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Debating
Secularization: Theory and Practice in Geographies of Religion
Sponsored
by the
Geography of Religions and Belief Systems Specialty Group
AAG
2013: Call for
Papers
Recent work in geographies of religion has
suggested a need
for the tenets of the subfield to be debated.
Lily Kong (2010) argues, for example, that not enough work
has been done
to examine the theological and metaphysical aspects of geographies
of religion
and to engage the interdisciplinary enterprise of religious
studies. An emerging topic
of debate is secularization
and whether or not emerging geographies of religion can be seen as
post-secular
spaces. While Beaumont and
Baker (2010)
argue that cities with new configurations of faith-based
organizations are developing
new post-secular approaches to social activism, Kong (2010)
cautions against
this idea for its over-emphasis on European phenomena. On the other hand, Justin
Wilford (2011)
argues that religious phenomena, while significant, need to be
conceptualized
as ‘sacred archipelagoes’ in a sea of secularity, for
secularization has in
fact affected all facets of modern religious practice. The theoretical underpinnings
of geographies
of religion and its requisite attachments to the secularization
thesis are thus
currently under debate.
This session calls for papers that examine the
theory and
practice in geographies of religion in light of these debates. Papers that will be submitted
do not
necessarily need to be completely theory-oriented papers; indeed,
empirical
studies that contribute to these theoretical debates, as well as
papers that
deal with theological and metaphysical issues, will both be
strongly
considered. Suggested
topics include:
·
Geographical studies that
either support or
refute the secularization thesis
·
Theological and
metaphysical treatments of
religious themes in geography
·
Post-secular cities
·
Faith-based organizations
and their treatment of
religion and the secular
·
Geographies of religious
migration, with a theoretical
treatment of religion and the secular
·
Interfaith geographies as
religious, secular, or
post-secular phenomena
·
Positionality in the theory
and practice of
geographies of religion
·
Religious geopolitics as
religious, secular, or
post-secular phenomena
·
Non-European geographies of
religion and their
relation to secular geographies
·
Feminist approaches to
geographies of religion
and the secularization thesis
Papers should be submitted to Justin K.H. Tse
at [log in to unmask]
no latter
than October 22, 2012 for submission to the AAG.
-- Justin K.H. Tse Ph.D. Candidate, Geography Religion | Migration and Ethnic Studies | Pacific Cities University of British Columbia at Vancouver Secretary, Geography of Religion and Belief Systems Specialty Group, Association of American Geographers http://jkhtse.wordpress.com/