Events The Role of Institutes in the Study of Religion into the Mid-Twenty-First Century (IAHR World Congress 2025 Roundtable)

 Since the 1970s, academic institutes for the study of religion have emerged around the globe as hubs for international exchange among researchers, students, and religious professionals. Although established for various purposes with distinct organizational structures and affiliations with universities, they all share the study of religion as their raison d’etre. Along with promoting a greater understanding of religion among students as well the local community, a primary goal of such institutes has been to foster engagement between scholars of religion from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.

 

However, administrative changes in the humanities as well as shifts in methods of communications in recent years has required institutes to reassess their goals and the means of achieving them. Specifically, draconian budget cuts due to profit-driven university administrations and governmental bureaucracies has limited the ability to carry out research projects on an international scale. Such restraints force us to seek new sources of financial support. Furthermore, travel restrictions due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, not to mention the moral imperative of climate change, compels us to think of new methods of interaction and exchange that avoid the economic, health, and environmental costs of international travel.

 

This roundtable brings together representatives from institutions based in Asia, Europe, and North America to discuss some of the institutional challenges facing the study of religion today. Finally, we hope to offer ideas on how to facilitate engagement among scholars in the interconnected worlds of religious studies.

Convener
Matthew D. McMullen – Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nanzan University

Charles DiSimone – Centre for Buddhist Studies, Ghent University

Cheng Yinchun – Department of Religious Studies, Fu Jen Catholic University

Christoph Kleine – Religionswissenschaftliches Institut, Leipzig University

Duncan Ryuken Williams – Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, University of Southern California

Elżbieta Przybył-Sadowska – Institute for Religious Studies, Jagiellonian University