Call for Papers
We invite you to join us for the Sixteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society, the annual meeting of the Religion in Society Research Network, taking place 22–23 June 2026 in Lima, Perú, and online, in partnership with our host institution, Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya. The Network explores the relationship between religion in society and the changing nature of spirituality, bringing together scholars, educators, practitioners, and community leaders concerned with how religious and spiritual traditions shape social life, ethical frameworks, cultural identities, and political formations across diverse global contexts.
In 2026, the conference’s special focus, “Indigenous Spiritualities in Global Perspective,” invites participants to explore Indigenous spiritual traditions as living, dynamic systems of knowledge, practice, and relationality. Across cultures and histories, Indigenous spiritualities articulate distinctive ways of understanding land, ancestry, cosmology, community, and responsibility. This year’s focus asks how these traditions have been sustained, transformed, marginalised, or revitalised in the face of colonisation, globalisation, environmental change, and modern state formation, and how they continue to inform contemporary struggles for cultural survival, sovereignty, and ecological justice.
The conference also encourages critical reflection on how Indigenous spiritualities are represented, interpreted, and engaged within academic scholarship, public discourse, and institutional frameworks. Questions of epistemology, authority, translation, and ethics are central, as participants consider how knowledge about Indigenous spiritual traditions is produced and circulated, and how research practices can move beyond extractive or reductive models toward approaches grounded in respect, reciprocity, and relational accountability. Dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, practitioners, artists, and community members is especially encouraged.
Alongside the special focus, we welcome proposals aligned with the Network’s annual themes: Religious Foundations; Religious Community and Socialization; Religious Commonalities and Differences; and the Politics of Religion. Contributions may examine sacred landscapes and ecologies; ritual practices and oral traditions; intersections of spirituality with language, art, and performance; gendered and generational dimensions of spiritual life; encounters between Indigenous traditions and world religions; and the impacts of missionary activity, legal regimes, and state policies. We also welcome work that considers contemporary movements for spiritual renewal, intergenerational transmission, and the role of Indigenous spiritualities in addressing global challenges such as climate change, displacement, and social inequality.
Knowledge Experience and Format
The conference is organised as a hybrid knowledge experience, integrating in-person and online participation within a unified scholarly environment. All accepted proposals become Presentation Pages, where presenters upload abstracts, media, and reflections, and where delegates engage in discussion before, during, and after the event.
In-person sessions at Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya are interwoven with live online presentations and asynchronous contributions within a single integrated programme. Regardless of participation mode, all delegates have access to the full schedule, session media, and a growing digital archive. Across formats, the emphasis is on reciprocal, human-scale scholarly exchange—conversation, reflection, and collaborative inquiry rather than one-way presentation.
Publication Pathways
Presenters are invited to develop their work for possible publication in The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, which publishes interdisciplinary research on religious traditions, spiritual practices, and their social, cultural, political, and ethical contexts, or in the Religion in Society Book Imprint, which supports monographs and edited collections advancing scholarship in the field. Both outlets offer options for traditional and Open Access publication.
Membership and Community
We welcome new and returning members to the Religion in Society Research Network. By purchasing a Presenter Pass, you automatically become—or renew as—a Network Member for the year, with access to the online Knowledge Experience, a shared scholarly space connecting preparation, presentation, reflection, and publication. Members may share work in progress, post updates, browse archives, and participate in peer-facilitated community review.
Membership is also fostered through in-person conferences and events, where participants exchange ideas and build collaborations with host partners and an international community of scholars and practitioners. Membership sustains the Research Network, ensuring continued access to programmes, archives, journals, and books, and supporting a community where belonging is defined by contribution and care.
Join Us
We warmly invite you to submit a proposal and to join us—either in Lima or online—for the Sixteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society. Together, we will explore how Indigenous spiritualities, understood in global perspective, can deepen scholarly understanding of religion, culture, and society, and contribute to more respectful, relational, and just futures.
Sincerely,
Dr. Víctor Casallo, Conference Chair, Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Lima, Perú
Dr. Juan Dejo, Conference Chair, Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, Lima, Perú (In Memoriam)
Dr. Luis G. Roger-Castillo, Research Network Chair, University of Jaén, Spain
Dr. Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, Chief Social Scientist, Common Ground Research Networks, United States of America