RELIGIOUS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION
CALL FOR PAPERS
2026 Annual Meeting
October 30–November 1
Rethinking Religion for the 21st Century
Religion plays a central role in how people make meaning, form identity, and imagine themselves as moral beings who are connected with others, with nature, and with the cosmos. In the twenty-first century, social scientists study religion’s connection to well-being, civic engagement, political identity, family formation and parenting, and other behaviors and commitments that shape individuals’ lives. Religion also has wide-ranging and varied effects on the society we live in, providing the motivation and membership for social movements, shaping public discourse and fostering contentious – and partisan – debate, and providing crucial social capital and resources in local communities. But religion is changing in the late-modern world; more people are turning to spirituality to express their identity, find connection, and expand their moral imagination. Nonreligious leaders promote humanistic philosophies that grapple with existential questions. Some argue that the daily practice of nonreligion and spirituality has much in common with religion, bringing people together to share rituals and grapple meaningfully with what it means to be human. Social science has much to contribute to understanding the dynamic, fluid, and contested landscape of religion in the twenty-first century. Our conference will welcome presentations drawing on rigorous empirical research and exploring new theoretical tools for conceptualizing religion in the twenty-first century (SSSR), as well as studies of religious institutions and the impact they make on people’s lives and local communities (RRA). We welcome presentations from international scholars or that take a global perspective, and we encourage work on less-studied religious communities and movements.
The SSSR+RRA annual meeting will feature paper sessions and book panels (formerly known as “author- meets-critics” sessions). Submit complete paper sessions—consisting of three to four presentations—or individual proposals (which the program chairs will thematically organize). Proposals for book panels should contain the author of a recent book and three to four panelists.
All submissions will be made through the online portal at www.sssreligion.org. Please indicate the type of submission (e.g., individual paper, session, discussion panel or book panel) and whether it is a better fit for SSSR or RRA. Please contact SSSR program chairs, Landon Schnabel (schnabel@cornell.edu) and Eman Abdelhadi (abdelhadi@uchicago.edu) or RRA program chair, Audra Dugandzic at programchair@rraweb.org with any questions.
Submissions open: February 1, 2026
Submissions close: March 31, 2026
Decisions made: April 30, 2026
ANNUAL MEETING PRESENTATION FORMATS
The annual meeting will include paper sessions, book panels and discussion panels. Paper sessions comprise three to four papers and may be proposed as a complete session. Individual paper proposals are built into sessions by the program chairs. Book panels include the author(s) of a recent book and three to four panelists. Discussion panels include a discussion moderator and three to four panelists.