Online Program Book

This is the preliminary program for the 2024 in-person Annual Meeting, hosted with the Society for Biblical Literature in San Diego, CA - November 23-26. Pre-conference workshops and many committee meetings will be held November 22. If you have questions about the program, contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org. All times are listed in local/Pacific Time.


	A23-332 Religion, Sport, and Play Unit Theme: Religion and Sports Fandom Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Terry Shoemaker, Arizona State University, Presiding Sports fandom has frequently been associated with religious ways of being, even if tongue-in-cheek. A religious-like devotion is often used to describe sports fans’ relationship to certain teams and athletes, and Durkheimian “collective effervescence” is frequently drawn upon to explain enduring tribalism amongst fans. These religious descriptors of sports fandom, however, do not capture the myriad ways in which religion and sports fandom can be theorized. To this end, the Religion, Sport, and Play session presents papers that that apply new analytical, methodological, or theoretical frameworks to religion and sport fandom. Jeffrey Scholes, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs The Secular in College Football, Faith, and Fandom Abstract Rabid, emotional, and fiercely loyal sports fans defy common descriptors and social norms, hence religious terminology is often used to them. In this paper, I will apply religion differently to sports fandom with the help of its intertwinement with the secular, thus preventing a strict bifurcation between the religious and the secular when it comes to fandom. I will examine the tension between football fandom and a committed religious life at select religious universities with high-profile sports programs in order to highlight this interplay between the religious and secular for the football fan of such university football teams. Ryan Halloran, Independent “No One Likes Us, We Don’t Care!” Philadelphia Sports Fandom as Religious Community Abstract Every sports fandom acquires some ugly stereotype which becomes representative of their fans, but only one repeatedly gets reminded that they threw snowballs at Santa Claus: Philadelphia sports fans. In this paper, I will examine how Philadelphia sports fans gained such a negative reputation and how viewing them like a religious community can offer new insights into how we study religion and sports. Vincent Biondo, Humboldt State University Fandom, Futility, and Failure: A Theology of Baseball Abstract Baseball can be called a Catholic sport since Pope Francis referenced John Navone, who said, "Jesus responded to the problem of failure with a loving patience.…like that of teachers who hope that at the end of the course the students will have learned what the course was all about." William Cavanaugh explains further in Theologies of Failure, how part of being Christian means following Jesus in failing to redeem humankind. Whereas Elysian Fields originated in Hoboken in 1846 as a bucolic escape from urban factory life, baseball has become for “fanatics” a daily meditation on human failings. The hitter who fails three out of four times or pitcher who fails once every inning are esteemed. This paper interviews devoted “fans” of the losing-est team in America’s losing-est city, the San Diego Padres, (named after Franciscan Friars) about the religious appeal of fealty to futility amidst a sport about failure. Rebecca Alpert, Temple University Is Rod Carew a Jew? Jewish Baseball Fans’ Obsession with Jewish Players Abstract The paper examines how Jewish baseball fans understand their connection to Jewish players and theorizes about what that means for Jewish identity. Baseball was a pathway for Jews to become (White) Americans in the 20th century. Today a large cohort of Jewish baseball fans remain obsessed with counting and rooting for Jewish players, regardless of team affiliation. I will argue that these fans are motivated by both a continuing insecurity about their place in American life and a search for the meaning of their identity as American Jews. The paper will focus on the American Jewish players on Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic to explain the role Israel plays in the American Jewish imaginary, contrasted to the Southpaw League, an anti-Zionist virtual group of diehard Jewish baseball fans. It will also include a study of Jacob Steinmetz, the only Orthodox Jew in the MLB.
	A23-333 Religions, Borders, and Immigration Seminar Theme: Migration, Ecofeminism, Placelessness, and the Respacing of the Sacred Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Kristine Suna-Koro, Xavier University, Presiding This session offers original research on the intersections of three themes: migration and ecofeminism; the entanglement of forced migration with placelessness; and a diasporic analysis of the migratory experiences of desperation and uncertainty as a revelatory site. In light of the Presidential Theme for 2024, our panelists will engage with the questions presented to the AAR membership by the President of the AAR: "The use of violence is directly related to the hierarchical understanding of beings and valuation of their lives. Has religion stood with those who are at the center or at the margin? Are the margin and the center dualistically fixed in our lives?" Britta Meiers Carlson, Boston University Interdependence and Immigration: An Ecofeminist Reading of Migrant Experiences Abstract This paper provides an ecofeminist analysis of immigrant experiences and the systems that are designed to keep migrants out of their destination countries. Drawing on the stories of migrating women, the paper suggests that the relationship between migrants and the land provides important insights about the inherent interdependence of human beings with one another and with the earth. This analysis is considered in conversation with developing consciousness about the connection between immigration and environmental destruction as well as the epistemological privilege of oppressed women regarding the impacts of global economic and political systems on the earth. The paper contributes to the study of immigration activism, especially as the movement for immigrant rights seeks solidarity with other social activist groups such as women’s rights organizations and networks seeking to address the negative impacts of environmental destruction. Laura Alexander, University of Nebraska, Omaha The Value of Placelessness: New Possibilities for Christian Realist Thought in an Age of Migration Abstract Christian realist thought retains significant power and interest for interpreting global issues and institutions. However, Christian realism has not fully addressed how people on the move – or without a place to call home – relate to political institutions and structures. This field of thought is therefore missing a necessary lens of analysis through which to examine questions of Christian love and social justice in an age of migration. This presentation seeks to open a conversation that 1) incorporates Christian realist insights about human nature, social justice, and political institutions, and 2) recognizes that human migration and the phenomenon of placelessness can deeply change human relationships to those institutions. Our ways of conceiving and doing justice must take into account how “placeless” people relate to their political context. Political structures can, and sometimes must, adapt to the realities of human mobility, multiple belonging, and cases of placelessness in the contemporary global context. Man-Hei Yip, Wartburg Theological Seminary Respacing the Sacred: Hope among Diasporic Communities in Their Exilic Journey Abstract This paper aims to establish the voice of diasporic communities as a theological method. It offers a transdisciplinary approach to theological explorations on our way of knowing and living. I will focus on the experience of diasporic Hongkongers; specifically, how hope is experienced and perceived by this group of people who continue their struggle for liberation after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Their thoughts and feelings will provide new insights into the relationship between humanity and the divine and blurring the boundaries of place and placelessness. As the sacred reality arises amid desperation and uncertainty, the Mystery in which God meets the people where they are, should generate new stories of God’s salvific act in human history.
