 May - 24 May 2002

  • Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Religionswissenschaft: "Heute über Religionen reden. Der Beitrag der Religionswissenschaft und der Medien", 22 April - 23 April 2002

  • Spanish Society for the Sciences of Religions / Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones. IV International Symposium / IV Simposio Internacional: "Millennium, Fear and Religion" 3-6/02/2000, University of La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.

Other Past Conferences