Saturday evening lecture time change

Saturday evening's lecture, by Prof. emeritus Eileen
Barker (LSE) will now take place at 7.30 instead of
8 as previously announced. The title of the lecture
is "Cults, sects and / or new religions: 'Curioser and
curioser!' cried Alice. 'Well, yes and no,' replied the
sociologist…"

Admission for non-conference participants is €15, or
€10 with student / unwaged etc. ID.

Evening lecture changes

Prof. Paul Heelas, one of our two guest speakers, has
had to cancel for personal reasons. We are happy to
announce that Dr Carmen Kuhling has kindly agreed to
step into her shoes.

Dr Kuhling is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the
University of Limerick and Ireland's leading researcher
on the New Age, having published among others "The New
Age Ethic and the Spirit of Postmodernity".

Her lecture, entitled "From the parish hall to the
shopping mall: consumption and re-enchantment in
post-Celtic Tiger Ireland", will take place on Friday
evening at 8 pm.

Prof. Barker's lecture, "Cults, sects and / or new
religions: 'Curioser and curioser!' cried Alice.
'Well, yes and no,' replied the sociologist…",
will now take place on Saturday evening, also at 8 pm.

Both lectures are open to the public and can be attended
separately from the main conference. Admission (on the
door) is €15 or €10 for students, unwaged etc. with ID.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

List of poster presentations

The deadline for poster presentations closed on Friday 23rd. The posters accepted are:

Joantine Berghuijs (Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Utrecht University
Unaffiliated spirituality and social engagement

Markus Davidsen (Leiden University / Aarhus University)
"Fiction based religions": a study of new religions based on religions embedded in fiction

Ronan Foley (NUI Maynooth)
Therapeutic landscapes, ownership and spiritual health

Kerry Gallagher (NUI Maynooth)
Imported Catholicism: the role religion plays in the integration of Polish immigrants into Irish society

Gladys Ganiel (Trinity College Dublin / Irish School of Ecumenics)
Auditing Ireland’s religious diversity: perspectives on diversity, immigration, reconciliation and ecumenism

Brigitte Veiz (Dept. of Social psychology, University of Munich)
The Rainbow Family: rituals and circles in a neo-tribal, global subculture

Poster presenters will be with their posters for discussion etc. during conference registration, between 10.30 and 12.30 on Friday morning.

The full conference timetable is available here.

Getting to the conference

These instructions are quite detailed, because people often get lost trying to find the conference venue. So if you're not familiar with Maynooth village, or with the campus, please take the time to find out how to get there in advance! We will do our best to have notices etc. up but can't guarantee their visibility, particularly in bad weather.

Getting to Maynooth village
There are directions to Maynooth online at http://www.nuim.ie/location/ireland_directions.shtml.

If you're coming by air, the simple thing is to take a bus to Dublin and get off at one of the stations. If you get the 746 (normal fare) you can ask the driver to let you off at Drumcondra train station (after 30 – 45 minutes depending on traffic), from which there are trains to Maynooth (sometimes these go further, to Longford or Sligo but it is only one line so you can't go far wrong!) every half hour or every hour, depending on when you arrive (travel time 35 minutes). The train will cost about 2.70 one-way.

Alternatively you can get the 747 or 748 express buses for €6 to Busáras, the central bus station (travel time between 45 – 90 minutes depending on time of day) from where it is about two minutes walk to Connolly Station, the head of the line to Maynooth (travel time about 40 minutes). There are many other possibilities but this is the most straightforward. There is little or no direct public transport to Maynooth from the airport, and taxis are expensive (expect to pay at least 40, probably more, and take an hour or so).

Finding the conference
Our central location is the Auxilia Building, home of the Sociology department. This is on the north (new) campus, which may be helpful if you get lost. We strongly suggest you print out some of the maps which are online at http://www.nuim.ie/location/index.shtml, because people do often get lost. (There will also be a film festival happening in a different building nearby, which may or may not help – if you get to that building instead, you are within 2 minutes of the conference.)

From the train station, it takes 10 – 15 minutes to get to Auxilia.

