Call for Papers: Love, Religion, and God

The British Society for the Philosophy of Religion will held a Biennial Conference titled ‘Love, Religion, and God’ on 31st August – 2nd September, 2023.

The question of the relation between love, religion, and God is a central concern for both atheists and theists; and philosophers, theologians, and scientists have drawn interesting and sometimes conflicting conclusions about the nature of this relation and of the things related in this context. Can love be understood in the absence of God? Is love one thing or many things? And what is the relation between love and desire, or love and redemption? How are we to assess Nietzsche’s critique of Christian love? What is the role and value of love in non-theistic religious traditions? And in what sense, if any, should we accept that love is deeply mysterious?

Important Data

Abstracts Submission Deadline: 31 March 2023

Venue: Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
Conference Date: 31st August – 2nd September, 2023

These questions are attracting attention in recent scholarship, and the conference organisers are keen to examine the relevant issues from the vantage point of philosophy of religion as broadly conceived. We welcome papers taking a philosophical and/or theological approach to all aspects of love, religion, and God, including secular and diverse religious perspectives. We also encourage submissions from scholars who seek to make connections with other disciplines, such as religious studies, psychology, literature, and cognitive science. Members of under-represented groups are particularly encouraged to submit an abstract.

Those interested in presenting a short paper should send a proposal of no more than 250 words in a Word document to Dr David Worsley (david.worsley@york.ac.uk) no later than 31 March 2023. Please include the paper’s title, and your name, institutional affiliation, and email address (these are not included in the 250 word word limit). We expect to notify people about whether their proposals have been accepted by 30 April 2023.

Some partial bursaries (including bursaries to cover the cost of childcare) may be available for participants who do not have another source of funding for attending the conference, with preference for these given to those who are presenting a paper. If you anticipate being in need of a bursary, please indicate this in your submission.

Conference registration closes on 13 August. Registration can be done via Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-bsprs-fifteenth-conference-love-religion-and-god-tickets-507654677807