	A23-334 Science, Technology, and Religion Unit Theme: Author Meets Critics: Peter Harrison’s Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Peter Jordan, University of Oxford, Presiding The panel will offer critical assessments of Peter Harrison’s Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age (Cambridge, 2024) with a response by the author. Harrison’s book traces the historical emergence of scientific naturalism, showing how this approach initially developed from religious considerations. One major focus is the natural/supernatural dichotomy which appears only in the late Middle Ages and subsequently developed into a distinctive feature of scientific thinking about the world. The discussion will canvas a number of issues raised by the book: the present status of scientific naturalism; the implications of its contingent origins; whether naturalism is essential to scientific practice; how we might assess alternative approaches to the natural world, characteristic of both the pre-modern West and non-Western cultures, that are not premised on a natural/supernatural dichotomy; and, more generally, the plausibility and significance of large scale modernity narratives. Panelists Myrna Perez, Ohio University Eugenia Torrance, University of Notre Dame Josh Reeves, Samford University Victoria Lorrimar, University of Notre Dame James K. A. Smith, Calvin University Responding Peter Harrison,
	P23-301 Society for the Study of Japanese Religions Theme: The State and Future of the Study of Premodern Japanese Religions Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Eric Swanson, Loyola Marymount University, Presiding This roundtable seeks to examine the place of the premodern in study of Japanese religions, with an emphasis on its future trajectory. In recognition that the study of premodern Japanese religions is increasingly beleaguered in the present climate, six panelists from a wide range of institutional contexts will share perspectives on the current state of the field. This will be followed by an open discussion regarding concrete actions that can be taken for the further development of the study of Japanese religions. Topics for discussion will include the articulation of the value of the study of the premodern, potentials and limitations of both in-person and online modalities for collaborative projects, pedagogical concerns of language instruction and strategies for promoting student interest both at the undergrad and graduate levels, applying for funding individual and group projects, and strategies for creating opportunities for collaboration with colleagues working outside of premodern Japan. Panelists Mariangela Carpinteri, University of California, Santa Barbara Bryan Lowe, Princeton University David Quinter, University of Alberta, Edmonton Matthew McMullen, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture Asuka Sango, Carleton College Jacqueline I. Stone, Princeton University
	A23-335 Sociology of Religion Unit Theme: Atheist Influencers, Non-Religious Scientists, and Unaffiliated Environmentalists: Making Meaning across Global Contexts Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Amidu Elabo, Princeton Theological Seminary, Presiding This panel examines how religiously unaffiliated people create meaning and community online, in scientific work, and in nature. The first paper draws on interviews with atheist, agnostic, and secular humanist social media influencers to explore how they curate self-expression, community engagement, and authenticity. The second paper utilizes interviews with non-religious scientists in India, Italy, the U.K., and the U.S. to explore how they think and talk about spiritual experiences, including how such experiences can give rise to attitudinal changes. The third paper uses ethnographic research amongst Australian community gardeners and bush regeneration groups to explore how environmental movements are ripe sites to study lived nonreligion, finding that grassroots environmentalists cultivate enchantment, moral visions, and political commitments. Di Di, Santa Clara University Esther Chan, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee The Platform Imaginaries of Atheist Social Media Influencers: Meaning, Community, and Money Abstract Celebrity atheists are usually represented by the “four horsemen” who emerged in the new atheism movement. Atheist social media influencers, however, may challenge the simplified understandings of celebrity atheists. Drawing on fifty-four interviews with atheist, agnostic, and secular humanist SMIs on YouTube and TikTok, we have identified three platform imaginaries adopted by atheist SMIs. First, rather than thinking of a concrete audience, some atheist SMIs perceive social media platform as a space for self-expression. Second, perceiving their deconversions as lonely, some atheist SMIs sought to create space for others to know they were not alone. Finally, SMIs often eschewed the idea of creating content to make money and sometimes disagreed with the label SMI itself because of its association with selling products. We argue that atheist SMIs’ platform imaginary needs to be understood in the context of secularization and stigmatization, commodification and consumerism, and the debates over religious authority. Bridget Ritz, Brandon Vaidyanathan, Catholic University of America Categories, Contexts, and Consequences of Spirituality Among Non-Religious Scientists Abstract Today’s waning of traditional religion runs parallel with a waxing of popular interest in matters “spiritual.” While a growing body of qualitative research provides rich insights into the spiritual lives of the non-religious, we do not sufficiently understand the varieties and significance of spiritual experiences among the non-religious in the professional realm, particularly in domains like science. This paper reports findings from a study involving 100 qualitative interviews with non-religious physicists and biologists in various national contexts, designed to shed light on the categories, contexts, and consequences of spirituality among non-religious scientists. We find that non-religious scientists’ spiritual experiences fall into three distinct categories: aesthetic, immersive, and transcendent; which are occasioned by four types of contexts: nature, music or art, grief or loss, and science itself; and in turn can give rise to attitudinal changes requiring such cognitive accommodations as the selective suspension of disbelief and toleration of cognitive dissonance. Rosemary Hancock, The University of Notre Dame Australia Lived Environmentalism: Nonreligion, Nature, and Politics in Urban Sydney Abstract This paper explores the interweaving of politics, nature, and nonreligion in urban Sydney, Australia, responding to a call from sociologists to better understand ‘lived’ nonreligion, especially in the context of ‘world-repairing activities'. It reports on preliminary findings of an ethnographic project with urban community gardens and bush regeneration groups, and argues that social movements like environmentalism are rich sites for the study of lived nonreligion, as they offer their participants space for the cultivation, expression, and embodiment of ‘moral visions.’ The project focuses upon the relational and material dynamics of grassroots environmental groups in Sydney, and seeks to tease out the role of politics, enchantment, and nature in the creation of ethico-political subjectivities.