There is an overall map of Maynooth at http://www.nuim.ie/location/webmaps/index.shtml. Getting off at the train station, make sure you exit through the station building, and then turn left to take the footbridge over the canal. If you turn right and just keep going straight, you will curve around the canal, go down an often busy lane beside a pub and a police station, then across the road at the traffic lights and past a string of shops. Keep going (over another bridge) and turn left around the shopping centre. Go down this road for a hundred meters or so and cross at the pedestrian lights (you can see a footbridge over the road ahead).

If you go through the gap in the wall you are now on the north campus. There is a map online at http://www.nuim.ie/location/maps/north.shtml. On this map, this entrance brings you in around the P in the top right-hand corner of the map. The footpath divides in two almost immediately: take the left-hand fork until you come to the internal road, and then follow that around to your right. Take the first turn left off this road (past what is currently a building site) and Auxilia is the first building on the right (you go through a small car park).

For those of you staying in Maynooth, you may find the map at http://www.nuim.ie/location/maps/estates.shtml useful.

Sunday bus tour: Tara and Loughcrew

Conference participants are invited to join us on an optional bus trip on Sunday, November 1st which will take in the Hill of Tara and Loughcrew megalithic cemetery, both in Co. Meath.
The Hill of Tara, currently in the news because of protests over the building of the M3 motorway through the Tara / Skryne valley, was a sacred site from Neolithic times until the Celtic period, with surviving monuments including a passage tomb, several ring barrows, standing stones, a cursus, and a hilltop enclosure. In early medieval times it was used for the coronation of High Kings and figures in various legends; it was a key site for Irish cultural nationalism and remains important for archaeological research, popular interest and pagan groups.

Loughcrew is the largest of Ireland's four megalithic cemeteries, with over 30 Neolithic passage tombs spread over two hillsides. It is noted for its petroglyphs, including those inside Cairn T, which is aligned so that the sun illuminates these on the equinoxes (see http://www.knowth.com/loughcrew-equinox-video.htm for a video). Wewill have access to the inside of this cairn.

The bus leaves Dublin city centre at 9 am, with a pickup in Maynooth at 9.45 (exact locations TBA). After visiting Tara, we will have lunch in the recently-restored Loughcrew Gardens (http://www.loughcrew.com/garden.htm). After visiting the Loughcrew Cairns, we will return to drop people off inMaynooth around 5.30, at Dublin Airport around 6.30 for those needing to catch a flight, and Dublin city centre around 7 pm.

Price €15, €10 for students / unwaged / OAPs with ID (lunch not included).

Bookings can be made in advance through Olivia Cosgrove <olivia.cosgrove@ul.ie> or at the conference.

Draft timetable and list of papers, updated 24.10.09

Please note that this timetable is subject to change between now and the conference.

Friday 30th October, 2009

10.30 – 12.30: Conference registration and attended poster session

Poster presenters:

Joantine Berghuijs (Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Utrecht University)
Unaffiliated spirituality and social engagement

Markus Davidsen (Leiden University / Aarhus University)
"Fiction based religions": a study of new religions based on religions embedded in fiction

Ronan Foley (NUI Maynooth)
Therapeutic landscapes, ownership and spiritual health

Kerry Gallagher (NUI Maynooth)
Imported Catholicism: the role religion plays in the integration of Polish immigrants into Irish society

Gladys Ganiel (Trinity College Dublin / Irish School of Ecumenics)
Auditing Ireland’s religious diversity: perspectives on diversity, immigration, reconciliation and ecumenism

Brigitte Veiz (Dept. of Social psychology, University of Munich)
The Rainbow Family: rituals and circles in a neo-tribal, global subculture

(11.30: Tea / coffee, Auxilia 1)

12.30 – 1.00: Welcome address (Auxilia 1)
Professor Tom Inglis (University College Dublin)
"A sociological map of religion in contemporary Ireland"

1.00 – 2.30: Lunch

2.30 – 4.00: Workshops, session 1

Auxilia 1


Anne Mulhall (School of English, Drama and Film / Irish Studies, University College Dublin), The Feng Shui of Lough Derg: marketing spirituality in contemporary Ireland

Ciara O'Connor (Dept. of Sociology, NUI Maynooth), Relationships between feminism and the New Age in Ireland: from meditation room to marketplace

