In-person November Annual Meeting 2026 Program Book
The 2026 November Annual Meeting in Denver, CO: Friday, November 20 - Tuesday, November 24. All times are listed in Mountain Time Zone. For more information about the November Annual Meeting, co-hosted with the Society of Biblical Literature, click here.
Please note that this is the preliminary schedule and is subject to change. We anticipate a mostly final schedule in mid-August. If you have any questions, please contact annualmeeting@aarweb.org. For Other Events, your event is not confirmed until you received notification from AAR staff.
Models of Piety in Late Antiquity (or MOP) is an independent, annual meeting of scholars of religion in late antiquity. The meeting occurs concurrently with the Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion’s annual meetings in mid-November. This year’s gathering will meet from 3:00-4:30pm on November 20th in Denver, CO. Presenters include Dina Boero, Ra’anan Boustan, and Karen Britt. All are welcome! For more information or to join the mailing list, email ancientjewreview@gmail.com.
Sectional Meetings: Christian Theology and History: Martin Hanna, Andrews University New Testament: Erhard Gallos, Andrews University Old Testament: Oliver Glanz, Andrews University Philosophy and Ethics: Marina Garner, Loma Linda University Practical Theology: Ernest Furness, Northern California Conference World Religions/Missiology: Andrew Tompkins, Andrews University
This workshop, led by a team of narratively-oriented spiritual care scholars, will explain the basics of narrative spiritual care and invite participants to try out conversations using this method in pairs and in collective conversation with the entire group. Narrative spiritual care is an emergent strategy that brings the methodology of narrative therapy and practice into pastoral and spiritual care. The narrative approach was founded in the 1980s by Michael White and David Epston, Australian social workers who turned toward the disciplines of poststructural theory (such as feminism, postcolonialism, literary theory, and queer studies) to understand human identity. Narrative spiritual care foregrounds resistance and resonance: resisting dominant cultural stories that try to tell us who we are and offer limited and false choices for how we ought to live; and experiencing resonance—spiritual and social support for our deeply held values, beliefs, and purposes for living.
Ethicists, theologians, and ordinary people have long recognized that absolute maxims inevitably collide with the moral complexity of the real world we inhabit. Contributors to this panel investigate how South Asians today navigate the demand for “absolute non-violence” promoted by Jain scriptural tradition and Gandhian ethics while engaging in productive philanthropic and civic activity. Panelists consider ways in which Hindus and Jains accommodate the problem of “karmic collateral” – the “knock-on” effects of environmental disruption which may accrue from otherwise virtuously motivated charitable activity, as well as the problem of the ideal of absolute non-violence in collective governance, e.g., instances in which inflicting harm may be necessary to prevent the infliction of greater harm in the future.
This session focuses on Barth's posthumous work, The Christian Life. It addresses the work's distinctive account of Christian witness, the "hallowing" of God's name, eschatology, human righteousness and unrighteousness, and related topics.
Papers
In The Christian Life, Karl Barth conceptualizes God’s future as an interruption of the present while also attesting its advanced presence as “first fruits” in the life of the community. This paper examines the tensions at play in these two conceptualities and demonstrates how Barth’s exposition of the petition for the hallowing of God’s name among those to whom God is presently both “known and unknown” participates in this tension. While acknowledging instabilities in Barth’s account, the paper argues that a productive tension between these two themes is vital to the fullness of Christian witness, mitigating against both quietism and triumphalism. Finally, the paper highlights certain dispositions appropriate to the Christian life this side of the eschaton, among them lament and humor.
This paper considers the dogmatic presuppositions that underpin Barth's commendation of "revolt." It reckons with the claim that the fulfillment of the covenant of grace does not mean the closure of that same covenant; it pays particular attention to "revolt" as a key element of an eschatological ethic that views disruptive political activity as integral to Christians' obligation to move forward to meet the coming Kingdom of God. This eschatological ethic, the paper suggests, is not merely consonant with the "moral ontology" of the Dogmatics. It expands Barth's ethical program in the context of the doctrine of reconciliation (and, by anticipation, redemption); and it does so in ways that disclose common ground between Barth and earlier advocates of the "social gospel.” In its conclusion, the paper notes that Barth's insistence that Christians become "comrades of the Kingdom" has acute contemporary significance in contexts beset by far-right extremism.
Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network Annual Meeting will focus on the rapidly changing face of feminist studies in religion in light of AI. We will address some implications of this reality for scholars and activists alike. Global backlash against women and non-binary people in this same context invites us to reconsider strategies and to deepen our common work. The meeting will include networking time as well as focused discussion. Plan to participate! The FLTN Annual Meeting is open to all. RSVP waterstaff@hers.com. For further information, contact: Mary E. Hunt mhunt@hers.com.
