SoPheRE
CALL FOR PAPER AND PANEL PROPOSALS
2027 Pacific Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association
March 24–27, 2027 | Portland, Oregon
Submission Deadline: October 6, 2026
The Society for the Phenomenology of Religious Experience (SoPheRE) invites paper and panel proposals for its session at the 2027 American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting.
We welcome proposals addressing phenomenological philosophical approaches to philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and world religions.
Submission Guidelines
Individual papers: Submit an abstract of 200–300 words. A completed paper may also be included. Presentations will be approximately 20–30 minutes.
Panel proposals: Submit a 150-word introduction describing the panel theme and title, together with 200–300-word abstracts for each paper.
All submissions should include each presenter’s:
- Full name
- Institutional affiliation and location (state/province or country)
- Email address
- Paper title in Title Case
Membership in SoPheRE is not required for submission or acceptance. However, accepted presenters must become current SoPheRE members before the session information is submitted to the APA. Presenters must also register for the APA meeting and pay the applicable APA registration fee.
Please send proposals and questions to Olga Louchakova-Schwartz at olga@sophere.org.
For information about SoPheRE and membership, visit sophere.org.
Annual SoPheRE Membership
- Fully employed members: $65 USD
- Emeriti: $45 USD
- Graduate students and underemployed members: $35 USD
Past Meetings
2026
4/8/2026 – 4/12/2026
For program, dates and times, see APA meeting program
Please register in advance with APA and SoPheRe, questions: olouch@ucdavis.edu
Meeting will be online
Session 1
April 9, Thursday Morning 10:00-11:50 am
Chair Olga Louchakova-Schwartz
1. Edith Stein on Religious Experience
Melina Garibovic, North Central College Illinois
2. Embodied Inwardness as Foundation of Religious Experience
Olga Louchakova-Schwartz, UC Davis and GTU Berkeley
3. Husserl and Kierkegaard on the phenomenology of selfhood, self-givenness, and divine-givenness
Rui GE, Boston College
4. Synthesis of Self-awareness in Embodied Phenomenology
Gigla Gonashvili, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Session 2
April 10, Friday, Morning 10:00-11:50 am
Chair Olga Louchakova-Schwartz
1. Phenomenology, Mindfulness, and Theravāda Buddhism: A New Approach
Patrick Fahey, Boston College
2. Prayers as Self-Consciousness in Lanza Del Vasto
Antonino Drago, University “Federico II” of Naples Italy
3. The Grammar of Possession: Rhythm, Revelation, and Eidetic Variation in Apollonian Practice
M. Kemal Isik, Sakarya University, Turkey
4.Precognition and Synchronicity through the Lens of Husserlian Transcendental Phenomenology
Julia Yusupova, California Institute of Integral Studies
CFP
Society for the Phenomenology of Religious Experience at the Pacific APA (2026)
Topic: Inner Awareness vs. Inwardness: Meditation, Religious Experience, and Altered States
The Society for the Phenomenology of Religious Experience invites submissions of abstracts (300–500 words, not including references) for its group meeting at the Pacific APA (online, April 8–12, 2026). Accepted submissions will be given a 25-minute presentation time, with up to 15 minutes for Q&A. The topic of the panel should be approached within the frame of classical and contemporary phenomenology (e.g., Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Schutz, Gurwitsch, Hopp, D.W. Smith, and others), postfoundational phenomenology (e.g., Mensch, Salis), and post-Brentanian scholarship.
To submit, please fill out the following form by September 29. If your abstract contains characters or equations not easily expressible in the abstract text box below, please indicate this in that field, attach your abstract as a PDF, and email it to ols@sophere.org. Send questions to Olga Louchakova-Schwartz at ols@sophere.org, olouch@ucdavis.edu