Programme
Saturday 6 September
Sat 14:00-19:00, Faculty of Arts, Main building, Dean’s conference room
IAHR Executive Committee I
Sunday 7 September
Sun 9:00-16:00, Faculty of Arts, Main building, Dean’s conference room
IAHR Executive Committee II
Sun 12:00-18:00, Faculty of Arts, Main building, Entrance hall
Registration
Sun 19:00-20:00, Faculty of Law, Auditorium Maximum of Masaryk University
Opening lecture
Peter Antes
The Study of Religions on Demand
Sun 20:00-22:00, Faculty of Law, Entrance hall
Welcome party under the patronage of the rector of Masaryk University, Petr Fiala
Monday 8 September
Mon 9:00-10:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P31
Plenary session
Martin Baumann
Re-negotiating the Public Sphere: Minority Religions, Conflict and Academic Modelling
Mon 10:00-10:30
Coffee break
Mon 10:30-12:00
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Is Theory and Methodology of the Academic Study of Religions in Crisis? I
Chair: Brian Bocking (University College Cork, Ireland)
- David Vaněk
Reflexivity and the Study of Religion - Radek Chlup
On Non-Reductive Explanations of Religion - Willem Hofstee
No Crisis: In Praise of Theoretical and Methodological Pluralism
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Crossroads in the History of Academic Study of Religions (Events, Turning Points, Persons) I
Chair: Thomas Hase (Universität Leipzig, Germany)
- Giorgio Ferri
Religion as Culture: The Lesson of Angelo Brelich - Ondřej Sládek
From Prague to Paris and Back: Structuralism Revisited - Jesper Sørensen
The Construction of Ritual Efficacy: Why Magic Won’t Go Away
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Academic Study of Religions in Central and Eastern European Countries and Its Place in European Research I
Chair: Eugen Ciurtin (Romanian Academy, Romania)
- Luboš Bělka
Creation versus Evolution: The Role of the Academic Study of Religions in the Controversy - Zhargalma Dandarova
Cultural-historical Perspective in Psychology of Religion
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
Contemporary Religious Situation in Europe and Its Reflection from the Point of View of the Academic Study of Religions I
Chair: Milan Fujda (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Martin Klapetek
Religious Organisation as an Equivalent of Social Structure of Family: The Example of Turkish Muslims in Germany
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Arts, J21
Experience and Reflection: Religious Experience and Experience in the Academic Study of Religions I
Chair: Hrvoje Čargonja (Institute for Anthropological Research, Croatia)
- Vladimír Smékal & Irena Ocetková & Ladislav Koubek & Josef Stuchlý & Jiří Vander
Spirituality and the Quality of Life - Helmut Maassen
Religious Experience in William James and Whitehead and the Question of Truth
Mon 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Arts, J22
Religion in the Public Sphere I
Chair: Franz Winter (University of Vienna, Austria)
- Isabelle Rieben
Spiritual Coping and Attachment in Schizophrenia - Pierre-Yves Brandt
Religion, Spirituality and Schizophrenia
Mon 12:00-14:00
Lunch break
Mon 14:00-15:30
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Religions in Contact: Encounter, Communication and Mission I
Chair: Attila Kovács (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia)
- Jana Rozehnalová
Exploring the Theories of “the Other” in the Context of European Medieval Travel Accounts - Jenny Berglund
Translating Islam: Admitting the Power of Educational Choices - Csongor Sarkozy
Sunny Life: A Case Study of a Bricolage Religious Group
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Reading between the Lines: Textual Sources and the Study of Religions I
Chair: Graham Harvey (The Open University, United Kingdom)
- Maya Babkova
Some Methodological Reflections on Translating of the Sacred Texts - Chelsey Vargo
The Disservice of Favouring Canon - Britta Rensing
Individual Expression in Practitioners’ Poetry
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Approaches of the Academic Study of Religions in the Study of Archaic Religions I
Chair: Luther H. Martin (University of Vermont, USA)
- Ina Wunn
Methods of Natural Sciences in the Humanities: A Way to Reconstruct the Religion of Non-literate Societies of the Past - Panayotis Pachis
Redescribing the Oriental Cults of Graeco-Roman Age according to the “Modes of Religiosity” - Aleš Chalupa
Why Did Greeks and Romans Pray Aloud? A Cognitive Perspective
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
Reconsidering Identities: Religion, Nation and Politics I
