Anthropology, Psychology and Religion

Jessica Coblentz, Boston College (Massachusetts), coblentj@bc.edu
Matthew Sherman, Marian University (Indiana), msherman@marian.edu

For this year’s Anthropology, Psychology, and Religion section, we are especially interested in papers which grapple with the conference theme of “American Catholicism in the 21st Century: Crossroads, Crisis, or Renewal?”  Suggested areas of inquiry include

• freedom as a significant theme in American identity, human psychology, and theological anthropology: are there generative similarities and differences across these discourses?;
• the relationship between religious liberty and human psychology;
• the status of the American sex abuse crisis: ecclesial, legal, or theological perspectives;
• social trauma in U.S. society, past and present, and models of (in)adequate response.

Presentations are by no means bound by these topics, and we welcome papers on a wide array of issues related to mind, body, American society, and the American Church.  Proposals submitted to this section may also be considered for presentation in a joint three-section panel on “Theology and the American Dream” arranged among the following sections: 1. Sexuality, Relationships, Marriage and Family; 2. Anthropology, Psychology, and Religion; and 3. Feminisms, Gender, and Theology.

Please submit proposals to both conveners using the email addresses above.