Experimenting Philosophy of Religion: Altering Politics, Ecology and Aesthetics in Transition

Actual problems and critical situations – such as ecological crisis and political disruption – have more and more shown the need for a thought that can be effective, but nonetheless not all-encompassing.

This conference proposes “experimenting philosophy of religion” as field, method and a performative mode of exchange: a practice of inquiry that acknowledges precarity and embraces provisional possibilities of thinking. We treat “experiment” in its full sense: trial, risk, and iterative testing, where concepts are articulated, confronted, and, when necessary, allowed to fail.

Experimentation is not external to philosophy of religion but constitutive of it, insofar as the field opens possibilities for creating what is other – new conceptual and practical configurations – while attending to how these emerge within existing disciplines. 

We convene multiperspective approaches to pressing questions in politics, ecology, and aesthetics: What perspectives does the philosophy of religion offer on the climate crisis? How can these insights inform political and social practice? How do aesthetic experiences and approaches reflect philosophical-religious research, and vice versa? 

We want to provide a room for young voices in order to express their research and test the capacities, practical and theoretical, of philosophy of religion.

The conference will have a three parts format, divided in three days (planned days are 21–23 October 2026). The section are the followings:

1.     Podium discussion with Vienna‑based senior scholars on the field’s trajectories and futures;

2.   Three thematic panels (organized by VDTR members): Politics & Society; Ecology & Nature; Arts & Aesthetics. Contributions by postdocs and PhD candidates; strong peer‑to‑peer format;

3.   Active, non‑conventional session (e.g., reading and discussion group, collective writing, method try‑outs) that goes beyond lecture/listen formats.