Do Religion Scholars Read the Bible?

I'm happy today to guest post a dispatch from Elesha Coffman. Elesha is assistant professor of history at Waynesburg University, and in 2011-2012 she will be a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. Her dispatch concerns one session at the just-concluded 2nd Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture. We'll have some other posts about the conference in the days to come.

Do Religion Scholars Read the Bible? (A dispatch from Indianapolis)

Elesha Coffman

Next time you’re trying to get religion scholars’ blood pumping during a post-lunch session deep into an academic conference, try this: Ask them if they have actually read the Bible.

This challenge arose at the penultimate session of the Second Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture in Indianapolis last weekend, a roundtable on “Changes in the understanding and uses of scripture.” Scheduled to give a nod to the 400^th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible and to introduce a new project at IUPUI on Scriptures in America, the session included presentations by Charles Cohen, Kathleen Flake, and Charles Hambrick-Stowe. Following their brief comments, the audience was invited to jump into the discussion—except, initially, no one did. Whereas previous sessions had produced a pileup of voices vying for the microphone, this one seemed to have fallen flat.

I cannot explain what happened next. I do not remember who spoke first or what was said, but suddenly a gauntlet was thrown: All of the religion scholars in the room who had read the Bible cover-to-cover should raise their hands.

There was a collective gasp, a few tentative hands raised, and then a barrage of responses flying much faster than the microphone could travel. Old jokes about Catholics and liberal Protestants never reading the Bible mingled with personal reflections on Sunday school and the lectionary. One contributor insisted that you couldn’t learn anything by reading the Bible “cover-to-cover,” though she would not suggest an alternate reading plan. Attention to the uniquely Protestant concern behind the question was countered by the assertion that scholars of non-Christian traditions (especially New Religious Movements) consider grounding in those groups’ texts essential, yet some scholars of Christianity feel they can skip that step. Conversation eventually drifted to other topics, including boutique Bibles and scriptural tattoos, and the proposed straw poll never happened.

Struck nerves expose anxieties, and there were at least two types in play here. One is the anxiety that contributed to the separation of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, which was initiated by the AAR in 2003. If the AAR were a ship unfurling its sails to catch the winds of new methodologies and religious expressions, the SBL seemed like the ballast in the hull, bearing the weight of (mostly) Christian traditions and texts and reminding religious studies of its divinity school past. Of course, ballast comes in awfully handy in a storm, and the economic crisis buffeting academic publishing and university budgets helped change some minds among the AAR leadership. The reunification of the two groups’ annual meetings will hardly erase the unease, however. The religion scholars in Indy still seemed very jittery about the Bible.

Another type of anxiety exposed by the show-of-hands kerfuffle concerns the relationship between religion scholars and the subjects they study. Versions of the insider/outsider discussion arose frequently throughout the weekend, beginning with the first session’s extended debate about Richard Lyman Bushman (who wasn’t present) and culminating with Julie Byrne’s meditation on an “ethnographic uncertainty principle,” by which a scholar inevitably changes and might inadvertently destroy that which she seeks to understand. In the context of the Bible session, asking who reads what not only raised questions of scholarly preparation but also of identification with religious subjects—or, to put it in moral terms, humility.

Tacitly, the straw poll suggested, “Are religion scholars so arrogant as to think they can make pronouncements about American religion without even reading the Bible?” I think that’s the part that really raised hackles. And while it would be nice to relegate that strain of interrogation to the heat of a strange moment, it’s the kind of question that creates distance between scholars and the large, biblically inclined segment of the American public. The panelists’ calls to take scriptures more seriously, along with the upcoming IUPUI project and renewed conversations between AAR and SBL, could build some needed bridges.

