July 2016: "The Diversity of Nonreligion & NSRN Conference

For some years now, nonreligious phenomena have not only sparked public, but also scholarly attention. A rising number of scholars have begun to engage with both organized and non-organized forms of nonreligion. We want to use this conference to go beyond the discussion of terms and individual findings to facilitate exchange over different approaches, and engage with the following broader questions:

• What phenomena are approached in research projects on nonreligion and how is nonreligion construed in different studies?
• What are central theoretical references for studies on nonreligion, and in what way do scholars engage with related broader debates on religion and secularity?
• What are methodic and methodological challenges and approaches in concrete empirical research?
• What scientific traditions and sources of inspiration motivate and guide researchers in the field of nonreligion?
• In what ways is research on nonreligion entangled with religious-nonreligious contestations?

The conference brings together empirical research with conceptual and methodological reflection, as well as a self-reflexive perspective on the research field itself.