This double sessions and book chapter's call will focus on religion and motherhood (as an institution), mothering (as the specific experience of mothers and others who engage in mother work), maternal figures (divinities and other-than-human figures), and actual mothers, past and present.

Presentation

Contributors who want to participate in both the Handbook (written chapter) and the IAHR panel(s) (paper) must submit their proposals to both (2 distinct processes). Acceptance in the Handbook or the IAHR Open Panel does not guarantee acceptance to both. We strongly encourage IAHR participants to also submit a chapter proposal, though this is not mandatory. Contributors presenting at the IAHR will have the chance to discuss their materials and receive feedback on this occasion.

Scientific coordination

• Florence Pasche Guignard, Université Laval (Quebec, Canada) florence.pasche-guignard@ftsr.ulaval.ca 
• Giulia Pedrucci, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave (Slovakia); University of Verona (Italy), giulia.pedrucci@univr.it 
• Joanna Krotofil, Institute for the Studies of Religion, Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University (Poland), joanna.krotofil@uj.edu.pl

Call for papers for the Open Panel Studying Religion(s), Motherhood and Mothering in Interconnected Worlds

Argument

This (series of) panel(s) calls for papers that will relate religion with culture and society through a focus on motherhood (as an institution), mothering (as the specific experience of mothers and others who engage in mother work), maternal figures (divinities and other-than-human figures) and actual mothers, past and present. It aims at mapping the state of a burgeoning subfield in the study of religions, through featuring research that builds up on over forty years of scholarship on gender and religion, with a specific focus on “mothers” rather than “women” or “gender”. The panel(s) will be especially relevant to the goal of connecting the particular and the universal: key issues with motherhood often remain strongly tied to notions of biological and physiological embodiment (fertility, pregnancy, birth, lactation), and yet very diverse religious constructions are at work in discourses (myths, sacred narratives) and practices (rituals, prescriptions and restrictions for mothers specifically, etc.). While acknowledging the importance of both sex and gender, and of embodiment in relation to religious laws and rituals particularly, we also encourage papers that examine non-normative maternal roles, carried on by figures that can be female/feminine, male/masculine, animal, divine, abstract, technological, etc., considering “mother” as a verb rather than as a feminine substantive only. The notion of crossing the boundaries of different approaches and methodologies in the academic study of religions will also be key in the panel(s) as we expect contributions based on a diversity of materials and sources (texts, images, artifacts, fieldwork, etc.) and with various approaches.

Submission guidelines

All information regarding the XXIII International Association for the History of Religion (IAHR) World Congress “Out of Europe: Studying Religion(s) in Interconnected Worlds” in Krakow can be found on the website https://iahr2025.org/welcome/, subject to modifications.

Visit the IAHR World Congress website and follow the instructions to submit an abstract for your paper. Your proposal should fit with the Open Panel’s call below and will be assessed independently by the IAHR’s reviewers.

Individual papers submission to the IAHR runs from March 1st, 2024 til

December 1st, 2024

Notification is expected by January 5, 2025 at the latest.

During the submission process, select the Open Panel “Studying Religion(s), Motherhood and Mothering in Interconnected Worlds” so that we are notified of your intention to contribute to this panel. Our team will then decide whether to include your paper in our open panel. If your abstract is accepted by the IAHR, you will still be able to present your paper, even if we cannot include it in our Open Panel.

Proposals for individual papers at the IAHR should include the name of the presenter, their academic affiliation, the title of their paper (of no more than 20 words), an abstract of 200 to 250 words (shorter than the one needed for the Handbook), and 3 to 6 keywords.

For inquiries regarding the Open Panel on “Studying Religion(s), Motherhood and Mothering in Interconnected Worlds” at the IAHR World Congress, e-mail joanna.krotofil@uj.edu.pl.

No submissions will be accepted over e-mail.