Religion Link and Religion Newswriters Association

Religion Link and Religion Newswriters Association
Paul Harvey

Recently I received a query from Kimberly Winston of Religion Link and the Religion Newswriters Association, a professional association of reporters who cover religion in the secular media. She explains,

We publish story ideas and sources on the intersection of religion and public life so that reporters can compose well-balanced and better-informed stories in that field. Our publication appears about every two weeks - sometimes more frequently - and is free to all our subscribers, the majority of who are reporters in the secular press. You can see a recent example of our work, on the subject of the upcoming Darwin anniversary, here http://www.religionlink.org/tip_090113.php.

I wasn't familiar with these, so am posting here mostly to let you know about these sources, which will be added to our resources and blogroll. The query regarded the upcoming Abraham Lincoln bicentennial; the results have now been posted here.

Practical Matters -- CFP

David King, a graduate student at Emory and Associate Editor of the journal Practical Matters, sends me this call for papers:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: PRACTICAL MATTERS

Practical Matters, a new online peer-reviewed journal designed to ask and provoke questions about religious practice and practical theology, is now accepting submissions on the theme of Youth for our Spring 2009 issue.

We are a multimedia, transdisciplinary journal out of the Emory University Graduate Division of Religion, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. We invite submissions that describe and analyze the religious practices of young people, past and present: their ritual lives, patterns of belief, forms of community, transformational experiences, meaningful relationships, sources of inspiration and areas of struggle. We particularly encourage submissions that engage religion in light of the broader contextual realities of children and adolescents. We also invite submissions on the ways that religious communities engage with young people, looking at the practices through which they shape and form youth as well as the ways in which youth stretch, critique, and lead their religious communities.

Possible themes to explore might include: rituals marking adolescent transitions; religious and social influences on young lives; youth-centered religious experiences such as youth groups, summer camps, mission trips, service projects, etc.; contemporary and historical theories and/or theologies of youth; as well as many others.

We invite submissions by scholars, teachers, practitioners, and youth from a wide range of disciplines and religious traditions, and in any international context. We encourage creative and collaborative submissions, such as scholars working dialogically or in conversation with practitioners, as well as adults submitting work together with youth. We also welcome submissions that highlight exemplary practices or provide resources for use by practitioners in religious communities.

Practical Matters is an academic journal with a diverse audience. We are looking for submissions in three categories: (1) scholarly work on the issue theme for peer-review; (2) content on the issue theme, such as reflections, essays, field notes concerning pedagogical topics or issues of concern to religious practitioners; 3) reviews of recent books, films or conferences on youth or broader topics in religious practices or practical theology.We especially encourage the submission of multimedia scholarship, for peer review or as featured content. This might include film, video, soundscape, new media, photography, art or performance, among other possible media. Do note that although exploring the possibilities of multimedia scholarship is part of our mission, we also are committed to working with scholars of varying levels of technical proficiency.

The submission deadline is March 1, 2009. For more specific instructions on possible forms of submissions, more information on our peer review process, or more details about the issue theme, please visit our web site.

Religion in the African Diaspora: CFP

Conference on Religion and Religious Identities in Africa and the African Diaspora

Ed Blum

Here is a conference that I think blog folk should know about:

CALL FOR PAPERS: Conference on Religion & Religious Identities in Africa and the African Diaspora. Kalamazoo, Michigan, October 9-12, 2008.

Religious beliefs and identities have among other things shaped the nature of human experience in Africa and the African Diaspora. It is also a known fact that religious beliefs and identities have influenced human behavior in both religious and non-religious ways in different societies. These influences have included positive and negative consequences in the ordering of society in Africa and the African Diaspora. Another critical aspect in trying to explore the concept of religion is what constitutes religion and religious beliefs? To date, scholars of religion have divergent views on this issue. To what extent is this applicable to Africans and peoples of African descent? What roles have religion and religious identities played in nation-building efforts in Africa and the African Diaspora? This conference will explore these and other related issues. In addition, participants are invited to explore other topics such as, but not limited to the following:*

* Religion, gender and sexuality issues
* Religion and conflicts
* Religion, health and wellbeing
* Religion, State and political participation
* Religious denominations and community development
* Current scholarship on religion and religious Identities
* African religious identities in the Diaspora
* Religious identities in immigrant communities
* Pentecostalism in Africa and the African Diaspora
* Inter-religious encounters in Africa and the African Diaspora – Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religions
* Religion, Education and the making of the nation.

