Epistemology of Religious Diversity: Analytic Engagements with Islamic Philosophy and Theology

Epistemology of Religious Diversity: Analytic Engagements with Islamic Philosophy and Theology

Time and Venue

This one-and-a-half-day workshop is organised through The Birmingham Centre for Philosophy of Religion and hosted by the University of Birmingham. It will take place on the University of Birmingham campus on 14th and 15th May 2026. The event is generously supported by the Islam Fund and the Mind Association.

CFP

This one-and-a-half-day international workshop aims to bring together early-career researchers working on the epistemology of religious diversity, with particular emphasis on analytic engagement with Islamic philosophical and theological sources. The workshop focuses on how agents ought to form, justify, and revise religious beliefs in contexts of deep and persistent religious disagreement, and on how resources from the Islamic tradition can illuminate contemporary epistemological debates.

The workshop seeks to provide a focused forum for philosophically rigorous work on religious disagreement, pluralism, and epistemic rationality/warranty, drawing on both contemporary analytic epistemology and Islamic intellectual traditions of kalam and falsafa. Contributions may be historical or systematic but should engage analytically with questions concerning justification, rational disagreement, epistemic authority, revelation, and religious knowledge in the contexts of religious diversity.

A central aim of the workshop is to foster dialogue among early-career researchers, while facilitating engagement with senior scholars working in philosophy of religion, epistemology, and Islamic philosophy. Comparative and cross-traditional work is welcome, particularly where Islamic epistemological frameworks are placed into direct philosophical conversation with other religious traditions.

Sample Topics and Questions

Submissions are invited on (but not limited to) the following topics:

• What resources do Islamic philosophy and theology offer for understanding rational religious disagreement?
• How should competing religious truth claims be epistemically assessed from within Islamic epistemological frameworks?
• What roles do revelation, reason, and fitra play in justifying belief under conditions of religious diversity?
• How do concepts such as ikhtilāf, epistemic humility, or authority function in Islamic approaches to diversity?
• What is the connection between epistemological exclusivism and salvation?

Submission Guidelines

We invite abstracts of 400 words by 17th April 2026. Abstracts should be sent to Aysenur Unugur Tabur [email protected] as attachments.  Please include your name, institutional affiliation, and contact details.

Paper sessions will be 45 minutes: 25 for talks, 20 for Q&A.

The successful applicants will be notified by 25th April 2026.

The selected speakers will be asked to submit a detailed outline of their presentations by 9th May 2026.

Important Note on Visa requirement:

As there will be fewer than three weeks between notification of acceptance and the workshop, the timeframe may not be sufficient to secure a UK visa. Prospective contributors who require a visa are kindly asked to consider this carefully before submitting a proposal.

Travel and accommodation support

One night of accommodation for invited speakers will be provided at Peter Scott House. If necessary, this can be extended depending on individual travel requirements. Travel bursaries of up to £120 per speaker are also available upon request to help cover travel costs.

For further inquires please contact [email protected] .