2025
Call for Papers: AASR Conference 2026
10th Conference of the African Association for the Study of Religions
Regional Conference of the
International Association for the History of Religions
Spirituality, Gender, and Agency
in African Religions
Gaborone, Botswana, 28 to 30 July 2026
The African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) invites proposals for individual papers, panels, roundtables, and poster presentations for its biennial conference to be held at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, from 28 to 30 July 2026.
2025
Call for Papers: urban-religious worldmaking in Africa
urban-religious worldmaking in Africa
CALL FOR PAPERS
16-20 September 2025
Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, South Africa
Funded by the German Research Foundation’s “Point Sud” programme
2025
Call for Proposals
Writing and mentoring programme on “Gender, Spirituality and Agency in Africa”
The African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR), in collaboration with the University of Nairobi and the University of Leeds, and with support of the British Academy, is convening an interdisciplinary writing and mentoring programme on the theme of “Gender, Spirituality and Agency in Africa”.
The programme is aimed at Africa-based early-career researchers from across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, demonstrating AASR’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of scholars undertaking critical research at the intersections of religion, culture and society in Africa.
Through a series of online sessions and an in-person workshop in Nairobi (29-30 July 2025), participants will train and develop academic skills such as writing and reviewing, deepen their expertise on the subject, strengthen their academic networks, and be supported to prepare their work for publication in a high-quality international journal.
Participants are expected
- to participate in two online pre-workshop training sessions, focusing on “How to prepare and present a paper” and “How to review a paper”, as well as in an online discussion of key academic texts on the subject.
- to prepare and submit a draft paper of 6,000 words (based on original research) ahead of the workshop, and to provide feedback on the draft papers of other participants.
- To attend and participate in a two-day in-person workshop, where papers will be presented and discussed, with additional training sessions on general academic skills.
- To participate in a post-workshop mentoring scheme with the aim of preparing the paper for publication and offering general academic and career advice.
The aim is to publish the revised workshop papers as a special issue in a relevant academic journal.
Participation in the programme is free. Successful applicants will have the costs for travel to, and accommodation in Nairobi covered. Selected workshop participants may also be given the opportunity to attend and participate in the 2026 conference of the African Association for the Study of Religions in Botswana and present their work there.
Eligibility
The workshop aims at early-career academics based on the African continent.
- As a minimum, participants are required to have an MA and be registered for PhD studies.
- As a maximum, participants can have up to five years of postdoctoral experience.
- Participants should be undertaking work relevant to the theme of “gender, spirituality and agency in Africa”.
- Researchers currently affiliated with an African academic institution, and independent researchers based in an African country, are welcome to apply.
- Female academics and scholars from otherwise marginalized groups are especially encouraged to apply.
Organisers
The programme is made possible with funding from the British Academy, and is organised and facilitated by
- Dr Telesia Musila, University of Nairobi
- Dr Damaris Parsitau, AASR President; Nagel Institute, Calvin University
- Dr Abel Ugba, University of Leeds
- Dr Adriaan van Klinken, University of Leeds
About the theme: Gender, Spirituality and Agency in Africa
Gender, in relation to other categories such as age, disability, ethnicity, race and sexuality, is embedded in structures of power and thus connected to social, political and economic inequalities. These structures are informed and reinforced by religious and cultural ideologies, and are actively maintained and reproduced in religious institutions, among other social organisations. Gender, in African religious, cultural and social settings, is thus intricately connected to experiences of marginalisation and disempowerment, especially of women, sexual and gender minorities, but also of men who may struggle with the norms and expectations of masculinity.
Yet, religious belief, and spirituality as an everyday and embodied practice, may also serve as a critical, creative and resourceful site of subversion of, or resistance to, dominant gender norms; it may foster a sense of spiritual empowerment which can translate into social and political agency; it may inspire diverse forms of activism and community organization by marginalised individuals and groups; and it may enable the imagining of alternative possibilities and new forms of gendered and religious world-making.
For this programme, we invite proposals for papers that are based on original research, exploring and examining the complex and diverse intersections of gender, religion and spirituality, and socio-political agency. We welcome papers from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives, such as history, anthropology, literary and cultural studies, media studies, sociology, politics, development studies, gender and sexuality studies, religious studies and theology. Submissions should engage with relevant concepts and theories, particularly from African feminist, queer, and post/decolonial studies.
How to apply?