Auxilia 2
Frances Clynes (Computing, IT Tallaght / Sophia Centre, University of Wales Lampeter), Cyberspace and religion

Sean O'Callaghan (University of Lancaster, UK), Navigating the "otherworld": listening for voices from Ireland in "dark occultural" cyberspace

Rye Hall
Ruth Bradby (University of Chester, UK), "A course in miracles": channelling, legitimation, therapy and self-help

Anja Bratuz (Science and Research Centre, University of Primorska, Slovenia), A new challenge for the ecological consciousness: the impact of Pogacnik's method of earth healing

Snjezana Zoric (Dept. for Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zadar, Croatia), Intercultural and interreligious encounter in the ashram of Sai Baba

4.00: Tea / coffee, Auxilia 1

4.30 – 6.00: Workshops, session 2

Auxilia 1
Laurence Cox / Maria Griffin (Dept. of Sociology, NUI Maynooth), The Wild Irish girl and the "dalai lama of Little Thibet": Irish Buddhism in world-systems context

John L Murphy (Humanities, DeVry University, USA), Imagining Celtic Buddhism

Audrey Whitty (National Museum of Ireland / Dept. of History of Art and Architecture, Trinity College Dublin), The Albert M Bender collection of Asian art in the National Museum of Ireland

Auxilia 2
Daniel Caldwell (Carraig Eden Theological College, Greystones), Patrick: prototypical Pentecostal?

Patrick Claffey (Dept of Mission Theology and Cultures, Milltown Institute, Dublin), Pentecostal charismatics in Ireland

Rye Hall
Dominic McCambridge (University of London, UK), Spiritual but not religious: an historical and psychological approach to the phenomenon

Peter Mulholland (independent scholar), The flourishing of NRMs in modern Ireland: context, chronology, scale, and crisis theories

6.00 – 7.30: Dinner

8.00: Plenary lecture (Auxilia 1)
Dr Carmen Kuhling (University of Limerick),
From the parish hall to the shopping mall: consumption and re-enchantment in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland

Saturday 31st October, 2009

9.30 – 11.00: Workshops, session 3

Auxilia 1
Sean O'Halloran (independent scholar), Spiritual discourse: an examination of sharing in Alcoholics Anonymous

Lyn Thomas (Institute for the Study of European Transformations, University College London), Returning to the fold? The Monastery in narratives of spiritual life

Auxilia 2: Conference organisers' session [closed]

Rye Hall
Bozena Gierek (Centre for the Comparative Studies of Civilizations, Jagiellonian University, Poland), The place of "Celtic spirituality" in the New Age movement

Áinéad Ní Mhuirthile (Roinn na Gaeilge, Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál, Ollscoil Luimnigh), Reiki healing: the response in Ireland

11.00: Tea / coffee, Auxilia 1

11.30 – 1.00: Workshops, session 4

Auxilia 1
Jenny Butler (Folklore and Ethnology Dept., University College, Cork), Irish neo-paganism: world-view and identity

Geraldine Moane (School of Psychology, University College Dublin), The contemporary development of shamanism in Ireland

Auxilia 2
Olivia Cosgrove (Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick), A crucial site of difference? New religious movements and attitudes to globalisation in Ireland

Malcolm Macourt (Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester), The "new religious landscape" and the "New Irish": the census – a useful tool?

Rye Hall
Alice Herron (independent scholar), Too much mother's love, too little father's guidance: psychological drivers for new religious movements?

Jurek Kirakowski (Dept. of Psychology, University College Cork), What makes an accident into a cult? A psychological analysis of attitude and belief

Diarmuid Verrier, Brian Hughes (School of Psychology, NUI Galway), Spirituality and schizotypy: how personality can influence beliefs and experiences

1.00 – 2.30: Lunch

2.30 – 4.00: Workshops, session 5

Auxilia 1
Carole Cusack (Studies in Religion, University of Sydney, Australia), Alternative spiritualities in Australia

Catherine Maignant (Centre for Irish Studies, University of Lille, France), The fellowship of Isis: the Great Goddess and the New Humanity

Auxilia 2
Attracta Brownlee (Dept. of Anthropology, NUI Maynooth), Irish Travellers, NRMs and the New Age

