CFP: Society of Christian Philosophers - 2026 Mountain-Pacific Meeting

Location

Loyola Marymount University (Los Angelos, CA)

Dates

May 28-30, 2026 (Thursday evening to Saturday evening)

Submissions [CLOSED]

Conference theme – God, Meaning & Nature

The conference theme this year is God, Meaning & Nature. Does God’s existence make our lives more meaningful? Many have thought so, and one aspect of this pertains to our engagements with the natural world. For many theists, engaging with nature takes on a kind of spiritual significance. They find the world “charged with the grandeur of God,” as Hopkins put it. However, while this aspect of theistic spirituality is often important in the lives of practicing theists, it remains generally underexplored in the philosophy of religion today. This conference theme seeks to remedy that. We invite papers exploring various links between God, meaning, and nature.

We look forward to seeing abstracts that address this theme in part or in whole, or else some adjacent theme. This might include the following areas (plus many others besides):

·      The axiology of theism

·      Meaning in life/well-being/flourishing and its links to theism or specific religions

·      Nature-based spiritualities (theistic and non-theistic)

·      The relationship between God and the natural world (e.g., concurrentism vs. occasionalism)

·      Links between theism and environmental ethics

·      Links between specific religious traditions and environmental ethics

·      The intrinsic and/or final value of creatures in a theistic cosmos

·      Creation eschatology: The place of the created order in the life to come.

The 2026 Mountain-Pacific Essay Prize

The abstract judged to be most promising will be awarded the 2026 Mountain-Pacific Essay Prize. This prize comes with a $300 honorarium, plus a longer session including a commentator. 

Winner: To Be Announced

Axiology of theism panel

This conference will include a panel on the axiology of theism. A recently burgeoning field, the axiology of theism asks, not whether God exists, but whether we should want him to, or whether his existence would somehow make our lives go better (or worse).

Moderator: Daniel Speak

Panelists: Brian Ballard, Mark Schroeder, Robert Audi

Book Symposium (Jason Baehr, Inquiry and Agency)

This conference will also include a symposium for Jason Baehr's new book, Inquiry and Agency, with comments from Linda Zeksepski and Duncan Pritchard. The symposium celebrates both the release of Baehr's book, and the 30th anniversary of Zagzebski's Virtues of the Mind. 

Keynotes

Thomas Ward (UT Austin)

Anastasia Berg (UC Irvine)

Robert Audi (Notre Dame)

Organizer

Brian Ballard (Loyola Marymount University)

Contact email

[email protected]