Please complete the form below and submit it to A.vanKlinken@leeds.ac.uk by 10 March 2025.
| Names | |
| Gender | |
| Highest academic qualification (degree, subject, year, institution) | |
| Current affiliation / career status | |
| Home address | |
| Email address | |
| Where would you travel from to Nairobi (if different from home address) | |
| Title of proposed workshop paper | |
| Abstract of paper (up to 150 words) | |
| Motivation statement for the programme (up to 150 words) | |
| Statement on your interest and expertise in the workshop theme, “Gender, Spirituality and Agency in Africa” (up to 150 words) |
2024
10th African Association for the Study of Religions Conference in Africa
Theme – “Spirituality, Gender, and Agency in African Religions”
The African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) invites proposals for individual papers, panels, roundtables, and poster presentations for its biennial conference to be held at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, from 28 to 30 July 2025
CALL FOR PAPERS
Spirituality as a concept allows for an understanding of religion beyond a narrow focus on religious beliefs and institutions. It foregrounds the lived, experiential, embodied, and sensual ways humans relate to the sacred in a quest for meaning, purpose, reverence, and interconnectedness with each other, the earth, and other species, spirits, and god/s. Spirituality as an everyday practice and orientation blurs and transcends the boundaries between religious traditions and neat categories, as it is diffuse, complex, dynamic, and fluid.
In this conference, we propose a focus on spirituality within, across, and beyond Africa’s diverse religions—most notably indigenous religions, Christianity, and Islam, as well as other minority traditions. We are particularly interested in conversations about how spirituality is connected to social, political, and economic agency, especially for marginalized groups, including women and ethnic minorities.
How does spirituality empower people in social life?
How does spirituality intersect with the performance of political power and economic development?
This conference seeks to provide a platform for interrogating how gender and other social dynamics shape spiritual practices and how spirituality influences gender and other social identities in Africa, historically and today.
Sub-Themes
Scholars, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts on the following suggested sub-themes and any related topics related to the conference theme:
- Theoretical and methodological issues in spirituality study
- Spirituality, gender and agency in Africa
- African traditional religious conceptualization of spirituality
- African Christianities and spirituality
- African Islams and spirituality
- The role of women in African traditional religions
- Gender dynamics in contemporary African spiritual practices
- Gender roles and relations within modern African spiritual movements
- Globalization and modernization on spirituality and gender dynamics in African
religions - Comparative studies of gender roles across different African religions
- The impact of spirituality on gender identity and expression in African societies
- Spirituality, politics, agency in African religions
- The role of religious rituals and practices in shaping gender expressions
- Women, religious abuse and violence
- Gender, agency and healing through African spiritual practices
- Gender, spiritual sower and agency in African religions
- Intersectionality of gender, spirituality, and socio-political contexts in Africa
- Spirituality and empowerment
- The relationship of spirituality, gender and economic inequalities
Panel/Round Table Proposals
- A panel in honour of Prof. Gerrie ter Haar
- Women Caucus Panel on women/Gender, spirituality, and agency
- AASR Journal Panel
Submission Guidelines
Please submit an abstract using the following link: https://forms.gle/jCbtPbGxtrynsSDR6.
The deadline for the submission of abstracts is Friday, February 7, 2025. Each proposal will
receive a response by Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
Participants in the conference must be registered by Thursday, May 31, 2025.
Important information:
Interested participants should submit an abstract of 250 to 300 words using the following link: https://forms.gle/jCbtPbGxtrynsSDR6.
Each proposal should include a title that reflects the content of the abstract as well as each author’s contact details (name, position, institutional affiliation, email address, phone/WhatsApp contact)
You may submit more than one proposal. We look forward to your contributions and a rich and engaging conference.
For Inquiries and Further Information:
Contacts:
- Prof. Benson Igboin, AASR General Secretary, bensonigboin@gmail.com
- Dr. Telesia K. Musili AASR Deputy Secretary, telesia.musili@gmail.com
- Dr Tshenolo J. Madigele, madigeletj@tabalakaabub-ac-bw
GRANTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
Thanks to the generosity of some senior members of our Association, we are able to provide a limited number of conference grants to support the participation of graduate students at the conference. To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be based on the African continent
- Be AASR member (or part of the award will be used to cover the membership fee)
- Be a postgraduate student (MA or PhD)
- Have an accepted Abstract for presentation at the conference
- Commit to submitting their revised conference paper to the AASR Journal
In order to receive consideration for a travel grant, check the box in the registration form that confirms your eligibility. In the space provided, please provide a rough budget, the amount requested, and a brief narrative explaining your financial needs and the academic benefit of attending the conference.