Courtney Roberts (independent scholar), Astrology in Ireland in the postwar era

Rye Hall
Jonathan Lacey (Dept. of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin), In search of legitimacy: aims and strategies of a neo-Sufi movement in Ireland

Oliver Scharbrodt (Study of Religions Dept, University College Cork), Islam in Ireland: establishing organisational frameworks for a diverse Muslim community in Europe

4.00: Tea / coffee, Auxilia 1

4.30 – 6.00: Workshops, session 6

Auxilia 1
Nadja Furlan (Science and Research Centre, University of Primorska, Slovenia), Feminist spirituality and Goddess-focussed religious philosophy

Laura Sherman (Milltown Institute, Dublin), Finding the divine feminine in current-day Ireland: a return to the Great Mother

Auxilia 2
Brian Bocking (Study of Religions Dept., University College Cork), Catholicism as a new religious movement

Stanley Brunn (Dept. of Geography, University of Kentucky), Changing map of world religions: ten emerging trends

Rye Hall

Kevin Hargaden (Dept. of Sociology, NUI Maynooth), A sociological examination of the theological factors behind evangelical church growth

Ruth Jackson (University of Manchester, UK), The emperor's new clothes? An appraisal of a Christian new religious movement in the Republic of Ireland

6.00 – 7.30: Dinner

8.00: Second plenary lecture (Auxilia 1):
Professor Eileen Barker (London School of Economics)
"Cults, sects and / or new religions: 'Curioser and curioser!' cried Alice. 'Well, yes and no,' replied the sociologist…"

Sunday 1st November, 2009

Bus trip to the Hill of Tara and Loughcrew Megalithic Cemetery, cost for the bus €15 or €10 for students / unwaged with ID. Please bring raingear and boots or walking shoes.

Conference presentations

Including our plenary speakers but not counting poster presentations, there are 47 presenters (for 45 papers), based in Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, the USA, Australia and Brazil. They are established academics, independent scholars and postgraduate researchers. The disciplines represented include anthropology, census and survey research, comparative studies, computing, education, ethnology, European Studies, folklore, history of art, human geography, Irish studies, psychology, religious studies, sociology and theology.

A call for poster presentations is still open.

The conference registration form can now be printed or downloaded from this site.

Welcome address: Professor Tom Inglis (University College Dublin), "A sociological map of religion in contemporary Ireland"

First plenary lecture: Professor Eileen Barker (London School of Economics), Cults, sects and / or new religions: "Curioser and curioser!" cried Alice. "Well, yes and no," replied the sociologist ....

Second plenary lecture: Prof. Paul Heelas (Lancaster University), "Spirituality and the New Age"

Attended poster session (call open until September 21st)

Conference papers:

Anthony d'Andrea (Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick), New Age as self-reflexivity: the post-traditional in the religious field

Brian Bocking (Study of Religions Dept., University College Cork), Catholicism as a new religious movement

Ruth Bradby (University of Chester, UK), "A course in miracles": channelling, legitimation, therapy and self-help

Anja Bratuz (Science and Research Centre, University of Primorska, Slovenia), A new challenge for the ecological consciousness: the impact of Pogacnik's method of earth healing

Attracta Brownlee (Dept. of Anthropology, NUI Maynooth), Irish Travellers, NRMs and the New Age

Jenny Butler (Folklore and Ethnology Dept., University College, Cork), Irish neo-paganism: world-view and identity

Daniel Caldwell (Carraig Eden Theological College, Greystones), Patrick: prototypical Pentecostal?

Patrick Claffey (Dept of Mission Theology and Cultures, Milltown Institute, Dublin), Pentecostal charismatics in Ireland

Frances Clynes (Computing, IT Tallaght / Sophia Centre, University of Wales Lampeter), Cyberspace and religion

Olivia Cosgrove (Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick), A crucial site of difference? New religious movements and attitudes to globalisation in Ireland

Laurence Cox / Maria Griffin (Dept. of Sociology, NUI Maynooth), The Wild Irish girl and the "dalai lama of Little Thibet": Irish Buddhism in world-systems context

Nadja Furlan (Science and Research Centre, University of Primorska, Slovenia), Feminist spirituality and Goddess-focussed religious philosophy

Bozena Gierek (Centre for Studies of Comparative Civilizations, Jagiellonian University, Poland), Celtic spirituality: between New Age and Christianity

John Healy (School of Humanities, Charles Sturt University, Australia), Seekers and accidental seekers

Alice Herron (independent scholar), Too much mother's love, too little father's guidance: psychological drivers for new religious movements?