Call for chapters for the Handbook of Religions and Motherhood, edited by F. Pasche Guignard, G. Pedrucci and J. Krotofil

Argument

This edited volume will focus on religion and motherhood (as an institution), mothering (as the specific experience of mothers and others who engage in mother work), maternal figures (divinities and other-than-human figures), and actual mothers, past and present. These often-quoted lines by Adrienne Rich on motherhood, “We know more about the air we breathe, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood”, somehow lost their relevance and urgency, as scholars from different disciplines engaged with the subject. There has been a lag, however, in the systematic exploration of the relationship between religion and motherhood and mothering which only recently has become a burgeoning subfield in the study of religions, building upon over forty years of scholarship on gender and religion. With its focus on “mothers” –rather than “women” or “gender”– this edited volume will bring into sharp focus scholarship exploring key issues of motherhood, mothering and the maternal, as they are linked to religion(s) and spirituality in various ways around the world. Carefully selected contributions on this specific intersection will constitute a field-defining handbook providing a comprehensive overview of the state of the field whilst also pointing toward new directions in research. To achieve a high degree of representation and diversity, we welcome proposals for contributions focusing on both historical and contemporary material (texts, images, artifacts, data from fieldwork, etc.) and exploring various socio-cultural and geo-political locations. While acknowledging the importance of both sex and gender and of embodiment in relation to religious laws and rituals particularly, we also encourage proposals that examine non-normative maternal roles, carried on by figures that can be female/feminine, male/masculine, animal, divine, abstract, technological, etc. In this context, we consider “mother” as a verb rather than as a feminine substantive only. While the Handbook intends to contribute primarily scholarly perspectives to the academic study of religions, we welcome submissions from scholars across a wide variety of disciplines and situated perspectives.

Different aspects of the relationship between religion, motherhood and mothering might include, but are not restricted to, the following areas:

• Diverse religious constructions at work in discourses (myths, sacred narratives, texts) and practices (rituals, prescriptions and restrictions for mothers specifically, etc.) related to motherhood and mothering
• The political and politicized manifestations of the relationship between religion(s) and motherhood and mothering (about, but especially beyond issues of contraception and abortion)
• Critical discussions of religious and spiritual considerations on biological and physiological (fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, lactation) experiences of motherhood (such as food or contact restrictions or prescriptions, spiritual metaphors of womb and milk, etc.)
• The intersectional perspectives on the relationship between religion and mothering as women’s and others’ own experience, as well as religious maternal agency
• Case studies exploring mothers, motherhood and mothering in specific socio-cultural and geo-political locations; contributions from less frequently studied areas in religious studies, such as African, Caribbean, Chinese, etc. contexts are encouraged
• Motherhood and mothering in family structures, normative or alternative, shaped by religious worldviews (e.g. mothering in polygamist families, religious views on adoption, etc.). Subversive motherhood/mothering, resistance and reclaiming motherhood/mothering within religious institutions, through religious or spiritual traditions, or after leaving religion(s)
• Critical discussions of theoretical and methodological issues in studying mothers, mothering and motherhood at the intersection with religion and spirituality, as well as discussing key tenets of maternal theory and previous works by authors on that topic with a focus on religion or spirituality
• Other relevant topics

Submission guidelines

Fill in this form to send the editorial team

• your first and last name, email, university/affiliation
• a short bio (50 words)
• a provisional title for your chapter and an abstract (500 words)
• up to 5 keywords

By December 1st, 2024

By February 1st, 2025, at the latest : if your chapter proposal is accepted, you will receive an invitation to write a full chapter (6000- 8000 words, notes and references included) for the Handbook. A stylesheet will be sent to contributors over the summer of 2025.

By September 30, 2025: a first version of your chapter is due. By this date, the editorial team expects to confirm a contract with a publisher for the Handbook. Final acceptance of the chapter is conditional, and the text is subject to peer review. Revisions may be required. As this editorial project is intended through a feminist and collaborative perspective, each author whose chapter is accepted will be asked to read and constructively comment on a chapter by another contributor to enhance the general quality, relevance, and accessibility of the volume to non-specialists. Publication of the volume is expected in 2026.

Inquiries about the Handbook can be sent through the comments section on the submission form https://www.limesurvey.cstip.ulaval.ca/index.php/496797?lang=en