[Discussion] Religious Conversion after Socialism

[sule tarakcioglu]

CONF./CFP- Religious Conversion after Socialism, Max Planck Inst., Germany

Call for Papers

Conference 'Religious Conversion after Socialism'
April 7-8, 2005

Organizers: Mathijs Pelkmans, Laslo Foszto and Irene Hilgers
Venue: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology will hold a two-day
conference on 'religious conversion after socialism' on 7th and 8th April
2005. The aim is to bring together anthropologists and other social
scientists who have done extensive research on aspects of religious
conversion in the postsocialist world. Both established specialists and
young scholars are invited to submit abstracts for papers before 31 October
2004.

Throughout the postsocialist world, the increased activity or new
arrival of
'foreign' religious groups has attracted attention and caused commotion.
While Orthodox Churches vehemently protested the arrival of Protestant
missions, governments in the southern range of the postsocialist world
worried about the influx of Muslim missionaries and their (perceived or
real) threat to political stability. Public concern in many postsocialist
countries was further magnified by the apparent success of these religious
movements, often leading to anxiety about social or national
disintegration.
Although these concerns have been vigorously discussed in national arenas,
social scientists have been remarkably silent about the subject. Many
social
scientists still dwell on the 'revival' or 'renaissance' of religious
traditions after atheism and assume a process of (interrupted) continuity
between contemporary religious forms and their pre-socialist referents. The
topic of conversion is especially well suited for mounting a challenge to
such taken for granted notions about postsocialist religious dynamics, as
well as to provide new insights into anthropological understandings of
conversion.

Who is adopting 'new' religions? What are their motivations for embracing a
'new' faith? Conversion in postsocialist contexts is often connected to the
destabilization of socio-political contexts and the supposed spiritual and
ideological 'vacuum' that arose with the collapse of communism. But
although
such notions may provide a valuable starting point, they do not explain why
and how certain religious groups are able to gain and retain influence in
this 'vacuum,' while others tend to lose their position. Are instances of
religious conversion motivated by a drive towards real or imagined
'modernities', as has been argued in other (colonial) contexts? Or
conversely, are they to be understood as a reaction against the
destabilizing and individualizing forces of global capitalism? In assessing
particular religious shifts and changes, it may be crucial to explore the
socialist past. While state-endorsed atheism had profound secularizing
effects in some cases, in others socialist rule tended to 'naturalize'
equations of religious, ethnic and national categories. Different socialist
pasts will undoubtedly influence the occurrence (or non-occurrence) of
religious conversion.

Besides studying the background and causes of conversion, it is equally
pertinent to address the impact of conversion on social and political
contexts. Religious conversion may challenge local notions of ethnicity and
nationality as in the case of Kazakhs and Kyrgyz who convert to Protestant
Christianity. Or conversely, it may reinforce dominant stereotypes about
'self' and 'the other,' as has been noticed for Muslim Georgians who
embrace
the majority religion of the nation, Orthodox Christianity. In most
instances it is also important to study 'anti-conversion.' The influx of
missionary groups and conversion of community members may provoke a
backlash, i.e. negative reactions towards the new religion and prompt some
to strengthen religious traditions that previously had only been of nominal
importance.

Ethnographic accounts of postsocialist religious dynamics may also lead
to a
challenge to analytical concepts including conversion itself. Even a
minimalist definition of religious conversion, implying both a 'turning
from' and a 'turning to,' cannot be applied uncritically to people who have
grown up with only limited involvement in religious life, or even none at
all. Moreover, although the recent massive influx of missionaries would
appear to legitimate comparisons with colonial contexts, the background and
practices of these new missionaries is often very different from those that
have figured prominently in anthropological literature. By critically
assessing the circumstances and dynamics of religious change, and by
analyzing the precise roles of missionaries, local religious institutions,
and the state in processes of conversion, it may be possible to further
anthropological knowledge about conversion in colonial and postcolonial
contexts. Comparisons of this type are particularly encouraged for they can
shed light on religious renewals after socialism.

Abstracts of 300 to 500 words should be electronically submitted by the
31st
of October 2004 to the organizers. Presentations will be limited to 20
minutes and participants will be expected to submit a full draft of their
paper by 15th of March 2005, for circulation among conference participants.

Mathijs Pelkmans, email: pelkmans@eth.mpg.de
<https://charon.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr/basilix/basilix.php?RequestID=CMPSNEW&premail=-1&is_ssl=&cmps_to=pelkmans@eth.mpg.de>

Laslo Foszto, email: foszto@eth.mpg.de
<https://charon.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr/basilix/basilix.php?RequestID=CMPSNEW&premail=-1&is_ssl=&cmps_to=foszto@eth.mpg.de>

Irene Hilgers, email: hilgers@eth.mpg.de
<https://charon.bcc.bilkent.edu.tr/basilix/basilix.php?RequestID=CMPSNEW&premail=-1&is_ssl=&cmps_to=hilgers@eth.mpg.de>

For information about the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology
visit
www.eth.mpg.de


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