Fergus Hogan (Centre for Social and Family Research, Waterford IT), From confessional spaces to the synchronicity of self healing through forgiveness

Ruth Jackson (University of Manchester, UK), The emperor's new clothes? An appraisal of a Christian new religious movement in the Republic of Ireland

Jurek Kirakowski (Dept. of Psychology, University College Cork), What makes an accident into a cult? A psychological analysis of attitude and belief

Carmen Kuhling (Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick), From the parish hall to the shopping mall: consumption and re-enchantment in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland

Jonathan Lacey (Dept. of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin), In search of legitimacy: aims and strategies of a neo-Sufi movement in Ireland

Mika Lassander (Religious Studies, Open University, UK), Modern paganism as a legitimating framework for post-materialist values

Marina Lopes (Human Geography, AJES, Brazil), And the oak casts a shadow: the specialization of neodruidic imaginary in the city of Sao Paolo, Brazil

Dominic McCambridge (University of London, UK), Spiritual but not religious: an historical and psychological approach to the phenomenon

Malcolm Macourt (Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester), The "new religious landscape" and the "New Irish": the census – a useful tool?

Catherine Maignant (Centre for Irish Studies, University of Lille, France), The fellowship of Isis: the Great Goddess and the New Humanity

Geraldine Moane (School of Psychology, University College Dublin), The contemporary development of shamanism in Ireland

Anne Mulhall (School of English, Drama and Film / Irish Studies, University College Dublin), The Feng Shui of Lough Derg: marketing spirituality in contemporary Ireland

Peter Mulholland (independent scholar), The cult of moving statues

John L Murphy (Humanities, DeVry University, USA), Imagining Celtic Buddhism

Áinéad Ní Mhuirthile (Roinn na Gaeilge, Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál, Ollscoil Luimnigh), Reiki healing: the response in Ireland

Sean O'Callaghan (University of Lancaster, UK), Navigating the "otherworld": listening for voices from Ireland in "dark occultural" cyberspace

Ciara O'Connor (Dept. of Sociology, NUI Maynooth), Relationships between feminism and the New Age in Ireland: from meditation room to marketplace

Sean O'Halloran (independent scholar), Spiritual discourse: an examination of sharing in Alcoholics Anonymous

Courtney Roberts (independent scholar), Astrology in Ireland in the postwar era

Oliver Scharbrodt (Study of Religions Dept, University College Cork), Islam in Ireland: establishing organisational frameworks for a diverse Muslim community in Europe

Laura Sherman (Milltown Institute, Dublin), Finding the divine feminine in current-day Ireland: a return to the Great Mother

Stephen Skuce (Cliff College, UK), Christian evangelism and NRMs in Ireland: a case study

Steven Sutcliffe (Dept. of Religion and Society, University of Edinburgh, Scotland), After the "world religions" taxonomy: "new age" beliefs and practices and the elementary forms of the religious life

Lyn Thomas (Institute for the Study of European Transformations), University College London), Returning to the fold? The Monastery in narratives of spiritual life

Diarmuid Verrier, Brian Hughes (School of Psychology, NUI Galway), Spirituality and schizotypy: how personality can influence beliefs and experiences

Audrey Whitty (National Museum of Ireland / Dept. of History of Art and Architecture, Trinity College Dublin), The Albert M Bender collection of Asian art in the National Museum of Ireland

Snjezana Zoric (Dept. for Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Zadar, Croatia), Intercultural and interreligious encounter in the ashram of Sai Baba

Conference timetable

The provisional timetable for the conference is as follows:

Friday 30th October, 2009
10.30 – 12.30: Attended poster session / registration

12.30 – 1.00: Welcome address:
Professor Tom Inglis (University College Dublin),
"A sociological map of religion in contemporary Ireland"

1.00 – 2.30: Lunch

2.30 – 4.00: Workshops, session 1

4.30 – 6.00: Workshops, session 2

6.00 – 7.30: Dinner

8.00: Public lecture:
Professor Eileen Barker (London School of Economics),
Cults, sects and / or new religions: some reflections on 40 years' research - or
"Curioser and curioser!" cried Alice. "Well, yes and no," replied the sociologist ....