Chair: Francisco Díez de Velasco (University of La Laguna, Spain)
- Stephanie Frank
Mauss, from Sacrifice to Gift: A French Post-Theology for the Third Republic - Eleonóra Hamar
Memory and Post-Memory in 2nd Generational Jewish Identity Narratives: Secular and Religious Self-Understandings
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Arts, J31
Is Theory and Methodology of the Academic Study of Religions in Crisis? II
Chair: David Vaněk (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Bulcsu K. Hoppal
From the Phenomenology of Religion to the History of Religions: The Pathway of Religious Studies - Monika Recinová
Study of Religions as a Philosophical Discipline
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Arts, J21
Rethinking Religion in India: Socio-Political Predicaments
Chair: Jakob De Roover (Ghent University, Belgium)
- Marianne Keppens
The Case of the Aryans - Iris Vandevelde
Hindutva’s Discourse on Hinduism: A Western-Indian Blend - Sarah Claerhout
A Doubtful Match: Freedom of Religion and Anti-Conversion Legislation in India
Mon 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Arts, J22
The Political Temptations of Western Esotericism I
Chair: Marco Pasi (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Gian Mario Cazzaniga
From Lodges to Political Secret Societies: The “Vendite” of Italian Carbonari - Anna Corrias
The Enochian: A Language for Heavenly and Earthly Paradises - George Sieg
Illumination and Enlightenment
Mon 15:30-16:00
Coffee break
Mon 16:00-17:30
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Crossroads in the History of Academic Study of Religions (Events, Turning Points, Persons) II
Chair: Jesper Sørensen (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)
- Thomas Hase
The Legacy of Joachim Wach - Roman Kečka
Can the 21th Century Study of Religions Be Inspired by the 20th Century Crisis of Theology?
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Academic Study of Religions in Central and Eastern European Countries and Its Place in European Research II
Chair: Luboš Bělka (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Eugen Ciurtin
Professional Desiderata and Institutional Dynamics in the Academic Study of Religions in post-1989 Eastern Europe - Gabriel Pirický
Academic Interpretations of Islam in Communist Czechoslovakia: Rudolf Macúch, Karel Petráček and Ivan Hrbek
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
Contemporary Religious Situation in Europe and Its Reflection from the Point of View of the Academic Study of Religions II
Chair: Roman Vido (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Christian Euvrard
New Religious Movements and State Relations in France: The Case of Mormonism, 1850-2000 - Milan Fujda
Secularization and New Religiosity: Media as an Agent of Transformations of Religions in Modern Societies - David Václavík
Religious Pluralism in “Atheistic” Society after 1989: Social and Religious Process, Trends and Legislation
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Arts, J31
Experience and Reflection: Religious Experience and Experience in the Academic Study of Religions II
Chair: Vladimír Smékal (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Hrvoje Čargonja
From “Krishna’s Arrangements” to “Cultivated Consciousness”: Religious Experience in Vaishnava Community in Zagreb, Croatia - Barbora Spalová
Reflexive Steps During an Anthropological Research in the Christian Communities
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Arts, J22
Religion in the Public Sphere II
Chair: Steffen Dix (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
- Susanne Olsson
Egypt Between Privatisation and Islamisation
Mon 16:00-17:30, Faculty of Arts, J21
Reading between the Lines: Textual Sources and the Study of Religions II
Chair: Annika Hvithamar (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)
- Ionut Daniel Bancila
Iranian Dualism, “Spontaneous Generation” and Theodicy in the Manichaean Attitude towards the Insects - Michael Aeschbach
Narrative and Vision: The Pilgrim Vision of Nicholas of Flüe (1417-1487) - David Zbíral
The Inquisitorial Concept of Religious Group and Its Resonance in European Historiography
Mon 16:00-18:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Review Panel: Gregory D. Alles (editor, 2008), Religious Studies: A Global View
Chair: Steven Sutcliffe (University of Edinburgh, Scotland)
Respondent: Gregory D. Alles (McDaniel College, USA)
- Tim Jensen
- Morny Joy
- Donald Wiebe
- Gerard Wiegers
Mon 18:00-19:00, Faculty of Arts, J31
General Assembly of the Czech Society for the Study of Religions
The assembly will be held in Czech.