	A23-336 South Asian Religions Unit Theme: Bhakti Practices from the Subaltern Margins Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Maharshi Vyas, University of California, Santa Barbara, Presiding The term “subaltern” signals a condition of subordination and marginalization in relation to an elite power structure; subalternity is contingent upon power disparities that manifest at both local and structural levels. The papers in this panel collectively examine the role of bhakti (devotion) in various subaltern contexts, where subordination occurs along the axes of caste, class, linguistic privilege, or gender. The panel elucidates the multifaceted nature of bhakti as it operates within marginalized communities across diverse socio-cultural milieus and historical periods. Presentations span from thirteenth-century Karnataka and fourteenth-century Maharashtra to nineteenth-century Kerala and contemporary Gujarat and Bengal. The panel primarily examines bhakti as a mode of participation wherein practitioners engage with and build relationships with gods. The panel addresses two broad questions: How does bhakti shape a practitioner’s navigation of subaltern marginalization, and conversely, how does subaltern marginalization reshape bhakti? Gil Ben-Herut, University of South Florida Attitudes toward the Subaltern in the Early Kannada Śiva Bhakti Tradition Abstract This presentation seeks to examine the social attitudes of the Śiva Bhakti tradition, known today as Vīraśaivism and Liṅgāyatism, in the Kannada-speaking region. The tradition’s positions toward marginalized groups in society, here referred to using the term “subaltern,” remain highly contested and undetermined, spanning from accusations of elitism that mirrors conservative Brahminism to social activism that rejects the legitimacy of the same assumed elitism (among the communities and in relation to the general society). The roots of this conundrum can be found in the Ragaḷe stories written by Harihara only a few decades after their deaths, in the late twelfth or early thirteenth centuries. Referring to stories from a forthcoming publication of translations from corpus, the presenter will portray a complicated social picture in which one can find both stark rejections of conservative attitudes and excluding practices toward subaltern groups as well as support for religious elitism and exclusion. Ravi Khangai, Central University of Karnataka Cokhāmelā: a poet from an “ex-Untouchable” caste in the Marathi Bhakti Tradition Abstract Indian religious traditions are multidimensional and multi-layered. Though the Sanskrit texts often try to make Brahminical hegemony sacrosanct, some voices from the margins challenge exclusivity. Vernacular medieval bhakti poetry has provided a literary platform for the subalterns to articulate their grievances, express spiritual musings, and assert themselves. Cokhāmelā and his family belonged to an untouchable caste in 14th-century Maharashtra, and their poetry records the discrimination and humiliation they faced. They are assertive about their identity as devotees of Viṭṭhala, the God at Phandarpur, as Cokhāmelā proudly says that he may be of lower caste, but his devotion is not in any way inferior. Given the socio-cultural situation of the medieval period, he could not free himself from the psychological fetters of the tradition altogether and found consolation in internalizing the doctrine of karma, which he believed to be responsible for his degraded position. George Pati, Valparaiso University Singing God from the Margins: Kumāran Āśān’s Strotṛakṛitikal and Bhakti in Malayāl̥am Abstract This paper explores devotional expressions in Stōtṛakṛitikal, a collection of devotional hymns composed by Mahākavi Kumāran Āśān (1873-1924), a member of a low caste in Kerala. These poems demonstrate bhakti imagined and expressed from a subaltern perspective. His bhakti implied union with the deity and “completeness.” The imagination of “completeness” for individuals concerned Āśān because he understood the “incompleteness” that lower caste people experienced through the practice of unapproachability and untouchability in Kerala during his time. This paper discusses the dynamics of devotion in some of Āśān’s devotional poems and argues how these poems embody love and surrendering to the deity and a sense of becoming “complete.” Though Āśān’s Stōtṛakṛitikal embodies the same motifs as those composed by upper-caste bhakti poets, it contributes to bhakti discourse, attesting that bhakti includes the voices of those on the margins of society, making the divine palpable, in Kerala. Philip Lagace, Ardhanārīśvara and Third Gender Devotion Abstract As a half-male and half-female figure, Ardhanārīśvara has garnered significant academic attention. There is ample scholarship on its iconography, its place within poetry and mythological narratives, and its relationship to philosophical thought. However, content concerning the figure in living contexts is largely omitted. In this connection, academic works have hypothesized, theorized, and/or passingly referenced links between Ardhanārīśvara and peoples affiliated with “third gender” categorization but done little to investigate these purported connections further. To address these lacunas and shortcomings, I analyze Ardhanārīśvara within the devotional lives of related populations; this includes examining its incorporation into Durgā Pūjā festivities by gender and sexuality rights activists and its place within the Kinnar Akhāḍā, a “transgender religious order.” Accordingly, I demonstrate that Ardhanārīśvara is framed as having vindicating ties to tradition while also being innovatively advanced in the pursuit of upward social mobility by those aiming to rectify their marginalization. Maharshi Vyas, University of California, Santa Barbara Interrogating Bhakti within the Bhil Adivasi Communities of Western India Abstract This presentation makes an intervention in the study of bhakti (devotion) from the perspective of the Adivasis, the indigenous communities of India also classified as the “Scheduled Tribes.” This examination focuses on the study of the religious songs of the Bhils, i.e., the Adivasi communities of the Sabarkantha district of north Gujarat. Using archival and ethnographic data, this paper argues for the recognition of Adivasi tribal religions as a site for uncovering subaltern modes of bhakti. The paper includes the first-ever English translations of religious songs found in Bhili, an Adivasi language spoken in the hilly borderlands of Gujarat. The author presents a sample of four bhajans (devotional songs) sung by the Bhils in various ritual contexts, two of which were gathered during the author's ethnographic fieldwork spanning ten months over three visits and two others collected by Bhagwandas Patel, a scholar of Gujarati and Bhil literature at the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Responding Barbara A. Holdrege, University of California, Santa Barbara