Conference participants are encouraged to submit abstracts (300 words at most) on any aspect of the broad themes identified above. The deadline for submitting paper proposals is August 29, 2008.

All abstracts should include title, the author's name, institutional affiliation, address, telephone number, and email address. Please submit all abstracts by e-mail to: Onaiwu W. Ogbomo, Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, onaisu.ogbomo AT wmich DOT edu, and Joseph Bangura, Kalamazoo College, bangura AT kzoo DOT edu.

CFP: Christian Radicalism

CFP: Christian Radicalism

JSR: Journal for the Study of Radicalism invites article submissions for a special issue on Christian radicalism. We particularly are interested in articles that help to “map the terrain” in this area—topics might include the extreme pro-life movement, Christian separatist groups or individuals, Christian anarchism, communal Christianity, the “Jesus Freak” movement of the 1970s, Christian militia movements, or the intersection between radical or extremist groups or individuals and their Christian beliefs. Generally speaking, the journal’s historical focus is from the early modern period to the present, and the geographic range is global, so we’d be interested in articles discussing groups or individuals whose influence is international, though this is not essential.

JSR is an interdisciplinary journal, and we encourage articles from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. We are especially interested in articles that include some original fieldwork, for instance, interviews or use of archival sources.Submissions should be 20-30 pages in length and conform to the Chicago Manual of Style with endnotes. Please include a one-paragraph abstract, and a brief author bio. Images for possible use in an article should be 300 dpi, and authors are responsible for requesting and receiving permission to reprint images for scholarly use. Send queries, proposals, and articles here.

The deadline for submitting completed articles is July 1, 2008, and we encourage early submission to facilitate the review process. See the journal website here.

JSR—a print academic journal published by Michigan State University Press—is devoted to serious, scholarly exploration of the forms, representations, meanings, and historical influences of radical social movements. With sensitivity and openness to historical and cultural contexts of the term, we loosely define “radical,” as distinguished from “reformers,” to mean groups who seek revolutionary alternatives to hegemonic social and political institutions, and who use violent or non-violent means to bring about socio-political change. Visit the website at http://msupress.msu.edu/journals/jsr

CFP for 2009 ASCH

[CROSSPOSTED FROM LISTSERV, from Eric Rose, University of South Carolina]:

I am looking for contributors to a panel on the racialization of popular religion in American churches. I would especially like to incorporate any papers or commentary on race and theology, spatio-temporal segregation of the worship experience, burial grounds, religious discourse as production of status, catechism as social control, etc. My own contribution to the panel will be a paper on the segregation ofworship space and its meanings for the Protestant congregants of Charleston, SC during the 1830s. I would like to submit a proposal for the entire session to the American Society for Church History, for presentation during their 2009 meeting in conjunction with the AHA. Submissions are due to the ASCH by April 11, so please send abstracts and CV's to me [ERIC ROSE, EMAIL ROSEE at SC dot EDU] no later than April 7.

Proposals for individual papers should include (a) a summary of the paper not to exceed 250 words with the subject, argument, and evidence clearly detailed;(2) a biographical paragraph or CV summary of the presenter (not to exceed 250 words); and (3) a current mailing location, email address, and phone number for the proposed presenter.

You can contact me off-list at: rosee AT sc DOT edu.
Eric Rose University of South Carolina

CFP: Practical Matters, Imagination, and Religious Practice

NOTE: THE BELOW COMES FROM AN ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL PRACTICAL MATTERS, PUBLISHED OUT OF EMORY UNIVERSITY.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: PRACTICAL MATTERS

Practical Matters, a new online peer-reviewed journal designed to ask and provoke questions about religious practice and practical theology, is now accepting submissions on the theme of Imagination. We are a multimedia, transdisciplinary journal out of the Emory University Graduate Division of Religion, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.