Mon 18:00-19:30, Faculty of Arts, J21
EASR Executive Committee
Mon 20:00-22:00, Red Church, next to the Faculty of Social Studies
Concert
Le Duo Krist Nouveau (Stefan Krist & Josef Novotny)
Tuesday 9 September
Tue 9:00-10:30
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Approaches of the Academic Study of Religions in the Study of Archaic Religions II
Chair: Jörg Rüpke (University of Erfurt, Germany)
- Charles Guittard
From Mythology to History: New Prospects in Roman Religion - Pavel Titz
Pompeian Archaeology and Pompeian Religion - Dalibor Papoušek
Christian Origins in Perspective of Academic Study of Religions: The Concepts of Heikki Räisänen and Burton L. Mack
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Reconsidering Identities: Religion, Nation and Politics II
Chair: Rosalind Hackett (University of Tennesee, USA)
- Alex Ntung
The Influence of Beliefs in Witchcraft and Prophecy on Modern Political Processes in the Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Case Studies from South Kivu - Jan Záhořík
Ethiopia: Christian or Muslim Identity? Some Historical Views on Religion and Ethnicity in the Horn of Africa - Gatis Ozoliņš
The Set of Values in the Contemporary Latvian “Dievturi” Movement
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
The Study of Religions and Syllabuses for School Education about Religion I
Chair: Tim Jensen (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)
- Wanda Alberts & Tim Jensen
Introduction to the Panel - Andrea Rota
Religious Education in the French-Speaking Switzerland - Francisco Díez de Velasco
Teaching Religious Education in the Spanish Schools: Some Non Religio-Centric Proposals - Wanda Alberts
The Syllabus for Compulsory Education about Religion in Norway
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Arts, J31
The Problem of Second Order Tradition in Religious Studies
Chair: Kim Knott (University of Leeds, United Kingdom)
- Veikko Anttonen
Disciplinary Matrix in the Study of Religion: Rethinking Ideology, Theory and Practice - Steven Sutcliffe
Second Order Tradition as an Epistemological Problem: “Culturalists” Versus “Naturalists” - Gwilym Beckerlegge
The Study of Religions – A Vehicle for Promoting “Cultural Competence”?
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Arts, J22
The Political Temptations of Western Esotericism II
Chair: Willem Hofstee (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
- Jacob Senholt
Sinister Strategies: Political Insight Roles in the Order of the Nine Angles - Jean-Pierre Laurant
Politica Hermetica: A Laboratory for the Study of Esotericism and Politics - Egil Asprem
“Neutrality” vs. Critical Approaches in the Study of Western Esotericism?
