BSA SocReL Annual Conference 2020

Date: July 14-16, 2020

Venue: University of York, UK

Keynote Speakers

– Dr Sarah Jane Page (Aston University)
– Professor Sam Perry (University of Oklahoma)
– Professor Colin Campbell (University of York)

Special 45th Anniversary Panel

– Professor Eileen Barker (London School of Economics)
– Professor Jim Beckford (Warwick University)
– Professor Grace Davie (Exeter University)
– Professor Linda Woodhead (Lancaster University)
– Professor Colin Campbell (University of York)

Sociological writing about religion is replete with binaries: secular/post-secular, sacred/profane, religion/non-religion, western/non-western, spiritual/religious, theistic/non-theistic, cognitive/corporeal and private/public, to name just a few. Theories that consider the relationship between these seemingly opposing concepts have shaped the evolution of the discipline, reflected changing social realities, and supported the production of new knowledge.

Although many of these binaries have become highly fashionable within the contemporary study of religion, does the use of these types of analytical frames limit our capacity for critical sociological engagement? Do our understanding of the lived realities for individuals across different communities support or reject the use of binary concepts?

Source: The British Sociological Association