	A23-337 Study of Islam Unit Theme: South Asian Islamicate Futures and Pasts: Sources and Possibilities for Emic Literary Theory and Criticism Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Anna Bigelow, Stanford University, Presiding Building on the work of scholars such as Eaton and Ernst, recent scholarship in South Asian Islam has begun to call for the retrieval of insider and ‘emic’ perspectives from Indic texts and traditions (Nair 2020). This panel aims to carry this agenda further, reimagining non-modern objects of academic inquiry as sources of theory, hermeneutics, and philosophy. Attending to the creative and interpretive practices in historical texts allows us to study the Indic Islamicate on its own terms. Beginning in the thirteenth century Delhi Sultanate, Ilma's contribution takes Khusraw seriously as a theorist, reading him as a source of emic methods of evaluating Indo-Persian literary works. Raihan's work on the sixteenth century Konkanī figure al-Mahāʾimī invites us to reconfigure our concepts of reading and interpretive practice. Further South still, Mackenzie’s examination of vernacular hagiography, and emic historiography of religious syncretism, enriches our comprehension of cultural exchange. Turning toward the Mughal era, Aman's paper invites us to reconsider the motivations of Hindu-Muslim encounters, with an eye toward understanding the crucial role played by Indic and Islamicate philosophical systems in constructing a reading of the (religious) ‘other.’ Glistening like a pearl: Exploring Indo-Persian Literary Hermeneutics through Khusraw’s Dibāchāh. Panelists Raihan Ahmed, University of Virginia Raihan Ahmed, University of Virginia Ilma Qureshi, University of Virginia Mackenzie Haight, Aman Madan, University of Virginia
	A23-338 Theology and Continental Philosophy Unit Theme: A History of the Enemy in the Present: 25 years after Gil Anidjar’s The Jew, The Arab Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Amaryah Shaye Armstrong, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Presiding . Panelists Gil Anidjar, Daniel Boyarin, University of California, Berkeley Zahiye Kundos, Leibniz-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur – Simon Dubnow Anthony Paul Smith, La Salle University
	A23-339 Theology and Religious Reflection Unit Theme: Trauma and Representation Across Borders Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Abdul Rahman MUSTAFA, University of Paderborn, Presiding How does movement across borders affect the self-understanding of a Korean immigrant church in the United States? How does the trauma experienced by Vietnamese refugees lead to the need for an embodied epistemology? And how might the trauma of Christ's passion be represented in differently situated gospel narratives written in contexts of political contestation - conquest and exile from an emperor's court? Exploring the complicated textures of trauma, its consequences, and its movement into new political conditions, these three papers offer case studies in trauma and representation across borders. Madison Chau, Boston University Touching War Wounds: Vietnamese Refugee Trauma, Textured Forgiveness, and the Need for Sensory Epistemologies Abstract The “frame” of the American War in Vietnam has rendered Vietnamese refugees, particularly women, legible only insofar as they are willing to offer their forgiveness of American male violence. Christian theology, in prioritizing the forgiveness of American war crimes over the need to witness Vietnamese refugee’s pain, has colluded with the dehumanizing structures that deny Vietnamese refugee women’s subjectivity. Yet the solution is not to offer a complete narrative of Vietnamese refugee trauma; both critical refugee studies and the material turn in trauma theory question whether narrative is sufficient to bear witness to war wounds. Building from critical refugee studies combined with Shelly Rambo’s work on trauma and theology, I argue for a Christian theological account that witnesses to trauma by utilizing a sensory epistemology to construct a more textured perspective on forgiveness Hangyoon Cho, From Separation/survival to Embrace/self-emptiness: Politics, Religion, and the Korean Immigrant Church Abstract Due to their ties to their home countries, immigrant churches reflect foreign political, ideological, and cultural influences. These influences impact both the church and the immigrant community. Korean immigrant churches, shaped by Korea's political context, often maintain mono-faith and mono-ethnic structures, fostering exclusionary attitudes. In the diverse landscape of the United States, this exclusivity may provoke isolation or even violence. Therefore, examining the intersection of political-religious identity and immigration in these churches is crucial. In this paper, I argue that Korean immigrant church should transition its foundational structure from an exclusive structure of separation/survival to the structure of embrace/self-emptiness. It explores the origins of the separation/survival structure through the political context of Korea and proposes a theological framework based on Christ's ministry for embrace/self-emptiness. Samuel Youngs, Conquered and Exiled: Comparative Traumatizations of the Betrayed Jesus in the Heliand and Homerocentones Abstract This paper posits that constructive theologies of interpersonal trauma are often cyphered through religious texts and reflections. This is illustrated via a comparison of the betrayal of Christ in two unique and highly contextualized gospels. The first, the Old Saxon Heliand, depicts Jesus as a conquered chieftain, submissive to his fated agony, potentially intending to domesticate the rebellious ethos of the recently conquered Saxons. The second example emerges from a criminally understudied text, the Homerocentones of the Empress Eudocia. She presents a defiant Christ, who levels a poetic condemnation of Judas and other evildoers and thus reflects facets of Eudocia’s own character and possibly aids in her own internal adjudication of her unjust banishment from the imperial court. Such trauma informed reading produces fresh understandings of how collective and individual traumatization can be navigated within the resources of a scriptural tradition and its varied contextualizations.
