AASR Conference 2026: Call for Papers

Theme: Spirituality, Gender and Agency in African Religions

Location: Gaborone, Botswana

Date: 28-30 July 2026

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?

Furthermore, 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.

Subthemes

Scholars, researchers, and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts for individual papers, panels and roundtables on the following suggested sub-themes and any topics related to the conference theme, such as:

1. Theoretical and methodological issues in spirituality study
2. Spirituality, gender and agency in Africa
3. African traditional religious conceptualization of spirituality
4. African Christianities and spirituality
5. African Islams and spirituality
6. The role of women in African traditional religions
7. Gender dynamics in contemporary African spiritual practices
8. Gender roles and relations within modern African spiritual movements
9. Globalization and modernization on spirituality and gender dynamics in African religions
10. Comparative studies of gender roles across different African religions
11. The impact of spirituality on gender identity and expression in African societies
12. Spirituality, politics, agency in African religions
13. The role of religious rituals and practices in shaping gender expressions
14. Women, religious abuse and violence
15. Gender, agency and healing through African spiritual practices
16. Gender, spiritual power and agency in African religions
17. Intersectionality of gender, spirituality, and socio-political contexts in Africa
18. Spirituality and empowerment
19. The relationship of spirituality, gender and economic inequalities
20. Religion, spirituality, and development

Panel/Round Table Proposals

We also solicit papers for the following panels:

1. A panel in honour of Prof. Gerrie ter Haar
2. A panel in honour of Prof. Elias Bongmba
3. A panel on African Women Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development
4. AASR Women Caucus Panel
5. Utambuzi AASR Journal Panel
6. Religion & Development Journal Panel

Submission Guidelines

Please submit the following:

• For individual papers:
  • A 250-300 word abstract.
• For pre-convened panels:
  • A 250-300 word abstract describing the panel as a whole.
  • A separate abstract for each individual paper within the panel.
• For roundtable proposals:
  • A 250-300 word abstract outlining the roundtable discussion.
  • A list of confirmed discussants with brief bios or affiliations.

Important information

• Interested participants should submit proposals (see above guidelines) 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.
• There are two deadlines for paper submission:
  • Papers submitted by 31 October 2025 will receive a response by 30 November 2025.
  • Papers submitted 6 February 2026 will receive a response 1 April 2026.
• Please note that the latest possible submission date is 6 February 2026.
• Participants in the conference must be registered by Monday, June 1, 2026.
• We look forward to your contributions and a rich and engaging conference.

Further Information and Contacts for Inquiries

For further information about grants and registration, please see the full call for papers on the AASR website. For any questions, please use the following contacts:

1. Prof. Benson Igboin, AASR General Secretary, Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
2. Dr. Telesia K. Musili AASR Deputy Secretary, Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.
3. Dr. Tshenolo J. Madigele, Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee,
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