News archive
Lecture of Konrad Talmont-Kaminski „Evolution and the End of Religion“ (Brno, 31 October 2011, 19:00)
The Czech Association for the Study of Religions invites you to the public lecture of Konrad Talmont-Kaminski (University of Lublin) Evolution and the End of Religion, held on 31 October 201 at 19 p.m. in the great meeting hall, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic (Arna Nováka 1, Brno, building C, 2nd floor).
Abstract: How religion has fared in the modern world seems to have surprised everyone. Religion has failed, persisted and changed in unexpected ways. It is clear that we lack a proper understanding of secularisation. Evolutionary theory, however, provides new and powerful theoretical tools for explaining patterns of secularisation. Looked at from an evolutionary point of view these patterns take on a form familiar from other patterns of biological change. This, in turn, tells us a lot about religion, itself. In particular, it suggests that in traditional societies religions were cultural adaptations that recruited cognitive by-products in order to promote prosocial behaviour. Secularisation, on this view, is made possible by religions being no longer necessary in modern societies.
ISORECEA Conference 2010 (Brno, 16-19 December 2010)
On 16-19 November 2010, the International Study of Religion in Central and Eastern Europe Association (ISORECEA), the Czech Association for the Study of Religions (CASR), the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Brno and the Department of Sociology, Masaryk University, Brno organize the international conference Twenty Years After: Secularization and Desecularization in Central And Eastern Europe (conference website).
Conference “Loose Ends in the Cognitive Study of Religion and Culture” (Brno, 6-7 November 2009)
On 6-7 November 2009, The Czech Association for the Study of Religions, the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University and the Czech Association for the Cognitive Study of Culture organize the international workshop Loose Ends in the Cognitive Study of Religion and Culture (call for papers, programme).
Lecture of Jesper Sørensen “Reconceptualizing Magic: Cognitive Representations of Ritual Efficacy” (Brno, 5 November 2009)
The Czech Association for the Study of Religions invites you to the public lecture of Jesper Sørensen (Aarhus University) Reconceptualizing Magic: Cognitive Representations of Ritual Efficacy, held on 5 November 2009 at 18 p.m. in the great meeting hall, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic (Arne Nováka 1, Brno, building C, 2nd floor; invitation).
New CASR website
On 19 October 2009 the new website of the CASR was launched.
The 8th EASR conference in Brno, Czech Republic
The 8th EASR annual conference Time of Decline, Time of Hope: Scientific, Cultural and Political Engagement of the Study of Religions, co-organized by the Czech Association for the Study of Religions, was held in Brno, Czech Republic, 7-11 September 2008. We thank all participants for their papers and discussions and for the friendly atmosphere!
Prof. Jan Heller deceased
On 15 January 2008 Jan Heller, the first president of the Czech Association for the Study of Religions, deceased in the age of 82 years. The executive committee of the CASR remembers with gratitude all he had done for the CASR a all the Czech academic study of religions.
