CFP: Philosophy of Brazilian Religions/ Open Theology
Submission deadline: December 31, 2026
Topic areas
Details
Call for Papers: Philosophy of Brazilian Religions
Open Theology invites submissions for the special issue “Philosophy of Brazilian Religions,” edited by José Eduardo Porcher (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and Marciano Adilio Spica (Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste, Brazil).
Description
Philosophy of religion has historically concentrated on Christianity and, to a lesser extent, the other major world religions, leaving the metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical resources of the Global South largely unexamined. This special issue addresses that imbalance by offering a sustained philosophical engagement with Brazilian religious traditions. Shaped by Indigenous, African, and European influences, Brazil’s religious landscape provides conceptual resources that challenge and expand dominant categories in ontology, epistemology, and ethics.
The issue brings together scholars who engage philosophically with Afro-Brazilian religions (Candomblé, Umbanda), Brazilian Spiritism (Kardecismo), and new religious movements such as the Vale do Amanhecer, Santo Daime, and others. Its emphasis is not on anthropological description but on the philosophical questions these traditions raise about reality, knowledge, personhood, embodiment, and moral life. Their relational ontologies raise fresh questions about the metaphysics of causation and agency; their embodied epistemologies challenge disembodied models of religious experience; and their integrated views of nature and spirit offer novel resources for environmental ethics.
This special issue seeks to establish Brazilian religions as a central resource for philosophical reflection, showing how they illuminate perennial questions about the nature of reality, knowledge, and the sacred. It invites philosophy of religion to take seriously the intellectual traditions of the Global South and to engage with them as partners in shaping a more inclusive and globally relevant discipline.
Submissions should primarily (but not exclusively) address the following questions:
- How do the relational ontologies of Brazilian religions reshape philosophical accounts of causation, agency, and personhood?
- What can mediumship, spirit communication, and other communal forms of testimony contribute to the epistemology of religious experience?
- How do embodied and practice-based epistemologies challenge disembodied models of religious knowledge?
- What resources do Afro-Brazilian conceptions of moral repair, reciprocity, and ecological responsibility offer for global ethics?
- How do syncretic traditions bear on questions of religious diversity, doctrinal coherence, and theological exclusivism?
- How does sustained engagement with Brazilian traditions reframe the question of what counts as “religion” and what forms of knowledge are legitimate within philosophy of religion?
How to Submit
Submissions will be collected until 31 December, 2026, via the online submission system.
Please choose section/category: special issue “Philosophy of Brazilian Religions.”
Before submission, authors should carefully read the Instructions for Authors (PDF download).
All contributions will undergo peer review before acceptance for publication.
Further questions about content for this thematic issue can be addressed to Dr. José Eduardo Porcher at [email protected] and Dr. Marciano Adilio Spica at [email protected].
Financial questions should be directed to the journal OA Portfolio Manager at [email protected]. In case of technical problems with submission, please write to [email protected].