Saturday 31st October, 2009
9.30 – 11.00: Workshops, session 3

11.30 – 1.00: Workshops, session 4

1.00 – 2.30: Lunch

2.30 – 4.00: Workshops, session 5

4.30 – 6.00: Workshops, session 6

6.00 – 7.30: Dinner

8.00: Public lecture:
Professor Paul Heelas (Lancaster University),
"Spirituality and the New Age"

Sunday 1st November, 2009
An excursion to local pre-Christian sites will be organised if there is sufficient interest.


A call for poster presentations for the conference is still open; see this link for details.

Permanent conference website

The new, permanent website for the conference is at this address, with all the material currently on this site. This site will be maintained for the next few months, but not after the conference.

Topics of the conference papers

Over 30 papers have been accepted for the October 2009 Maynooth conference on "Alternative spiritualities, the New Age and new religious movements". We are now inviting abstracts for poster presentations – please see this post for details.

Those presenting papers come from seven countries on three continents and from fields as diverse as anthropology, computer science, psychology, Irish studies, sociology, religious studies, religious professions and independent research.

The topics of the papers accepted cover among other things

• Globalisation, modernity and new religions in Ireland
  
• Questioning the "new religious movements" category
  
• New forms of religious affiliation
  
• New religious movements, media and cyberspace
  
• History of alternative religions in Ireland
  
• World religions in Ireland
  
• Celtic identities and religiosities
  
• The feminist divine
  
• Holistic spiritualities
  
• Christian new religious movements
  
• Rethinking new religious movements, Catholicism and Islam
  
• Psychology and religion
  
• Conceptualising and measuring religious beliefs
  

Registration information for the conference will be available shortly for the benefit of those presenting; a timetable will be available nearer to the conference itself.

Conference call for poster presentations

Alternative spiritualities, the New Age and New Religious Movements in Ireland: an interdisciplinary conference

National University of Ireland, Maynooth
October 30th – 31st 2009

Welcome address:

Prof. Tom Inglis (UCD)

Plenary lectures:

Prof. Eileen Barker (LSE)

Prof. Paul Heelas (Lancaster University)

Call for poster presentations
In recent decades, the religious landscape of the island of Ireland has transformed dramatically. New religious movements and what is sometimes called the "New Age" have flourished, along with the arrival of religions long-established elsewhere. Ways of being which classify themselves as non-religious or as consciously resisting religion (new spiritualities, humanism, skepticism, anti-cult organisations etc.) have also become far more significant. (The "newness" of any movement or group, and the "New Age" classification, are of course both often strongly contested, but are used here for practical purposes.)

This is the first conference to bring together academic research on these topics in Ireland. We are interested in work on religious groups and movements, as well as more diffuse expressions of spirituality and religious organisation which have arrived, (re-)emerged or flourished in Ireland after 1945.

These developments raise big questions for the study of religion, but also have important implications in fields as wide-ranging as gender relations, roads protests, the politics of church and state, immigration, tourism, funeral practices, education, youth cultures, health and regulation, globalization, and our relationship to the past, physical or imagined. They shed light on the transformation of religion in contemporary Ireland as well as providing us with insights into the nature of the society we live in.

With this in mind, we have just closed a call for theoretical and empirical papers in a range of disciplines on all aspects of these new movements in Ireland, including but not limited to "New Age" groups, pagan / Celtic movements, other new religious movements, world religions in Ireland, alternative medicine and bodywork, "cults" and schisms within established Irish churches, non- and anti-religious groups, and new religious movements abroad which have strong Irish roots or influences.

We are now making a call for poster presentations, which may be particularly interesting for people who are just starting research in this area but wish to let others know about their research interests, as well as for people who have concluded or published research that they want to draw other people's attention to.

While the conference is dedicated to academic research, it will be open to the public and we expect interest from the media as well as from mainstream churches, alternative practitioners and other interested parties.

