2009 Conference, Call for Papers

Date January 28, 2009 Ronan

The European Mormon Studies Association
Annual Conference

Organized together with Massimo Introvigne of the Center for Studies on New Religions

30-31 July 2009
Terrazza Solferino, Turin, Italy

Keynote Address: Douglas Davies
Professor of Theology and Religion, Durham University, UK

Call for Papers
“Mormonism and the European Establishment”

British Mormons love to tell the story of the day in 1840 when the vicar of the Anglican church at Castle Frome in Herefordshire sent a petition to the Archbishop of Canterbury requesting he obtain parliamentary sanction for banning the missionaries from England. He was unsuccessful.

Vignettes such as these offer historical windows into the relationship between Mormonism and the established church and state in Europe, but more than that, the contemporary telling of them suggests something about modern Mormonism in Europe. Do Mormons feel validation that the Archbishop seemingly sided with the Mormons over the local vicar? Is there a feeling of schadenfreude that a minister of the Church of England was powerless to stop the flood of Mormon converts?

We invite you to discuss the interaction between Mormonism and the European Establishment at our conference in Turin. Topics might include: reactions to Mormon missionaries in European lands; the relationship with the established churches; government counter-cult programmes; the perceived Americanness of Mormon culture in Europe; Mormons’ own relationships with their native countries; legal rights and restrictions; Mormons as Other; Mormonism and the theologies of European Christianity.

__________________

Those wishing to present a paper at the conference are requested to send a 200 word abstract to Ronan James Head at the below e-mail address. The abstract deadline is 15 April 2009. If accepted, a notification will be given by 15 May 2009. It is expected that final papers will be approximately 3,000 words, being delivered in a time of 20 minutes each. A question and answer period will be available following each paper. It is anticipated that conference proceedings will be published.

Conference attendees will be charged a small fee to cover costs, with a reduction available to those who register in advance. Please check the website for updates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Ronan James Head
Conference Coordinator / 2009, European Mormon Studies Association
E-mail: ronan@jhu.edu
Web: http://www.euromormonstudies.com

Please feel free to distribute the attached Call for Papers PDF-file.

3 responses to “2009 Conference, Call for Papers”

  1. Faustino Lopez said:

    May 3rd, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    I am writing the history of the LDS Church in Spain as part of my doctorate in the Madrid Universirty. Is it too late to submit a paper for the 2009 Conference in torino?

  2. Ronan said:

    May 4th, 2009 at 3:31 am

    Hurry!

  3. Walter van Beek said:

    May 8th, 2009 at 7:33 am

    Abstract for ECAS conference Torino, January 2010

    Walter E.A. van Beek

    Modular theory and Mormonism

    European Mormonism seems to be a church without margins, i.e. without people defining themselves as Mormons but not practicing, or the reverse, associated with the communities without really defining themselves as member. The notion of Jack Mormon is an American notion, not a European one. Why? In this paper I want to explore the processes that make for this clear-cut division, and in doing so develop and refine an existing theory on ritual and religion that is rapidly gaining ground, the modes of religion theory, of i.a. Harvey Whitehouse.

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