Call for Papers: “The Problem of Religion: Faith and Agency in History”

The History Department of Boston College invites papers and panels for its fifth Biennial Conference on the History of Religion to be held on March 28-29, 2014. In recent years, scholars have increasingly considered how religious institutions, beliefs, or practices challenge our conceptions of the past while also recognizing that religion is but one of a number of forces that interact, collide, and impel human history. As we try to determine when religion has been important in human history and when it has not, we grapple with understanding how internal matters of faith provoke and direct acts of human agency, manifest in the exercise of devotional practice, institutional power, and other arenas. Finally, scholars of religion are considering the most appropriate ways to contemplate, research, and write about faith, belief, and agency during what some intellectuals argue is a secular age. We will consider the possibilities and boundaries of using religion as a lens for understanding agency in human history.

We welcome proposals for individual papers and full panels from both established scholars and graduate students in all disciplines on topics from the medieval period to the present that touch upon the question of religion (in Christian and non-Christian forms) and agency in history. The geographic scope is broadly defined. Suggested themes include, but are not limited to, the role of religious institutions, practices, and beliefs in:

Individual paper proposals should include a 300-word proposal, paper title, and one page c.v. Panel proposals for two to three presenters should include a 250-word panel abstract (including panel title), a 300-word proposal for each individual paper (including paper title), and a one page c.v. for each presenter. Deadline for submission is October 4, 2013.