01/07/2026 09:00 - 17:10

HALL: Parenzo - A14

Contact: Ott T.

Chair: Geidel M., Markert A., Ott T.

Our present age is characterized by a constant competition for our attention — shaped, fragmented, and directed by digital technologies, media environments, and social structures. This panel approaches the question of attention from a theological and religious studies perspectives: What constitutes attention, and to what extent can it be guided, cultivated, or controlled? Which religious practices attract or cultivate attention? How do the attention logics of algorithms reshape religious practices and experiences? What practices of attention can be identified within religious traditions — such as compassion, empathy, and (neighborly) love — and how might they offer alternative models of perceiving and responding to the world? What are the negative dimensions of attention — for example, phenomena such as attention fatigue in health care or exposure — and how do they challenge theological or ethical reflection? Finally, what role does attention play in reinforcing or challenging global inequalities?


We welcome both theoretical contributions that examine attention on an abstract or analytical level and practical studies that address it in applied settings, for instance in spiritual counseling or pastoral care. We invite papers from all theological disciplines, ethics, religious studies, and related fields that investigate the relationship between religion and attention in a broad sense.