Events of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion
FUTURE EVENTS
SIEF2025 Unwriting Panel: On the shoulders of giants: the tradition of reading and writing religion ethnologically
Feel welcome to hand in proposals to the already accepted Working Group`s panel on the SIEF conference in Aberdeen in June 2025 entitled "On the shoulders of giants: the tradition of reading and writing religion ethnologically".
The call is open from now until December 17. Scroll down to abbreviation "Reli02" or use keywords of the aformentioned title to find the panel under this link: SIEF2025 Panel
PAST EVENTS
Religious Art and Power – Contestations and Affirmations
Budapest, 17-19 October, 2024
The Working Group Ethnology of Religion conference "Religious Art and Power - Contestations and Affirmations" took place at the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology in Budapest in October 17-19 2024.
Our special thanks go out to our long-standing member László Koppány Csáji who was the host of our conference and put a lot of effort into realizing this conference in the first place!
For more information read the conference report.
Religious Utopias
16-18 March, 2023
The hope for a better, a utopian world is a powerful force. Utopian promises help to endure and make sense of life, but they also suggest the possibility of social change. Religions can be looked upon as a utopian enterprise – offering imaginations and (ritualized) practices that reach beyond the present into an ideal(ized) future. In the face of the current ecological destruction, intensified social conflicts, and increased uncertainty, not least due to the pandemic, the SIEF Ethnology of Religion working group seeks to explore the utopian potential of the religious. For more details on the conference, click here.
New Approaches to ‘Re-Enchanted’ Central and Eastern Europe
Budapest, April 7-8, 2022
The aim of this conference is to shed light on the various dimensions and aspects of re-enchantment in Central and Eastern Europe. See more details here.
Ethnology of Religion Working Group Conference
"Religion and Nature – Cultural Ecologies of Belief"
The 2020 conference of the SIEF Working Group Ethnology of Religion wants to draw closer to the current as well as historical dynamics of the “religion-nature” interdependence and thus to the cultural ecologies of beliefs. Read more here.
Conference has been cancelled
Panels at SIEF2019 14th Congress, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 14-17 April 2019
Ethnography of Ordinary Worship Routines. Materiality, Spaces and Changes across Europe; convenors Cyril Isnart and Clara SaraivaReligious in Idiosyncrasy. New Religious Movements in the 21st century; Peter Jan Margry and István Povedák
Tracking the ritual year on the move in different cultural settings and systems of values; convenors Irina Sedakova and Laurent Fournier
Religion and Politics - Conflict and Peace
13th International Conference of the SIEF Ethnology of Religion
Working Group
Siena, September 20th-23rd, 2018
The full programme along with details regarding registration for this exciting event in the historic city of Siena is now online. Read more.
12th International Conference
of the SIEF Working Group Ethnology of Religion:
Alternative and Religious Healing in the Modern World 22-24 September
2016, Amsterdam
The 2016 conference of SIEF's Ethnology of Religion working group is focused on the contemporary religious, spiritual, complementary and alternative healing practices in the Western world. Read more here.
Zagreb, Croatia 21-25 June 2015 The heritagization of religious and spiritual
practices: the effects of grassroots and top-down policies
Session at SIEF2015 in Zagreb
Convenors: Anna Niedźwiedź and Clara Saraiva
Zagreb, Croatia 21-25 June 2015 Almost Heaven. Vernacular utopias and
the culture of belief
Session at SIEF2015 in
Zagreb
Convenors: Povedák and Leonard Norman Primiano.
Lisbon, Portugal 22-23 May, 2014 11th conference 'Making
Sense of Religion: Performance, Art and Experience'
Read
the abstracts and theme or download
the full programme
Hosts: Clara Saraiva, Eugenia Roussou and Diana Espirito Santo from
NAR-Anthropology of Religion Group of the Center for Research in
Anthropology (CRIA). The conference had 4 thematic sessions (Gender,
healing and the senses; Senses and possession; Music, performance and
embodiment; Art, materiality and space) with 21 papers. The conference
was successful in attracting new members (some of them remained active
members and will participate at the Zagreb congress too) but according
to some the call for papers was more connected to anthropology than
ethnology thus could be unattractive for others.
Lisbon, Portugal 22-23 May, 2014 Working group meeting
at the 11th conference, Lisbon May 22
During the conference on May 22 a working group meeting was held where
2 of the 4 board members (Clara Saraiva, István Povedák) and all the
paper presenters participated. As great part of the presenters (15
from the 21) in Lisbon participated at the WG conference for the first
time the meeting had two focuses: the introduction of the WG and the
issue about the planned WG series. Clara Saraiva, the chief editor
mentioned that the first volume after more than two years of hard work
was basically finished by May 2014 and when Peter Jan Margry the
former chair of the WG finished his introduction for the volume they
could upload it to the LitVerlag Publisher House. According to Povedák
although the editorial board (Clara Saraiva, José Mapril, Lionel
Obadia and Kinga Povedák) did a great job with editing the papers that
would be suggested to organize a new editorial team that would also
include the local organizers in order to fasten up the editing
process. Later a longer discussion started about the possible
publishing solutions if there would be any difficulties with the
LitVerlag.
Tartu, Estonia (1 July 2013; combined with the International congress). Theme: 'Fluidity, Mobility and Versatility of the Sacred'. Link to abstracts.
Szeged, Hungary (12-14 September 2012). Theme: 'Religion on the Move. How Motion and Migration influence Religion'. Download the book of abstracts
Lisbon (19-20 April 2011; combined with the International congress). Theme: 'Sacred Places'
Warsaw (1-3 June 2010). Theme: 'Experiencing Religion. New Approaches towards Personal Religiosity'. Download the full programme with abstracts
Derry (UK) (19-20 June 2008; combined with the International congress). Theme: 'Rethinking the Sacred'. Publication: Ulrika Wolf-Knuts and Kathleen Grant (eds.), Rethinking the sacred. Proceedings of the ninth SIEF conference in Derry 2008 (Abo: Abo Akademi University, 2009)
Celje, Slovenia (9-11 September 2006). Theme: 'Senses and
Religion'.
Publication: Jurij FikFak and Gábor Barna (eds.), Senses and
Religion (Ljubljana: Zalozba ZRC, 2007).
Marseille (27-28 April 2004; combined with the International
congress). Themes: 'Sacrality and Piety' and
'Pilgrimage Today'.
No publication
Edinburgh (4-8 September 2002). Theme: 'Gender and Generation'
.
Publication: in preparation
Budapest (24 April 2001; combined with the International
congress). Themes: 'Traditionalization and Local Community'
and 'Ritualized Writing'.
No publication.
Szeged, Hungary (24-26 September 1999). Theme: 'Politics and
Folk Religion'.
Publication: Gábor Barna (ed.), Politics and Folk Religion.
Szeged: University of Szeged, 2001).
Chaves, Portugal (September 1996): Theme: 'Folk
Religion: Continuity and Change'.
Publication: Anders Gustavsson et al. (eds.), Folk
religion. Continuity and Change. Lisbon: Instituto de
Sociologia e Etnologia das Religioes, 1999).
Stockholm (13-15 September 1993). Theme: 'Religion in
Everyday Life'.
Publication: Nils-Arvid Bringéus (ed.), Religion in everyday
life. Papers given at a symposium in Stockholm, 13-15 september 1993 (Stockholm:
Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, 1994)
Business meetings
Minutes
Business Meeting Tartu 2013
Minutes Business Meeting Lisbon 2011
Minutes
Business Meeting Warsaw 2010