Tue 9:00-10:30, Faculty of Arts, J21
Discussion Panel: Genetics and the Study of Religions
Chair: Aleš Chalupa (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Ugo Perego
Introduction to the Panel - Ugo Perego
Using Genetic Testing Techniques in Religious Studies: Examples from Mormon History - Ugo Perego
DNA, Genealogy, and Religious Identity: Overcoming the Concept of Race while Exploring Our Unique Heritage
Tue 10:30-11:00
Coffee break
Tue 11:00-13:00
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Contemporary Religious Situation in Europe and Its Reflection from the Point of View of the Academic Study of Religions III
Chair: David Václavík (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Ingvild Sælid Gilhus
The Return of Angels: Contemporary Religious Processes in Norway - Frans Jespers
A Paranormal Offensive? - Christopher Alan Lewis
Religion and Life Perspectives among Young People in the Republic of Ireland
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Rethinking Religion in India: Historical and Methodological Issues
Chair: Sarah Claerhout (Ghent University, Belgium)
- Raf Gelders
Indian Traditions and the Lexicographic Project - Esther Bloch
The Caste System: The Results of the European Search for Religion in India? - Martin Fárek
“The Right Thing To Do”? On Restructuring the “Hindu Law” in India under the British Rule - Jakob De Roover
Desperately Seeking Manu: Protestant Christianity and the Creation of Hindu Law
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Is Theory and Methodology of the Academic Study of Religions in Crisis? III
Chair: Eleonóra Hamar (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Lieve Orye
In Search of Metatheoretical Reflexivity Type Theories of Religion: The Parochialism of Religious Studies Lies in Its Global Outlook - Baira Dyakieva
New Media as the Tool of Political and Religious Participation - George Jarvis
Hope for Religious Freedom
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
The Study of Religions and Syllabuses for School Education about Religion II
Chair: Wanda Alberts (University of Bergen, Norway)
- Galina Rousseva-Sokolova
Teaching Religion in Bulgarian Schools: A Psychodrama in Search of a Plausible Ending - Jenny Berglund
Islamic Religious Education adapted to Swedish “fundamental values”? - Mariachiara Giorda
Educating People to Be Citizen through the History of Religions - Concluding discussion about the panel and about the EASR working group on religion in secular education
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Arts, J31
Religion in the Public Sphere III
Chair: Pierre-Yves Brandt (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
- Franz Winter
Religion in Pictures: The Use of Manga and Anime in Japanese New Religious Movements - Maria John Bernardin
Religion Comes to Public Sphere: The Experience of People in a South Tamil Nadu Village - Csilla D. Farkas & Gabriella Pusztai
Anthropological Approach to the Church Maintained Higher Education Research in CEE - Olga Breskaya
Social and Symbolic Boundaries in Religious Field: Transdisciplinary Inquiry
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Arts, J22
Religions in Contact: Encounter, Communication and Mission II
Chair: Jana Rozehnalová (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Attila Molnar
Peace and/or Truth Claim of Religion - Kryštof Trávníček
Cham: Are There Any Transformatory Processes of the Tibetan Religious Dances under the Influence of Western Contacts? - Milos Hubina
Christians in Buddhist Land
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Arts, J21
Reading between the Lines: Textual Sources and the Study of Religions III
Chair: Hubert Seiwert (Universität Leipzig, Germany)
- Ivar Maksutov
Reconstruction of Anthropological Lexicon as a Method for the History of Religions - Andrej Mentel
Folk Model of the Mind in the Contemporary Christian Orthodox Hagiography - Annika Hvithamar
Textual Pictures: Icons in the Orthodox Church
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Arts, G31
Approaches of the Academic Study of Religions in the Study of Archaic Religions III
Chair: Ina Wunn (University of Bielefeld, Germany)
- Radek Kundt
Can Cognitive Science of Religion Help Us to Better Understand the Reasons for Nestorius’ Downfall? - Barbora Polifková
Issue of Primogeniture in the Sagas of the Hebrew Patriarchs: Possibilities and Limits of Anthropological Approaches
Tue 11:00-13:00, Faculty of Arts, G32
Ex Oriente Lux: The Presence of Western Esotericism in Eastern Europe I
Chair: Marco Pasi (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Hermann E. Stockinger
Esotericism in the Habsburg Empire under the Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705): A Survey - Jason Rose
Astronomical Astrology: Calculation and Conjunction in the Work of Cyprian von Leowitz
Tue 13:00-14:30
Lunch break
Tue 14:30-15:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P31
Various announcements (upcoming conferences etc.)
