Anthropology of Religion Unit

We invite proposals using anthropological theories and methods to explore diverse traditions, regions, topics, periods, and standpoints from across the discipline. The steering committee has identified the following areas to be of particular interest for individual and panel submissions in 2026:

• Critical Ethnographies of Time and Temporalities: With this year’s presidential theme being “Future/s”, we invite papers that seek to theorize, problematize, and otherwise critically examine how different religions conceive of time and its movement(-s). This might include ethnographic examinations of how time and time scales are imagined, such as “deep histories” and “deep futures”; the religious affects (hope, sorrow, etc.) that shape how people reckon with and relate to time; and/or the distinct techniques and practices that religious actors use to engage with times other than the present (e.g., memorialization, divination, prophecy, etc.)  

• (Un-)Orthodoxies: This panel invites papers exploring persistence and perhaps increasing appeal of religious groups that label themselves as “orthodox.” This panel invites papers examining the seemingly contradictory appeal of Orthodox movements and theologies across Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other traditions. How do self-described orthodox religions define themselves in relation to or against other forms of fundamentalist, conservative, or illiberal theologies? What do ethnographic approaches reveal about what makes orthodoxy an appealing epistemic stance in the contemporary world? How might a comparative approach to studying orthodoxy(-ies) help us better understand religion in the contemporary world?   

• Global Philosophies of Religion beyond the Text: In collaboration with the Global-Critical Philosophy of Religion Unit  and the Indian and Chinese Religions in Dialogue Unit, we seek to sponsor a panel engaging with non-textual and non-Western sources for the philosophy of religion. Papers should consider forms of lived religious reasoning, argumentation, or enactment from sources other than texts, such as oral traditions, rituals, performances, arts, etc. We imagine papers that explore “philosophies from below,” including non-hegemonic and marginalized systems of knowledge, indigenous ways of knowing, conspiracy and other forms of stigmatized knowledge, peripheral epistemologies, etc., and which treat those forms of knowledge as valuable resources for cross-cultural inquiries in the philosophy of religion.

• Pre-Organized Panels. In keeping with our mission to present the strongest and most innovative work in the anthropology of religion, we also welcome proposals for fully formed panels on topics other than those outlined above. Ideally, such panels will focus on a topic of special interest to anthropologists, and be composed of scholars whose perspectives and levels of expertise complement (rather than replicate) each others’. Further, we encourage proposals that use creative and alternative formats that elevate critical dialogue.