Advances In the Global Study of Religious Pluralism

Religious diversity, including non-religion, remain critical lines of difference shaping solidarities and conflict over status, resources, and recognition around the world. The persistence of religion-related conflict at the elite and popular levels, and its detrimental impact on vulnerable populations, have made many concerned about the future of religious pluralism globally. Sociologists are well-poised to address these concerns by investigating and demonstrating the possibilities and conditions under which religious pluralism is possible, going beyond understandings of pluralism as mere absence of tension, to assessing the conditions facilitating active engagement across deep religious and secular differences. We are looking for pathbreaking research to further an agenda for sociological research on pluralism in religiously turbulent times. Specifically, we invite proposed abstracts which touch on these themes related to religious pluralism and conflict: we particularly encourage submissions that move beyond descriptions of religious diversity to examine the active social conditions and processes enabling — or foreclosing — genuine interreligious engagement. We also welcome work that bridges disciplinary silos, employs diverse methods across multiple geographic and institutional contexts, and attends to the roles of states, minority communities, and non-religious populations in shaping the prospects for religious pluralism.