	A23-340 Vatican II Studies Unit Theme: A Fresh Reception of the Council?: Synodality and the Global Church Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Jakob Rinderknecht, University of the Incarnate Word, Presiding In his 2023 article, “Synodality and the Francis Pontificate: A Fresh Reception of Vatican II,” the late Catholic ecclesiologist Richard R. Gaillardetz notes that the great gift that Pope Francis has given to the Church is a fresh and coherent reception of the Second Vatican Council, and at “the heart of that reception, serving as its unifying center, is the theme of synodality.” As we reflect on the period between the opening of the Catholic synod on synodality in October 2021 and its projected close in October 2024, this session will explore the extent to which Gaillardetz’ claim is accurately reflected in the life of the global church. How does synodality advance the conciliar teachings? Does synodality go beyond the Council? What may be the limitations of synodality in light of the Council? Does synodality successfully achieve what Gaillardetz called a 'noncompetitive theology of church' inaugurated by the council? ROLANDO IBERICO RUIZ, An Outline of a Synodal Theology of the Laity from the Latin American Perspective Abstract The document proposes an outline for a synodal theology of the laity considering the historical-theological journey of the laity in Latin America after Vatican II and the current synodal process. The document is divided into three sections. The first explores the historical-theological balance of the role of the laity. The second section analyzes the experience of the synodal process up to the Continental Stage of the Synod. The third section proposes an outline of a synodal theology of the laity considering the two previous sections. In this way, the document will shed light on the following questions: how could the laity face the current threats to common life in the continent (criminality, inequality, etc.) from a renewed perspective of commitment to the world? How could the laity show/be an image of the Church as a community of hope and an icon of the coming Kingdom in Latin America? Jens Van Rompaey, KU Leuven Pope Francis’ Synodality at Continental Crossroads. Experiences of Hope, Pain, and Tension on the European level of the 2023-2024 Synod of Bishops Abstract The paper examines how Pope Francis uses synodality to promote the reception of Vatican II while considering the challenges posed by globalization and cultural diversity, especially but not exclusively at the European continental level. This is especially relevant because the 2023 Instrumentum Laboris focuses on the Church’s engagement with Western and other cultures while trying to avoid (neo)colonial tendencies. This inspires two approaches: the first path emphasizes cultural interactions within synodal processes, while the other scrutinizes the particularity and tensions of cultural identities. Following this second line, the paper critiques the continental dimension of synodal processes, warning against the essentialization of cultural narratives. By exploring tensions within European culture and drawing parallels with (past) synodal experiences, I aim to unravel ecclesiological implications. Finally, I conclude by proposing lessons learned from the European continental phase to improve future synodal efforts, mindful of the hope, tensions, and hurt generated by it. cyril orji, University of Dayton A POSTCOLONIAL OPTIC ON SYNODALITY: IS A “NON-COMPETITIVE THEOLOGY OF CHURCH” POSSIBLE? Abstract My paper critically evaluates many of the volumes on Synodality coming out of Europe and North America. I use as test-case for European thinking on Synodality, the articles that appear in the Gregorianum and Louvain Studies. I use as test-case for North American thinking on Synodality, the writings on the subject by the US theologians Gaillardetz. Bradford Hinze, and Massimo Faggioli. All three thinkers speak glowingly of the synodal vision of Pope Francis, which they also uphold as transformative of Christian ecclesial life. But they also recognize some limitations. Thus, while my essay acknowledges the ferment in Synodality-discourse as presently constituted, it also uses postcolonial optic to question whether the supreme power of the Church—legislative, administrative, judicial, and supervisory—resides only in the west. My conclusion is that for the Church to achieve a “noncompetitive theology of church,” that quest must begin with and be rooted in ecclesiastical decolonization. Business Meeting Jaisy Joseph, Villanova University, Presiding Dries Bosschaert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Presiding
	A23-341 Vernacular Landscapes and Global Dialogues: Understanding Buddhist Monasticism Seminar Theme: New Directions in Studying Buddhist Monasticism Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Manuel Lopez, New College of Florida, Presiding This panel includes four individual papers that shed new light on the study of contemporary Buddhist monasticism from the perspectives of managing Buddhist financial institutions, monastic attitudes toward the physical body and pain, challenges in the full ordination of Buddhist nuns, and contemporary Buddhist educational institutions as emotional communities. Kazal Barua, International Buddhist College A Buddhist Monk as a Banker: Exploring Modern Buddhist Monasticism within the Context of Bangladesh Abstract In 1997, Shasana Rakkhit Bhikkhu, a Bangladeshi Buddhist monk, established a bank named the Buddhist Co-operative Credit Union Limited (BCCUL). A Buddhist monk being the head of a financial organization radically challenged the common perception of Buddhist monks being detached from worldly affairs. Initially, the BCCUL aimed to help 20 poverty-stricken people. Now, it has expanded to over 23,000 members, transcending religious boundaries and promoting trust among Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. Shasana Rakkhit Bhikkhu’s daily routine resembles that of a corporate executive as he manages his many initiatives which include organizing ordination ceremonies, leading meditation retreats, undertaking housing projects, founding a Buddhist art academy, and establishing a beauty salon academy for Buddhist women. While these endeavours challenge traditional notions of monasticism, they also provoke controversy and backlash from proponents of a more orthodox approach. Despite this, his multifaceted activities blend spiritual insight with commercial acumen, empowering Bangladeshi Buddhists and nurturing interreligious harmony. This study seeks to understand how a Buddhist monk effectively manages a financial organization, how his initiatives contribute to community development across religious traditions, and how these initiatives challenge or expand the traditional role of Buddhist monasticism. Nancy Chu, Suffering and Liberation Through the Body in Pain: Strategies of Resilience Among Taiwan's Buddhist Nuns Abstract Buddhist monastics across Asia have long been held in esteem by their community of lay adherents, are frequently the recipient of material support as "fields of merit", and are given an elevated social status as advanced spiritual practitioners and clergy who perform important rituals. This paper looks at ways in which Buddhist monastics affirm that difference through their attitude toward the physical body. Are Buddhist monastics made different through their practices of ignoring the body, and how