12/07/2025 08:30
- 10:45
HALL: Seminar Room 04
Proponent:
Schneider M.
Chair:
Race A.
Speaker:
Burkhardt S.,
Rüsch M.,
Schmidt-Leukel P.,
Schneider M.,
Völker F.
Hell occupies an important place in the religious imagination across various cultures. This panel will examine ways in which the idea of hell(s) is negotiated across different religio-cultural contexts. It will explore hell as a dynamic concept that is both continuously transformed and transforming. First, how has the idea of hell been transformed in different religious traditions? As a recurring theme in the global history of religions, hell is a liminal idea in two ways. On the one hand, it has given rise to a wide spectrum of interpretations, partly because it is an intersection where eschatology, anthropology, soteriology, and ethics converge. On the other hand, this spectrum is shaped by the ambivalence of hell. In many contexts, hell has never been unequivocally affirmed, but has consistently been challenged by its "rivals" escape, relief, and purification (Alan Bernstein). Therefore, the idea of hell oscillates between its endorsement as a prerequisite for postmortal justice and its rejection as metaphysically inconsistent or morally bizarre. Drawing on case studies from Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic traditions, the panel will explore how the liminality of hell serves as a catalyst for the development of different doctrinal strategies for transforming the idea of hell. Second, how does the idea of hell transform religious materiality and the cultural imagination? Hell has never been an isolated idea, but has exerted a profound influence on the shape of religious materiality, spirituality, and pop culture. Case studies focusing on the construction of religious space, interpretations of near-death experiences, and the figure of the zombie will complicate the often-stated assumption that the idea of hell is a declining phenomenon in the contemporary religious landscape. Instead, they will investigate how hell continues to haunt the interstices of lived religion and (post)modern cultural imagination - but not without remaining unchanged in the process.