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Dear friends and colleagues,

Again, we have gathered plenty of information and events for you in today’s Wednesday Weekly.

Our colloquium continues next week with our Senior Research Fellow Sita Steckel. We would like to point you to a lecture by our Director Monika Wohlrab-Sahr as well as a publication by a KFG member. Furthermore, we have a Call for Panel Proposals for the EASR meeting 2023 for you and we would like to remind you of the Inaugural Lecture of our Associate Member Lori Beaman on 14 October.

Last but not least, we have another update on the Corona protection measures, and our Wednesday Weekly will conclude with our recommendation for the great DOK Film Festival Leipzig.

Enjoy and have a good week!

Anja & Lucy

Next week’s Colloquium: Sita Steckel on “Beyond church and state: Re-assessing historical dynamics of differentiation, religious plurality and secularity in medieval Europe”, 19 October

Next Wednesday, our Senior Research Fellow Sita Steckel will give a presentation on her research project “Beyond church and state: Re-assessing historical dynamics of differentiation, religious plurality and secularity in medieval Europe”.

The colloquium will take place in a hybrid format (on-site and online). If you would like to join in person, please register for the colloquium via e-mail. In the Member Area you will find the relevant readings as well as information on the zoom connection data.


19 October | 9.15–11.45 am (CET)

Strohsack, Room 4.55 and online via zoom

Lecture by Monika Wohlrab-Sahr on “Multiple Secularities: Approaching cross-cultural and cross-epoch comparisons in a globally entangled world”, 18 October

Two weeks ago our Director Monika Wohlrab-Sahr, together with our Research Coordinator Johannes Duschka, our Research Coordination Counsellor Judith Zimmermann and our Associate Member Florian Zemmin presented the “Theoretical and methodological advances in the ‘Multiple Secularities’ project” as part of the international conference on “Secularism/Laicity and Secularization: American Origins of a Distinction” in Mexico City, coordinated by our Senior Research Fellow Roberto Blancarte.

Now, Monika will give this presentation in the context of the colloquium series at the Institute for the Study of Culture at Leipzig University. It will also be open to KFG members and might be of interest especially to the new Fellows. If you would like to participate, please register for the event in advance by e-mail.

18 October, 5.15–6.45 pm (CET)

Leipzig University | Beethovenstraße 15, Room H5 1.16, 04107 Leipzig

Reminder: Inaugural Lecture by Lori Beamen: “The Transformational Possibilities of Immanence: The Rise of Nonreligion and its Implications for the Climate Crisis”, 14 October, GLOBE22 Festival

A little reminder about the inaugural lecture for the Leibniz Professorship of our Associate Member Lori Beaman: She will speak on “The Transformational Possibilities of Immanence: The Rise of Nonreligion and its Implications for the Climate Crisis”. This discussion explores the implications of the decline in the number of people who affiliate and identify with institutional religion in traditionally Christian countries vis à vis human relationships with the planet.

The lecture will be held in English with simultaneous German translation. Our director Christoph Kleine will open the event. Sebastian Rödl,  Professor of Philosophy with a focus on Practical Philosophy, Leipzig University, will then give a laudation. After Lori's lecture there will be a discussion together with our directors Christoph Kleine and Monika Wohlrab-Sahr.

Lori’s lecture is part of this year’s GLOBE22 science festival organized by the Research Centre Global Dynamics – this year on the topic of the climate crisis. Already since 10 October and until 15 October, all Research Areas of the Research Centre are participating with their collaborative projects, numerous cooperation partners as well as a number of exciting guests from politics & civil society. In these times of uncertainty, the festival is an attempt to create a scientifically grounded, urban public discussion and conceptual space on the climate and energy crisis.

Inaugural Lecture Lori Beaman:

14 October | 6.30–8.30 pm (CET) | Venue: Paulinum, 04109 Leipzig

GLOBE22 Science Festival:

10–15 October | Venue: Paulinum, 04109 Leipzig

Call for Panel Proposals: 2023 EASR Conference on “Religions and Technologies”, 4–8 September 2023 in Vilnius

We would like to draw your attention to the 2023 European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) conference “Religions and Technologies”, which is now open for the submission of panel proposals. The conference is organized by the Lithuanian Society for the Study of Religions and will take place from 4–8 September 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The relationship between religion and technology is a neglected theme that needs serious research, not just concerning the past, but also in the rapidly changing modern world, where religions and religious movements have become an integral part of the digital world, influencing public opinion, and sometimes even serving as propaganda for political regimes.

The deadline for panel proposals is 15 November. You will find more information on the conference website.

Important Dates:

• Submission of Session Proposals: 15 November 2022
• Notification of Acceptance of Panels: 25 November 2022
• Call for Individual Papers: 1 December 2022 – 31 January 2023
• Notification of Acceptance of Individual Papers: 28 February 2023
• Early bird registration: 31 May 2023
• Standard registration: 30 June 2023
• Late registration: from 1 July 2023

Update on Corona Protection Measures

Again, our community of Fellows has grown, and we would like to take this as an opportunity to give an update on the current corona protection measures at Leipzig University and in the KFG. It is our concern to do everything possible to ensure the protection of members and employees at our university. Thus, we continue to ask everyone to observe the general rules of hygiene such as keeping a minimum distance of 1.5 metres, ventilating rooms regularly, and, of course, wearing a mouth-nose protection wherever the minimum distance cannot be kept. In all Leipzig University buildings, wearing a medical or surgical face mask is strongly recommended, although not mandatory.

Please remember that before our events – in particular, the colloquia on Wednesdays, the Coffee Breaks on Tuesdays and the Eranos dinners – a Corona rapid test must be carried out by everyone who wants to participate. We have tests available for you in our office. Please contact us if you have any further questions around this topic.

DOK Leipzig 2022: International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, 17–23 October

DOK Leipzig is celebrating its 65^th edition this year and looks forward to welcoming you from 17 to 23 October. The festival organizers will screen 255 films and XR experiences from 55 countries in various Leipzig venues.

DOK Leipzig is an annual festival for documentaries and animations that celebrates film and promotes debate. DOK Leipzig is the largest German and second largest European festival for artistic documentary film. It is also the oldest documentary film festival in the world. The festival focuses on the values of peace, tolerance, human dignity and freedom of expression, along with a strong, individual artistic signature of the filmmakers.

If you have any content that you think suits the purpose of the weekly, please feel free to send it to us at multiple-secularities@uni-leipzig.de.