is that manifested in their responses to physical pain? As a lens through which religious transformation can be understood, pain can lead to both suffering and liberation, functioning as both an obstacle and a teacher along the spiritual path. My ethnographic research focuses on the Xiangguang or "Luminary" bhikshunis in southern Taiwan and their strategies of resilience, exploring what it tells us about Buddhist understandings of transcendence and the purpose of monastic life. Darcie Price-Wallace, Northwestern University Being Included: Unique Challenges for the Identity of Fully Ordained Nuns (Gelongmas) Abstract Eight Tibetan Buddhist women became fully ordained nuns (Tib. dge slong ma) in the 1980s in Hong Kong. The topic of this paper is how differences in ordination procedures create unique challenges for the identity of *gelongmas* living and practicing Tibetan Buddhism in India. Drawing from fieldwork in a nunnery and teaching institution in the northwestern Himalayan region, this paper features two *gelongmas* who have held vows for nearly forty years. They share their distinct experiences and innovative understanding of their identities as *gelongmas–one who narrates inclusion and the other exclusion. Their experiences of identity and difference provide a lens into the authoritative claims about who counts as a gelongma. This presentation explores the possibilities and limitations in their everyday lives and argues that more attention be paid to the plurality of ordination practices in order to better understand how the parameters of gelongma* ordination remain subject to scrutiny. Renee Ford, Aarhus University Contemporary Women, Traditional Rituals and Well-rounded Education: Tekcholing Nunnery and its Redefined Buddhist Monasticism Abstract This paper presents the educational systems at Tekcholing Nunnery in Boudhanath, Nepal as an example of unconventional (redefined) Buddhist monasticism. I share how the nuns incorporate and integrate traditional Buddhist ritual education, contemporary primary and secondary education in language, math, and science, and perhaps most influential, an unspoken education of affect of care. I suggest that these women live in an “emotional community” as described by Christine Durea in her “Translating Love” (Durea, 2012). This material is based upon my fieldwork from 2023 – 2024 as I lived, practiced, and interviewed several of the nuns at the nunnery along with supporting these moments with an affective theoretical perspective. The combination of these three educational frameworks cultivates women who bridge traditional Kagyu Buddhist ritual practices to mastery of several languages, math, and science with a deep connection to their community that sustains and perpetuates the monastery and its larger international Buddhist community.
	A23-342 Women of Color Scholarship, Teaching, and Activism Unit Theme: Let Us Meet There: Black and Asian Women Making a Pedagogical Home in the Margin(s) Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Hinasahar Muneeruddin, University of North Carolina, Presiding Using a Black and Asian women peer learning experience as a narrative frame, this creative presentation explores the possibilities and challenges of women of color making a pedagogical home in the margin(s). Through vignette-based reflections, this presentation celebrates and critiques various embodied and margin-formed practices that carry gifts of knowledge and wisdom that are often unacknowledged in the formal academic context but that shape and form who we are, how we know, and what we are becoming. These practices bear witness to the legacies of our forebearers and point us toward pedagogies of care and solidarity for women of color. Inspired by bell hooks' notion of the margin as a site of resistance, creativity, power, and inclusion, we aim to inspire participants to re-member, embody, and reflect on their pedagogical formation and how teaching from, in, and for the margins might (re)energize their practice of theological education. Rachelle Green, Fordham University Maria Liu Wong, City Seminary of New York AHyun Lee, Wesley Seminary, Indiana Wesleyan University "Let Us Meet There": Black and Asian Women Making a Pedagogical Home in the Margin(s) Abstract Using a Black and Asian women peer learning experience as a narrative frame, this creative presentation explores the possibilities and challenges of women of color making a pedagogical home in the margin(s). Through vignette-based reflections, this presentation celebrates and critiques various embodied and margin-formed practices that carry gifts of knowledge and wisdom that are often unacknowledged in the formal academic context but that shape and form who we are, how we know, and what we are becoming. These practices bear witness to the legacies of our forebearers and point us toward pedagogies of care and solidarity for women of color. Inspired by bell hooks' notion of the margin as a site of resistance, creativity, power, and inclusion, we aim to inspire participants to re-member, embody, and reflect on their pedagogical formation and how teaching from, in, and for the margins might (re)energize their practice of theological education. Responding Yara Gonzalez-Justiniano, Vanderbilt University
	A23-343 Yogācāra Studies Unit Theme: Prajñākaragupta On What Exists Saturday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Douglas S. Duckworth, Temple University, Presiding We will discuss Prajñākaragupta’s commentary Pramāṇavārttikālaṅkāra (PVA) on two verses in Dharmakīrti’s influential Pramāṇavārttika (PV): vv. 3-4 in the chapter on perception. In those two verses, Dharmakīrti initially endorses the standard Sautrāntika and Yogācāra view that causal efficacy is the mark of ultimate existence, but then he responds ambivalently to a Mādhyamika opponent who rejects the ultimate reality of causal relations. But, unlike Dharmakīrti and his earlier commentators like Devendrabuddhi, Prajñākara accepts the Mādhyamika view that causal efficacy cannot be a mark of ultimate existence. However, he also shows that this Mādhyamika view does not conclusively undermine the core of the Yogācāra view: the thesis that consciousness--or conscious mental occurrences--are ultimately existent. In doing so, Prajñākara paves the way for a new form of Yogācāra that is later defended by Jñānaśrīmitra and Ratnakīrti. On this view, ultimate existence is just a matter of directly appearing through non-conceptual awareness. Panelists Davey Tomlinson, Villanova University Catherine Prueitt, University of British Columbia Nilanjan Das, University College London
	A23-344 AAR's Sacred Texts, Theory, and Theological Construction Unit and SBL's Reading, Theory, and the Bible Theme: 20th Anniversary Celebration: The Bible & Critical Theory Journal Saturday, 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM Rhiannon Graybill, University of Richmond, Presiding . Panelists Robert Seesengood, Albright College Jennifer Koosed, Maia Kotrosits, Harvard University Peter Sabo, Huron University Jay Twomey, Erin Runions, Pomona College Steed Davidson, McCormick Theological Seminary James Crossley, St Mary's University Benny Liew,
	A23-400 American Academy of Religion and American Council of Learned Societies Theme: Networking Reception for Public Scholarship Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM John Paul Christy, American Council of Learned Societies, Presiding Join the AAR and ACLS to network with other public scholars.
