Beyond Binaries & Boundaries: Religion Redefined in Unsettled Times

ASR President: Jerry Z. Park
Program Chair: Esther Chan

The Association for the Sociology of Religion is pleased to announce a call for papers for its upcoming annual conference, August 8-10, 2026, in New York, New York, USA, at the New Yorker Hotel. With a theme of “Beyond Binaries & Boundaries: Religion Redefined in Unsettled Times.” Twenty-five years into the current century has shown religion’s continued relevance. But how has the meaning of “religion” changed? Binaries of sacred and profane, belief and belonging, religious and secular have long animated our theorizing on religion. Yet, scholars have shown that religion is complex. Religion is intersectional, institutional, individual, interactional, interstitial. How is religion being redefined to create connections or cleavages in times of crisis? How do religious practitioners and religious ideas break down binaries and boundaries across social, political, and global lines? Where and how does religion create new binaries and boundaries and to what social ends and consequences?

The 2026 conference of the Association for the Sociology of Religion invites scholars to critically reexamine approaches to religion, to think beyond traditional binaries and boundaries within a full range of topics in the sociology of religion. We welcome theoretically, and methodologically rigorous sociological research at all stages of development. We invite proposals for individual papers and topical sessions as well as full-day symposiums oriented around specific areas in the sociology of religion. Book discussions, professional development panels, teaching colloquies, and other creative connections designed to support the social scientific study of religion around the globe are also welcome. 

Submissions are now open on the members-only portion of the website. 

Deadline: March 27, 2026

• Session Proposals

Deadline: April 24, 2026

• Paper Abstract Submissions

• Author Meets Critics Submissions

Deadline: May 29, 2026

• McNamara Student Paper Award

• Lifetime Achievement Award in the Sociology of Religion 

ASR membership is required to organize a session, present a paper, serve as a panelist, or participate in another program role. Registration can be found here. All participants are expected to register for the meeting by July 1, 2026.

For questions, please contact:
Esther Chan: chane@uwm.edu
Jerry Park: jerry_park@baylor.edu
Chelsea Kindred: asreo@sociologyofreligion.org