Tue 15:00-17:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P31
EASR General Assembly
Tue 17:00-17:30
Coffee break
Tue 17:30-18:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P31
Public lecture
Donald Wiebe
Beyond Apologetic Modes of Theorizing
Tue 19:00-21:00, New Town Hall
Social evening under the patronage of the mayor of Brno, Roman Onderka
Wednesday 10 September
Wed 9:00-10:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P31
Plenary session
Harvey Whitehouse
Explaining Religion
Wed 10:00-10:30
Coffee break
Wed 10:30-12:00
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P21
Is Theory and Methodology of the Academic Study of Religions in Crisis? IV
Chair: Peter Antes (University of Hannover, Germany)
- Heiko Grünwedel
Tracing Shamans in Two Worlds: Some Theoretical Conclusions for the Study of Religions Based on the Linking of Methodological Experiences from a Bicontextual Investigation - Mar Marcos
The Debate over Religious Persuasion and Religious Coercion in Ancient Christianity - Anna Yudkina
Shifting Boundaries of Sacred in “Folk Orthodoxy” in Post-Soviet Russia
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Contemporary Religious Situation in Europe and Its Reflection from the Point of View of the Academic Study of Religions IV
Chair: Steven Sutcliffe (University of Edinburgh, Scotland)
- Roman Vido
The Concept of Secularization in the Academic Study of the Modern Religious Situation - Jan Váně
Adaption and Implantation of Non-Institutionalized Religious Communities in Public Sector - Eva Szolar
Church-Owned Higher Education and the Democratization of Romania
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Religion in the Public Sphere IV
Chair: Attila Kovács (Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia)
- Steffen Dix
The Reaffirmation of Traditional Catholicism in a Secularized Society: A Case Study in Portugal - Lucie Hlavinková
Social Work as a Churches’ Strategy for Finding Its Own Place - Kalle Toivo
Desirable Rituals, Acceptable Rituals and Uninteresting Rituals – Remoulding Public Religious Practices within Hegemonic Religious Organization: The Case of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
Reading between the Lines: Textual Sources and the Study of Religions IV
Chair: Maya Burger (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
- Michael Berman
The Shamanic Story: An Armenian Example - Xicotencatl Martinez Ruiz
108 Verses (Ślokas) in Context: Mapping Methodological and Theoretical Scenarios for a Tenth Century Sanskrit Text
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Arts, J31
Approaches of the Academic Study of Religions in the Study of Archaic Religions IV
Chair: Dalibor Papoušek (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Vladimír Bahna
Disgust and Religious Beliefs - Ülo Valk
Were-Tigers and Magic of Mayong: Contextualizing the Belief Legends of Assam
Wed 10:30-12:00, Faculty of Arts, J21
Reconsidering Identities: Religion, Nation and Politics III
Chair: Stephanie Frank (University of Chicago, USA)
- Teresa Gómez Cerdeño & Luisa Marco Sola
“Caudillo by God’s Grace”: A Critical Linguistic Analysis of the Political Use of Catholicism in Franquist Discourse during the Spanish Civil War and Postwar (1936-1945) - Tiina Mahlamäki
A Study of Swedenborgian Elements in the Spiritual Orientation of the Finnish National Poet J. L. Runeberg
Wed 12:00-14:00
Lunch break
Wed 14:00-15:30
Wed 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P22
Religion in the Public Sphere V
Chair: Attila Molnar (Eötvös University, Hungary)
- Boniface Omatta
Constructing Yoruba Religion Through the Internet: Between Authenticity and Fakeness - Tatiana Folieva
Social Doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church in Modern Politic Conditions in Russia - Janis Priede
Educational, Cultural and Political Engagement of the Theosophical Groups in Latvia
Wed 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P23
Reconsidering Identities: Religion, Nation and Politics IV
Chair: David Václavík (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
- Attila Kovács
Picturing Hamas: Palestinian Islamic Movement and Visual Representation - Tomas Gal
Exploring Identity of Religious Group on the Internet - Kaarina Aitamurto
Conservative Politics and Egalitarian Utopias
Wed 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Social Studies, P32
Reconsidering Identities: Religion, Nation and Politics V
Chair: Teresa Gómez Cerdeño (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) & Luisa Marco Sola (Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain)
- Paul van der Velde
White Elephants, Kings and “Buddhist Animism” in Myanmar - Zdeněk Trávníček
The Role of the Buddhist Monk in Contemporary Sri Lanka - Jakub Havlíček
Religion, Politics and Identity in Modern Japan: Examining the Case of Yasukuni Shrine
Wed 14:00-15:30, Faculty of Arts, J21
Ex Oriente Lux: The Presence of Western Esotericism in Eastern Europe II
Chair: Egil Asprem (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Anita Stasulane
Yoga of the Roerichs in Practice - Sara Møldrup Thejls
Esoteric Yoga: The Case of Gregorian Bivolaru and MISA