	A23-401 Anglican Studies Seminar Theme: Anglican Studies Seminar: Session 2 Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Scott MacDougall, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Presiding In this third year of the seminar, the focus is on missiological currents within the Anglican Communion and how these have contributed to complex identity formations and "operative ecclesiologies" in diverse Anglican contexts. A first session on the theme, immediately preceding this one, is described separately. This session will feature three scholars with recent publications relevant to this theme who will converse with one another and with seminar participants and attendees about the missiological implications of their work. These are: Gary Dorrien, author of Anglican Identities: Logos Idealism, Imperial Whiteness, Commonweal Ecumenism (Baylor UP, 2024), Kwok Pui Lan, author of The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective (Seabury, 2023), and Jennifer C. Snow, author of Mission, Race, and Empire: The Episcopal Church in Global Context (Oxford UP, 2023). This session will also include a business meeting for planning Year 4 of the seminar. Panelists Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary Pui Lan Kwok, Candler School of Theology Jennifer Snow, Church Divinity School of the Pacific Responding Francisco Garcia, Vanderbilt University
	A23-402 Arts, Literature, and Religion Unit Theme: The Work of Theopoetics: Decolonizing and Expanding Theopoetic Discourse Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Oluwatomisin Oredein, Brite Divinity School, Presiding In conversation with contributors and the co-editors, this roundtable session will explore the decolonial, subversive, intervening, and interrupting processes imagined and facilitated around the innovative anthology in the field of theopoetics, _Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches in Theological Discourse_. The impetus of Black women, _Theopoetics in Color_ itself is not only an intervening resource in theopoetic discourse, but its constructive process also illumines the innovation, expansive, and empowering capacity of Black women’s imagination. Panelists Tamisha Tyler, Fuller Theological Seminary Lakisha Lockhart, Union Presbyterian Seminary Tiffany Trent,
	A23-403 Baha’i Studies Unit Theme: Key Issues in Baha’i History and Textual Study Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Julia Berger, Montclair State University, Presiding This panel examines three key issues in the contemporary study of Baha'i history and scripture. The first looks at the issue of the untranslateability of scripture in Islam and discusses the Baha'i departure from this norm. The author examines early Baha'i translations of Baha'i scripture and argues for a distinctive Baha'i view that meaning can be separated from form. The second paper also examines issues related to scripture, language and form, looking in particular at the ways characteristic prayers are structured. The author contrasts this stucture with Islamic and Christian prayers. The third paper takes up an important issue in Baha'i history and scripture, racial harmony, and discusses the important roles played by Black Baha'is in this faith's earliest historical moments. Omid Ghaemmaghami, Bahá’u’lláh and the (Un)Translatability of Scripture Abstract The writings of Bahá’u’lláh (d. 1892) open many new vistas for students of religion. Scholars have observed that a phenomenon common to the world’s religions is the dogma that scripture cannot be translated from its original language, which alone, it has been believed, carries the exact meaning and sound of the sacred. This paper will explicate how Bahá’u’lláh challenged and ultimately rejected both the notion that scripture cannot be translated and the belief that knowledge of a particular language is a prerequisite of true faith. Special attention will be given to the history of the earliest attempts to translate the central book of the Bahá’í canon, Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i-Aqdas, from its original Arabic into Persian, Russian, and English, foreshadowing thereby its official translation into nearly forty languages, to date. Daniel Pschaida, Baha’i Prayers: Structure and Interiority Abstract Analyzing the language of prayer in the compilation The Prayers and Meditations of Baha'u'llah, side-by-side in English and the original Arabic/Persian, a common structure is found in which a prayer begins with almost always the same opening praise of God ṣubḥanika (Glory be to Thee / Magnified by Thy name / Praised be Thou), followed by affirming the means (e.g., the Manifestation of God, blood of martyers, sighs of true lovers of God) by which one is empowered to make requests of God. Then a request stated and there is an affirmation of God's power to do His will and a listing of some of His names and attributes. The author compares this basic structure to Islamic prayers from different traditions. He then reflects upon what this basic structure may convey about the nature of one's internal life as well as how prayer might become shared in interfaith devotional gatherings. Anthony Lee, Independent Scholar The African at the Genesis of the Baha'i Faith Abstract Abstract The African Presence at the Genesis of Baha’i History One of the facts that has been unappreciated and understudied by historians is the presence of Africans at the genesis of Baha’i history. These early black Babis and Baha’is are sometimes mentioned in passing in Baha’i histories. But their lives have not been taken seriously, nor has their influence on Babi and Baha’i history been appreciated. This presentation will focus on two Africans in the household of the Bab who were present from the first days of the Revelation, Haji Mubarak and Fezzeh Khanum. These two servants, who were profoundly important in the lives of the Bab and his wife, Khadijih Bagum, have been largely ignored in Baha’i sacred history. While it is understandable, and even forgivable, that the nineteenth-century Iranian men who were the early chroniclers of Baha’i history would overlook the crucial parts played by women and slaves, it is no longer acceptable for contemporary Baha’i historians to do so. This presentation will attempt to restore them to their rightful place.
