“Troubling the norms through embodied / disembodied choices” — 41st Conference on Implicit Religion in Leeds, UK

The trustees of CSIRCS are pleased to bring to your attention the details below of the 41st Conference on Implicit Religion to be held from 18th-20th May 2018 in Leeds, UK.

The theme of the conference for 2018 is “Troubling the norms through embodied / disembodied choices”. It is hoped there will be a wide range of participants. The conference will ask what are the consequences – for the body, the community, the law, the academy and for the study of religion – when choices are made for ours or others’ bodies that trouble the norms of society? In what ways have such embodied norms reinforced particular narratives of the ‘religious’ and the ‘secular’ in academic fields outside religious studies? To what extent is the ‘religion’ ‘secular’ binary a reiteration or reinforcing of a masculine (disembodied) God and a feminine (embodied) divine or desire? What impact does such an assumption of disembodied and embodied norms have on laws about pregnancy, abortion, parenthood, parental rights, homelessness, employment rights and more? In what ways have various institutions – educational, state, museums, places of worship, sacred sites, public places of gathering – reinforced or resisted such norms or consequences of embodied norms?

The Edward Bailey lecture will be given by Dr Dawn Llellwyn of the University of Chester who will speak on “Motherhood, elective childlessness and Christianity: Narratives of Choice”, with a particular emphasis on the implicit religious language that surrounds the assumption of women’s choices over motherhood.

The conference to be held at Hinsely Hall, Leeds will cost £240 (conference participation, accommodation for two nights. all meals from Friday evening until Sunday lunch including tea / coffee breaks).

Places for audience participation only (not presenting a paper) may be booked through the website. Likewise abstracts for paper presentations are invited through the website, where necessary instructions can be found under the tab ‘call for papers’.

For further information, please see the website implicitreligion.co.uk or contact Dr Francis Stewart on francis.stewart@stir.ac.uk