Women and Religion Unit

Theme: FUTURE/S

The Women and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) invites proposals for the 2026 June Meeting organized around the presidential theme Future/s. The theme calls for critical reflection on the contested idea of “the future” and its significance for religious scholarship, practice, and imagination. In a time of profound uncertainty – within the academy, across global communities, and for the well-being of the earth –  scholars of religion are uniquely positioned to explore how narratives, traditions, and practices shape visions of what lies ahead.

We seek proposals that engage the intersections of women, gender, and religion with this theme, asking: What future/s are possible beyond despair or superficial hope? How do feminist, womanist, queer, and decolonial perspectives reimagine religious horizons? What resources – textual, ritual, material, and spiritual—might help us build futures marked by justice, care, and creativity?

Our unit values inclusivity, interdisciplinary approaches, and non-traditional formats. We encourage submissions that amplify marginalized voices and foster dialogue across fields and methodologies. Below are suggested areas of focus to inspire your proposals:

1. Spiritual Harm and Futures of Care

Spiritual harm remains an urgent concern across traditions and contexts. Yet the concept itself is under-defined and under-researched. How do we name and theorize spiritual harm in ways that honor lived experiences and open pathways toward accountability and healing? What methodologies center survivors’ voices and agency? How do we address the ethical and emotional toll on researchers who study harm? And what resources—ritual, theological, communal, or material—might enable reparative futures?

We welcome proposals that:

• Investigate gendered and intersectional dimensions of spiritual harm and abuse.
• Develop or critique definitions and frameworks for understanding spiritual harm.
• Explore survivor-focused and trauma-informed methodologies in research and practice.
• Examine researcher safety, ethics, and well-being in studying harm.
• Analyze how communities envision futures of accountability, repair, and spiritual resilience.

2. Indigenous and First Nations Epistemologies

We acknowledge the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute tribes of the lands now called Denver. Indigenous and First Nation traditions offer profound resources for imagining future/s grounded in relationality, reciprocity, and resilience. These epistemologies challenge dominant Western paradigms and invite us to rethink what constitutes knowledge, community, and flourishing. How do storytelling, ritual, and land-based practices shape visions of ecological and spiritual futures? How do Indigenous and First Nation women’s voices and leadership reconfigure religious scholarship and activism?

We welcome proposals that:

• Highlight First Nations women’s contributions to future-thinking and cultural continuity.
• Examine Indigenous epistemologies as “texts” that inform ecological ethics and spiritual practices.
• Explore decolonial approaches to pedagogy and research in theological and religious studies.
• Analyze how Indigenous cosmologies and practices disrupt extractive and colonial narratives of progress.
• Consider collaborative methodologies that honor sovereignty and relational accountability.

3. Futures of Textuality

What counts as a “text” in theological and religious scholarship? Beyond written words, bodies, garments, sacred objects, and lived experiences carry meaning and authority. Expanding definitions of textuality opens new possibilities for feminist, womanist, materialist, and sensory approaches to scholarship. How might these shifts transform our understanding of future imagination and practice?

We invite proposals that:

• Reimagine textuality through feminist, womanist, decolonial, and queer lenses.
• Investigate embodied and sensory dimensions of interpretation.
• Explore how digital media, visual culture, and performance reshape textual authority.
• Analyze the implications of these expanded definitions for future scholarship and pedagogy.

4. Intersectionality and Future/s of Justice

Futures are never neutral—they are shaped by intersecting systems of power and privilege. Inspired by intersectional feminist and womanist frameworks, we invite proposals that interrogate how race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion converge in shaping visions of justice and liberation.

Possible topics include:

• Critiques of structural inequities and their impact on religious communities and scholarship.
• Activist, theological, and scholarly responses to oppression and violence.
• Transnational and collaborative visions for justice-oriented futures.
• Creative engagements with art, ritual, and storytelling as tools for resistance and transformation.

5. Emerging Scholars Session Co-Sponsored with AAR/SBL Women’s Caucus

The AAR/SBL Women’s Caucus invites submissions from graduate students and early career scholars, of any age, to present innovative research asking fresh questions at the intersection of gender and religion in light of the conference theme “Future/s.” As the precariousness of academic religious scholarship persists, how might intersectional feminist, womanist, queer or decolonialist perspectives be at the forefront of future, innovative methodologies and academic thinking? We are particularly interested in proposals that present thoughtful and engaging perspectives of how transhumanism may affect the dynamics of race and gender. For example, how transhumanism may breach race/gender lines or how it might reify colonialist and gender-discriminatory ideology. We also invite proposals that:

• Present innovative research on women, gender, and religion in relation to FUTURE/S.
• Engage intergenerational and intercultural perspectives on feminist scholarship in religion.
• Offer bold, imaginative approaches to the challenges and possibilities of future-thinking for feminist intersectional scholarship women in religion.