	A23-404 Bioethics and Religion Unit Theme: Intersecting Spiritual, Ethical, and Health Advocacy in Different Religio-cultural Contexts Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Devan Stahl, Baylor University, Presiding The session examines the integration of spiritual beliefs, ethical principles, and health advocacy in addressing socio-political and health crises. The first paper explores how Buddhist teachings and AI ethics can guide bioethical decision-making in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The second paper analyzes the lived experiences of Korean immigrants in the U.S., highlighting the spiritual and cultural influences on prenatal care practices. The third paper assesses the role of violence in Haiti from historical and contemporary perspectives, exploring how healthcare workers utilize liberative medicine to combat health and political instability. Collectively, these studies emphasize the importance of culturally and contextually informed approaches for resolving complex global challenges, advocating for a synthesis of faith, ethics, and advocacy in public health and policy. Jane Compson, University of Washington Dharma in the Digital Age: Some reflections on Buddhism and Artificial Intelligence. Abstract This paper will argue hat religious teachings can provide can offer helpful, multidimensional perspectives to these discussions - the work of a non-profit, Artificial Intelligence and Faith (AIF) will be presented as a helpful model of the engagement of faith communities with AI. As part of this exploration, the paper will focus in on Buddhist teachings. Drawing on both Buddhist canonical sources and contemporary teachings and scholarship, this paper will explore some examples of how Buddhist theory and practice can offer insights, conceptual analysis and practical wisdom for skillfully navigating in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the context of bioethics. Hajung Lee, University of Puget Sound Taegyo and Lived Religion: Exploring Spiritual Practices in Prenatal Care Among Korean Immigrants Abstract This qualitative study investigates the experiences of Korean immigrants with taegyo (“prenatal education”), targeting 30 participants and focusing on 'lived religion.' Taegyo, a traditional Korean prenatal practice influenced by spiritual and cultural beliefs, reflects a unique blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity. Through in-depth interviews, this study aims to understand how Korean immigrants integrate these spiritual practices into their prenatal care within the U.S. cultural context. Data will be analyzed using modified grounded theory to underline the importance of integrating immigrant experiences and spiritual practices into healthcare, promoting more inclusive and culturally sensitive care. This investigation contributes to the broader understanding of the intersection between spirituality, immigration, health, and lived religion. The study highlights the importance of recognizing patients' lived religion to provide optimal reproductive care for immigrant populations of color. Shaunesse' Jacobs Plaisimond, University of South Florida The Power of Accompaniment as Practiced by Haitian Health Workers in Times of Violence Abstract Centuries ago, violence in Haiti was used as a tool by the enslaved population against European oppressors to fight for freedom and human dignity. In the 2020’s, violence continues to be used, but by Haitians against one another, to bring global attention to dehumanizing and dismal conditions in which the majority of the nation lives. Caught between gangs and politicians, a government in absentia, and global powers that have exacerbated harsh living conditions are healthcare workers continuing to model accompaniment to a beleaguered citizenry fighting for basic health. Modeled after the late Dr. Paul Farmer, this paper seeks to analyze the model of liberative medicine practiced by health workers in Haiti as they continue fighting the physical and political fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic that both exacerbated poor health conditions and a deteriorating government. Through their example, a model of health advocacy amid physical and political chaos has the potential to improve health promotion in other nations facing unending violence.
	A23-405 Buddhist Philosophy Unit and Global-Critical Philosophy of Religion Unit Theme: Buddhist Critical Phenomenology Saturday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM Erin Burke,, Presiding This panel will be the inaugural panel at the American Academy of Religion (and perhaps anywhere) introducing a new program for Buddhist philosophy: a program of Buddhist critical phenomenology. The overarching goal of such a program is to be intellectually responsive to burgeoning and reinvigorated movements— across the globe, across humanistic and social scientific disciplines, as well as within Buddhist practice communities—that are attentive to the kinds of topics thematized by critical phenomenology, namely the ways that conditioned, historically contingent identity structures and subjectivities shape perception, cognition, and experience for individual people and collectives of people in shared social spaces and lifeworlds. Joy Brennan, Kenyon College A Yogācāra Buddhist Critical Phenomenology Abstract Abstract: This paper uses early Yogācāra Buddhist philosophical sources to outline a programmatic basis for a Buddhist critical phenomenology. This paper argues that the early Yogācāra textual tradition’s concept of the “entry into mind only” should be understood as a call for an individual to occupy their own subjectivity as it unfolds in relation to internal and external objects of perception and cognition, where these include one’s own body, thoughts, feelings, and dispositions, and also one’s relations to other beings, to time and space, and to one’s lifeworld. This occupation of one’s own subjectivity should then lead to what early Yogācāra texts call the attainment of “no mind,” which this paper argues is the capacity to live with the reality of one’s social subjectivity and its many implications and entanglements, without being bound by the delusions of that subjectivity. Gregory Snyder, Karma, Intentionality, and Insight in a Buddhist Critical Phenomenology Abstract With regard to spiritual transformation Buddhists have struggled over the relationship between liberatory insight and the operations of karma. That the liberatory process results in the transcendence of the need to attend to karma is both defended and critiqued. We see something similar in the history of critical theory and phenomenology, whereby social theorists like Adorno criticize Husserlian phenomenology for not taking seriously the socially and historically conditioned person. This split is particularly important when attempting to theorize the reproduction and transformation of social behavior. Might the resolution of this tension be located in the potential transformation of sedimented intentionality, a concept foundational to both traditions? This paper will theorize that Buddhism may provide the field of critical phenomenology with a means by which to understand a transformative mechanism for the sedimented nature of intentionality. In turn, Buddhism’s own engagement of collective karma would be augmented by the tradition of social critique within Critical Phenomenology, opening Buddhist conceptions to a robust theorization of social and historical reproduction. Jingjing Li, Leiden University A Yogācāra Buddhist Critical Phenomenology of Joy Abstract In this paper, I elaborate on the approach to joy preserved in East Asian Yogācāra texts authored by Xuanzang and his disciple, Kuiji. I argue that these Yogācāra Buddhists propose a contextualist approach that does not presume joy to be an emotion with an essential property but rather perceives joy as always contextualized in lifeworlds at the personal and interpersonal levels. Upon delineating what joy is and how it is experienced, I continue to explore what joy can promise. For regular sentient beings, joy that arises in an egocentric mindset always acts to cohere the lifeworld of ignorance generation after generation; however, since joy does not have an inherent property, sentient beings can always make a collaborative effort to recontextualize joy for inclusion and emancipation. As such, I hope to draw on this analysis of joy to enrich the feminist discussion on happiness as presented in contemporary critical phenomenology. Responding Gayle Salamon, Princeton University

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