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. Zerrin Afza and Dr Jerrold Cuperus
Dr Fungai Chirongoma
Professor Adam Possamai
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