Events
2026 Events
Religion and Society Research Cluster
2026 Online Seminar Series
Convened by Dr Kathleen Openshaw & Prof Cristina Rocha
12:00 noon – 13:00 (Sydney Time)
Dr Prabuddha Mukherjee
Call for Contributions
(Dis)comfort in religious and spiritual places and practices
Wednesday 24 June 2026 (time TBC AEST) | Symposium | Online
We are interested in contributions that critically consider:
- How, why and for whom is comfort calibrated in spiritual /religious communities?
- How comfort is materialised, constructed and experienced in places of worship/spiritual engagement?
- How is (dis)comfort experienced physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually in religio-spiritual communities?
- What role do class, gender, race, sexuality, and ability play in experiencing (dis)comfort in religious and spiritual communities?
- How are relationships between religion and non-religion/secularism structured by feelings of (dis)comfort?
- How do researchers navigate personal experiences of comfort and discomfort when conducting research with religious /spiritual communities?
Timeline
Abstracts
We are seeking contributions from scholars across the humanities or social sciences that reflect on (dis)comfort in religious / spiritual places or practices.
Please send an abstract (max 250 words), name, affiliation, and short bio (max 50 words) to j.cuperus@uq.edu.au before 10 May 2026.
Convenors
Dr Jerrold Cuperus (University of Queensland) & Dr Kathleen Openshaw (Western Sydney University)
Contact
Jerrold Cuperus (j.cuperus@uq.edu.au), Kathleen Openshaw (K.Openshaw@westernsydney.edu.au)
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2025 Events
Religion and Society Research Cluster
Religion and Society Online Seminar Series – 2025
Convened by Prof. Cristina Rocha & Dr Kathleen Openshaw
Seminar Schedule
Videos of Seminar Series will be uploaded after the events:
19 March 2025
The Rise of Australian Christian Populism and its Global Connections: https://youtu.be/niTh5LttITY
16 April 2025
Indigenous perspectives on Decolonising the study of religion: https://youtu.be/q9IIo6tUu6I
21 May 2025
Reasonable suffering: Baptists accounts of sin and responsibility in postcolonial Harare: https://youtu.be/S2FHAEnqC7U
18 June 2025
The Abject and Ecological Enchantment: Disgust, Discomfort and Disappointment in the Cultivation of Meaning in Urban Environmental Initiatives: https://youtu.be/ewDb97WlN7k
16 July 2025
Faith on the Move: How International Migration and Social Change are Reshaping the Geographies of Religious Belonging in
Australian Cities: https://youtu.be/hdy455JR_Fc
20 August 2025
The anti-abortion movement and the emergence of the New Christian Right in Australia from 1969: https://youtu.be/dmHcCxC-CAk
17 September 2025
Post-Secularism as the Secularism of the Exit of Secularism: Australia as a case study of Passé Secularism: https://youtu.be/maMn3QImed8
15 October 2025
The Haunted Heretic and the Hidden Gospels: Bishop James Pike and the Quest for Christian Origins
5 November 2025
Christianity, Community and (Re) Connection among LGBTQIA+ African Heritage Refugees & Asylum Seekers in Australia
19 November 2025
Affective technologies: Crafting comfortable atmospheres in Pentecostal churches