‘Philosophy of Religion? Buddhist Arguments and Erasures’ (European Academy of Religion)

CFP: Buddhist Philosophy of Religion Panel at the European Academy of Religion, Bologna, 20-23 June 2022.

‘Philosophy of Religion? Buddhist Arguments and Erasures’

“Philosophy of religion often carries on almost as if there were only one religion” (McKim). Given the truthfulness of this assessment and the unjustifiability of the approach it describes, much recent work has been devoted to ‘Renewing Philosophy of Religion’ (Draper and Schellenberg), proposing ‘Reconfigurations of Philosophy of Religion’ (Kanaris), and elaborating various iterations of ‘A Radical Pluralist Philosophy of Religion’ (Burley). This panel builds on such efforts, and thereby seeks to directly advance the conference theme of ‘Religion and Diversity’, by exploring – and expanding – philosophy of religion through the diverse prisms of Asia’s Buddhisms. It includes both theoretical/methodological critiques of / contributions to the philosophy of religion from Buddhist perspectives, as well as substantive augmentations to / interventions in the philosophy of religion from Buddhist sources. Among all the non-Western traditions currently gaining currency in the field, Buddhist thought has exerted by far the greatest impact over recent decades, based in part on the redoubtable analytical sophistication of the arguments its exponents deploy, the sheer quantity and range of its textual canon, and of course the substantial overlaps – and fruitful divergences – between Buddhist and Western worldviews. By drawing on such materials, this panel hopes to stimulate further cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary inquiry in the resolutely plural philosophies of religions worldwide.

The panel has been officially accepted, and so I am now seeking presenters to take part. Please thus send paper titles and abstracts (200-300 words) to me via email ([email protected]) as soon as convenient, but definitely before the deadline of 3 April 2022. 

I am hoping to convene a panel that is highly diverse in terms of both who is speaking and who/what is spoken of. Concretely, this means that proposals are welcome from speakers at all career stages, based anywhere, and possessing a diverse range of personal and professional identity markers, and who will in turn speak about a diverse range of Buddhist authors, traditions, ideas, and eras. The exact length of presentations will be determined once the panel line-up is finalized, but at this stage I foresee allotting 30-40 minutes per speaker including Q&A. Please feel free to forward this announcement, and I look forward to hearing from you!

With all best wishes,

Rafal K. Stepien

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Assistant Professor in Comparative Religion

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore