We invite papers that inquire into religious belief from a variety of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives. Relevant fields include cognitive science, religious studies, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, art, et cetera. Submissions are not limited to scholarly, non-fiction pieces but may include fiction, performance pieces, or any other format that addresses the topic.

Paper Topic Suggestions:

• Cognitive approaches to religion
• Belief and healing
• Theology
• Belief and the law
• Faith and family
• Embodied belief
• Belief and politics
• Psychology and faith
• Philosophy of religion
• Belief and subjectivity
• Values and religion
• Evolution and belief
• Religion and identity
• Medicine and religion
• Magic and the mind

Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent to religiousstudiesosu@yahoo.com by June 1, 2009. Submissions should be prepared for blind review. Proposals should not include any identifying names. Contact information should only be in the body of the email and should include your name, email address, mailing address, institution, and title of your paper. Please put the title of the conference “Belief Matters” in the subject line of your emailed abstract. Questions can be addressed to Keith Padgett (padgett.16@osu.edu) or Lee Wiles-Op (wiles-op.1@osu.edu). A $150 prize will be awarded for the best paper. To be considered for the award, presenters must submit a final draft by September 1st and be present for the entire conference.

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