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
- Regular: $200 ($220 after May 31, 2025)
- AASR members (who have paid their 2024/25 membership fee**): $150 ($170 after May 31, 2025)
- Students/Retired/Underemployed: $100 ($120 after May 31, 2025)
Membership Fees
Scholars from the Global South:
- Fully employed: $50 USD
- Students/Retirees/Underemployed: $25 USD
Scholars from the Global North:
- Fully employed: $60 USD
- Students/Retirees/Underemployed: $30 USD
Membership fees can be paid through the bank, PayPal, or Stripe. To pay membership fees,
please visit www.a-asr.org.
Conference registration includes the following: entrance to the conference, reception dinner,
tea breaks and light refreshments, daily lunches, and conference materials.
**If you have doubts about the membership fee payment, please contact the AASR Treasurer at
treasurer@a-asr.org.
2023
Cfp: Engaging African Realities: Re-assessing African values, spirituality; religious innovationand competition
A two-day conference jointly organized by the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity and the African Association for the Study of Religion (AASR), in Abuja, Nigeria, April 10 – 11, 2024
Religions constitute some of the most dynamic forces in contemporary Africa. This claim is mostly evident in the ever-increasing number of sacred ritual sites on the continent and religion’s mounting and diverse entanglements with all the facets of African realities. Such is the depth and breadth of the dialectical relationship between contemporary African realities and religion, spirituality and African values that it is impossible in the 21 st century to critically discuss one without the other. Like other religions in the continent, Christianity is innovative, diverse and competitive. Diversity and competition are often vehicles, if not drivers, of creative change and innovation.
This two-day international conference marks the culmination of a three-year project by the Nagel Institute on the theme of ‘Engaging African Realities.’ It brings together scholars from various disciplines and faith practitioners to, on the one hand, critically examine the multi-layered ways that religion, spirituality and African values impact how Africans innovatively interpret and engage with their multi-faceted realities, and on the other hand, assess the extent to which contemporary realities in the continent are impacting and creatively remaking religiosity, spirituality and African values.
Presenters are invited to submit proposals that respond to these questions, and others:
To what extent do new religious developments reflect African values, agency, and creativity?
How do the changing realities of African life affect traditional African values and spiritual proclivities?
What can religions in the continent gain from a deeper knowledge of, and engagement with, African values and spiritualities?
In what ways do African spiritualities and values impact how Africans interact with their daily and contemporary realities?
How are women and young people creatively appropriating spiritual resources and African values to negotiate contemporary challenges and opportunities in Africa?
To what extent are religious diversity and competition drivers of creative change in Africa?
What is the relationship between religious innovation and commercial entrepreneurship?
How do new religious forms and patterns relate to broader social and institutional changes in contemporary Africa?
What are the implications of new developments in African religions for the study of contemporary Africa?
What are the implications of contemporary developments on the African religious landscape for how religion and theology are taught in African educational institutions?
How to submit your proposal:
Send proposals for individual papers, panels or roundtables to: aasr.abuja2024@gmail.com
The proposal should not exceed 300 words for an individual paper and 500 for a panel or roundtable. The deadline to submit a proposal is December 20. Abstracts submitted after this date will not be considered.
Proposal Submission Criteria
Presenter(s) Name(s) & Affiliations.
An email address for correspondence.
The maximum word count for the proposal is 300 words.
The Conference Committee does not encourage more than one submission.
Proposal Review Criteria
The Conference Committee will prioritise original proposals that:
address the above-listed conference themes and closely related ones.
are underpinned with solid evidence of research and scholarship.
demonstrate reflectivity and criticality by its author/s.
have research, practice or pedagogical relevance.
suggest an engaging, creative, and insightful presentation.
Conference Fees:
Standard Fee: USD 80 per participant (AASR member); USD 120 (non-AASR member)
Concession Fee: USD 40 (AASR member); USD 60 (non-AASR member). Concession rate applies to students and retired persons)
The conference registration fee covers entrance to the conference, tea breaks, light refreshments, and daily lunches.
Accommodation:
Participants are required to make their accommodation arrangements. The conference organisers will recommend the conference hotel with a negotiated discounted rate but will also provide a list of reasonably priced accommodations near the conference venue, but each participant will have to book the accommodation.