Suggested themes
We welcome posters by established researchers and graduate students in all academic disciplines (including but not limited to anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, English, health research, history, neuroscience, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, religious studies, tourism studies, women's studies …) as well as cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary papers and work by researchers outside of academia.

Posters may be theoretical or empirical in their approach, and include historical, qualitative and quantitative studies, documentary and case study approaches, and other methodologies and approaches. The only limitation is that this is a research conference rather than a place to debate the truth or religious value of particular religious beliefs or practices, and we are looking for posters which advance understanding rather than simply describing, celebrating or condemning.

Some suggested themes for posters include:

• The New Age and understanding religion: concepts and theories, understanding "experiences" and techniques, biography and religion etc…


• New religious movements and social change in Ireland: secularisation, class, Celtic Tiger and prosperity consciousness, modernity and post-modernity etc…


• Alternative spiritualities and identity: ethnicity, feminism, bodies, ecology, landscapes, globalisation, "Celticity", counter-culture etc…


• The organisation of the New Age: new religious structures, the Internet and new religions, credentialism, seminar spirituality etc…


• Contesting religion: media coverage, mainstream religious responses, moral panics, anti-cult movements, secular movements etc…


• Institutional implications of new religious movements: education, health, policing, funerals, marriages, conflicts over regulation etc…


• The economics of new spirituality: commodification, publishing, spiritual tourism, alternative health etc…


• Historicising new religious movements: reading the pre-Christian past, Orientalism in Ireland, literary aspects etc…

We also welcome proposals for poster presentations on other topics related to the conference focus.

Timeframe and other practical details
The deadline for poster proposals is October 23rd, 2009. Please submit proposals by email to Olivia Cosgrove (olivia.cosgrove@ul.ie), including an abstract of no more than 200 words in .rtf, .doc or .pdf format and your academic or institutional affiliation.

Posters accepted for the conference will be distributed to participants on the day, and may be reworked for later publication elsewhere. The deadline for submission of completed posters is October 23rd, 2009. We will make greater guidance on poster formats available nearer the time.

The conference will run during the day on Friday and Saturday, with plenary lectures in the evening. An excursion to local pre-Christian sites (which include Tara and the Boyne Valley tombs) will be organised on the Sunday if there is sufficient interest.

As this will be a multi-disciplinary conference, as well as being open to an informed and interested public, we encourage presenters to make posters clear and accessible, without talking down to their audience or devoting the whole of their poster to simple description.

Maynooth is 15 miles outside Dublin, close to the airport and easily accessible by rail and bus as well as car. More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynooth and www.nuim.ie. In May-June we will organise affordable accommodation for those who need it and make details and a booking form available. We will also work to deal with specific food requirements at that point.

Organising committee:
Dr Anthony d'Andrea, University of Limerick
Ms Olivia Cosgrove, University of Limerick
Dr Laurence Cox, NUI Maynooth
Ms Maria Griffin, NUI Maynooth
Dr Carmen Kuhling, University of Limerick
Dr Peter Mulholland, NUI Maynooth
Dr Patricia Neville, University of Limerick
Ms Ciara O'Connor, NUI Maynooth

Conference call for papers

Alternative spiritualities, the New Age and New Religious Movements in Ireland:

an interdisciplinary conference

National University of Ireland, Maynooth
October 30th – 31st 2009

Welcome address:

Prof. Tom Inglis (UCD)

Plenary lectures:

Prof. Eileen Barker (LSE)

Prof. Paul Heelas (Lancaster University)

Call for papers
In recent decades, the religious landscape of the island of Ireland has transformed dramatically. New religious movements and what is sometimes called the "New Age" have flourished, along with the arrival of religions long-established elsewhere. Ways of being which classify themselves as non-religious or as consciously resisting religion (new spiritualities, humanism, skepticism, anti-cult organisations etc.) have also become far more significant. (The "newness" of any movement or group, and the "New Age" classification, are of course both often strongly contested, but are used here for practical purposes.)

This is the first conference to bring together academic research on these topics in Ireland. We are interested in work on religious groups and movements, as well as more diffuse expressions of spirituality and religious organisation which have arrived, (re-)emerged or flourished in Ireland after 1945.

