01/07/2026 18:30 - 19:30

HALL: Parenzo - A3

Contact: Robinson M.R.

Chair: Grung A.H.

The European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies (ESITIS) invites paper proposals (15-20 min presentations) exploring "technologies of the sacred" in past, present, and future contexts. We are interested in questions concerning the ways technology and the social produce one another as well as contributions that examine how technologies are used and challenged in various religious traditions and contexts in the mediation of tradition, meaning, practice, and authority.


Committed Papers:
+ "I am A and I": AI-induced mutations in religion and religion-induced perceptions of the future of technology" (Anne Kull; University of Tartu)
+ "Impacts of Artificial Intelligence on the Transformation of Teaching and Research in Theology and Religion" (Berg Traboulsi; Haigazian University)


Proposals are invited on topics such as (among others):
+ Historical case studies, e.g., related to pedagogy and devotional practice
+ Ritual, spirituality and technologies
+ Digital innovation and the evolution of religious belief and practice
+ The implications of empirical and natural-scientific turns in the study of religions for the religious self-understandings of religious persons and communities
+ Spiritual practices understood as technologies of the self / community


We particularly invite papers that address these or other topics on religion and technology in relation to the EuARe 2026 theme of "Religions and Inequalities". What potential for (in)equalities within or among religious persons and communities is created or confronted by technological change? How are emerging technologies used to democratise the presence and participation of religious communities in society, and in what ways might they exacerbate exclusion? This open panel aims to foster a rich interdisciplinary conversation about the evolving interplay between sacred traditions and technological innovation.