Submissions should help us see interesting and/or novel connections between imagination and religious practice, past or present, in any context or tradition. That could take many possible forms – e.g. showing the relationship of imagination to ritual or religious community, exploring types of imagination (religious, theological, moral, pastoral, political), helping to clarify the connections between religion and artistic process, revealing dangers or perversions of imagination, etc.

Submissions from diverse disciplinary perspectives are encouraged. This includes, but is not limited to, work originating in religious studies, theology, history, ethics, anthropology, literature, cultural studies, sociology, psychology, political science, philosophy, media studies, the arts, journalism, or the sciences. We also encourage work about and from diverse religious traditions.

We welcome submissions of traditional academic papers and critical essays, but also are encouraging the submission of multimedia scholarship. This might include film, video, soundscape, new media, photography, art or performance, among other possible media. Do note that although exploring the possibilities of multimedia scholarship is part of our mission, we also are committed to working with scholars of varying levels of technical proficiency.

The submission deadline is May 30, 2008. For further information and submission guidelines, visit: http://web.mac.com/practical.matters/Practical_Matters/Submissions_Guidelines.html.

Mormon History Association Student Awards

Friends: If you know of any good work in Mormon history by undergraduate or graduate students, would you mind nudging it my way?All the best, Spencer Fluhman

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: MORMON HISTORY ASSOCIATION STUDENT AWARDS

The Mormon History Association is pleased to announce two award competitions for exceptional student work exploring the history of those religious traditions originating with Joseph Smith, Jr.
The Juanita Brooks Undergraduate and Graduate Paper Awards will be given to the best unpublished papers written in 2007 by an undergraduate and graduate student, respectively. All submissions must be sent electronically (as a "WordPerfect," "Word," or "pdf" document) to Spencer Fluhman, Assistant Professor of Church History & Doctrine, Brigham Young University, at fluhman AT byu DOT edu. Submissions should include a cover sheet detailing the student's biographical information: name, department, institution, and undergraduate or graduate major, etc.

Submissions must be received by March 15, 2008, to be considered. Awards will be presented at the MHA annual meeting in Sacramento, California, in May 2008.

CFP: Religious Hatred in the US

BY KELLY BAKER

Greetings, faithful blog readers,

I am organizing a panel on Religious Hatred in the U.S. for the American Studies Association Annual Meeting, October 16-19, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This panel seeks to engage historical incidents, contemporary case studies, rhetorical analyses as well as theoretical examinations of religious hatred in the United States. The panel should engage with the scholarly presentation of religious hatred: How is this term applied or avoided? Does it help or hinder scholarly endeavor to use the terminology of hatred? Is there hesitance in employing this term?

For instance, my proposal will focus on a 1920s Klan essay contest in which they write about tolerance/intolerance, which really looks like an exposition of religious hatred. This panel seeks to document, but also subtly, call into question how we approach the study of religious hatred in American culture.

Please send an abstract (no more than 500 words), title (no more than fifteen words), and an abbreviated CV to kellyjbaker (at) gmail (dot) com by Jan. 16. Please contact me via email, not on the blog.


All proposals should follow the ASA's submission guidelines for session descriptions, paper abstracts, and CVs, which are described on the ASA website.
(http://www.theasa.net/annual_meeting/page/submitting_a_proposal/)

quick query

A friend has written with the following query: "do you have any references concerning child evangelists and itinerant evangelists at the turn of last century"? (turn of the 19th/20th century, he means). Anybody have any leads or references? I remember corresponding on email several years ago with someone who was doing some large project precisely on that topic, but of course I can't find that email now that I need it. If you don't want to bother with the comments section, references can be sent to me at pharvey *AT* uccs *DOT* edu.