These developments raise big questions for the study of religion, but also have important implications in fields as wide-ranging as gender relations, roads protests, the politics of church and state, immigration, tourism, funeral practices, education, youth cultures, health and regulation, globalization, and our relationship to the past, physical or imagined. They shed light on the transformation of religion in contemporary Ireland as well as providing us with insights into the nature of the society we live in.

With this in mind, we welcome theoretical and empirical papers in a range of disciplines on all aspects of these new movements in Ireland, including but not limited to "New Age" groups, pagan / Celtic movements, other new religious movements, world religions in Ireland, alternative medicine and bodywork, "cults" and schisms within established Irish churches, non- and anti-religious groups, and new religious movements abroad which have strong Irish roots or influences.

While the conference is dedicated to academic research, it will be open to the public and we expect interest from the media as well as from mainstream churches, alternative practitioners and other interested parties.

Suggested themes
We welcome papers by established researchers and graduate students in all academic disciplines (including but not limited to anthropology, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, English, health research, history, neuroscience, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, religious studies, tourism studies, women's studies …) as well as cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary papers and work by researchers outside of academia.

Papers may be theoretical or empirical in their approach, and include historical, qualitative and quantitative studies, documentary and case study approaches, and other methodologies and approaches. The only limitation is that this is a research conference rather than a place to debate the truth or religious value of particular religious beliefs or practices, and we are looking for papers which advance understanding rather than simply describing, celebrating or condemning.

Some suggested themes for papers include:

• The New Age and understanding religion: concepts and theories, understanding "experiences" and techniques, biography and religion etc…
• New religious movements and social change in Ireland: secularisation, class, Celtic Tiger and prosperity consciousness, modernity and post-modernity etc…
• Alternative spiritualities and identity: ethnicity, feminism, bodies, ecology, landscapes, globalisation, "Celticity", counter-culture etc…
• The organisation of the New Age: new religious structures, the Internet and new religions, credentialism, seminar spirituality etc…
• Contesting religion: media coverage, mainstream religious responses, moral panics, anti-cult movements, secular movements etc…
• Institutional implications of new religious movements: education, health, policing, funerals, marriages, conflicts over regulation etc…
• The economics of new spirituality: commodification, publishing, spiritual tourism, alternative health etc…
• Historicising new religious movements: reading the pre-Christian past, Orientalism in Ireland, literary aspects etc…

We also welcome proposals on other topics related to the conference focus.

Timeframe and other practical details
The deadline for proposals is May 1st, 2009. Please submit proposals by email to Olivia Cosgrove (olivia.cosgrove@ul.ie), including an abstract of no more than 500 words in .rtf, .doc or .pdf format and your academic or institutional affiliation. We will notify acceptance of proposals by May 31st at the latest.

Papers accepted for the conference will be distributed to participants on the day, and may be reworked for later publication elsewhere. The deadline for registration, and for submission of completed papers, is October 1st, 2009. Papers should be in .doc format and be no longer than 9,000 words including footnotes, bibliography etc. Speakers will have 20 minutes for each paper.

The conference will run during the day on Friday and Saturday, with plenary lectures in the evening. An excursion to local pre-Christian sites (which include Tara and the Boyne Valley tombs) will be organised on the Sunday if there is sufficient interest.

As this will be a multi-disciplinary conference, as well as being open to an informed and interested public, we encourage presenters to deliver papers which are clear and accessible, without talking down to their audience or devoting the whole of their paper to simple description. We intend to publish a volume based on selected papers from the conference, suitably rewritten, as a definitive collection on the subject.

Maynooth is 15 miles outside Dublin, close to the airport and easily accessible by rail and bus as well as car. More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maynooth and www.nuim.ie. In May-June we will organise affordable accommodation for those who need it and make details and a booking form available. We will also work to deal with specific food requirements at that point.

Organising committee:
Dr Anthony d'Andrea, University of Limerick
Ms Olivia Cosgrove, University of Limerick
Dr Laurence Cox, NUI Maynooth
Ms Maria Griffin, NUI Maynooth
Dr Carmen Kuhling, University of Limerick
Dr Peter Mulholland, NUI Maynooth
Dr Patricia Neville, University of Limerick
Ms Ciara O'Connor, NUI Maynooth