[Call for Papers] Inaugural Conference of the Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion

Theme: Challenges to Religious Worldviews: East-West Dialogue
Dates: 13–15 August 2025
Location: Hong Kong Baptist University

 

The Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion (ASPR) is a philosophical society formed by philosophers of religion who are based in Asia, with the aim to promote the development of philosophy of religion in Asia and its exchange with the rest of the world. The society is delighted to announce its inaugural conference, which will take place on 13–15 August 2025 in Hong Kong.

The conference theme, “Challenges to Religious Worldviews: East-West Dialogue,” aims to address pressing questions, both philosophical and/or social, facing religious worldviews today. Drawing on insights from both contemporary analytic philosophy and the diverse cultural and religious traditions of Asia, we seek to facilitate new grounds of academic reflection and exchange that will uniquely contribute to the global philosophy of religion.

For those whose papers are accepted, their meals and lodging during the conference period in Hong Kong will be covered by the organizers.

 

Click here for Conference details

Conference Sub-Themes

We invite submissions related to the main theme of the conference, including but not limited to the following sub-themes:

1. AI and Religious Worldviews
2. Evil and Hiddenness in Global Philosophy of Religion
3. Afterlife in Global Philosophy of Religion
4. The Nature of Ultimate Reality in Eastern and Western Cultures
5. Buddhism and Nominalism
6. Dialogue between Confucianism and Christianity
7. Daoism, Nature, and Religious Worldviews
8. Science, Rationality, and Religious Worldviews
9. Ethics and Religion in Eastern and Western Cultures
10. Analytic Philosophy of Religion in AI and Analytic Theology in Asia
11. Others

 

The conference will feature three distinguished keynote speakers:

• Dean Zimmerman (Rutgers University)
• Eleonore Stump (Saint Louis University) (via Zoom)
• To be confirmed

 

Submission requirements:

• A basic short abstract of 100 words
• An extended abstract of 800–1000 words (excluding references)
• Optional: A full draft or a published copy
• Deadline: 31 March 2025
• Submission Email: Please email your abstract to aspr.1107.24@gmail.com andcc cscs@hkbu.edu.hk as well.

Abstracts will be reviewed by the program committee, and selected presenters will be notified by 30 April 2025. For those whose abstracts are accepted, please also provide a full paper by 1 July 2025.

 

Contact Information

For further details about the conference or the Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion, please contact us at aspr.1107.24@gmail.com.

 

About the Society

ASPR was founded with the mission to:

· To facilitate and promote research endeavors in the philosophy of religion within the Asian context, as well as exploring associated topics in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, and related fields.

· To enhance dialogues between contemporary analytic philosophers of religion and the rich traditions of Asian cultures and religions, aiming to deepen mutual understanding and insight.

· To establish and forge connections (i) among Asian philosophical communities and scholars with a shared interest in these thematic domains, and (ii) between Asian and international scholars working in these areas, thereby nurturing a robust network of academic collaboration and exchange.

 

Founding Members

• Prof. Kai Man KWAN (Hong Kong Baptist University - President)
• Dr. Andrew LOKE (Hong Kong Baptist University- Vice-president)
• Dr. Lok-Chi CHAN (National Taiwan University - Vice-president)
• Dr. Tien-Chun LO (Chinese University of Hong Kong - Secretary)
• Dr. Andrew BRENNER (Hong Kong Baptist University)
• Dr. Natalja DENG (Yonsei University, South Korea)
• Dr. Duen-Min DENG (National Taiwan University)
• Prof. JJ JOANQUIN (De La Salle University, Philippines)
• Dr. Kengo MIYAZONO (Hokkaido University, Japan)
• Rev. Dr. James Dominic ROONEY (Hong Kong Baptist University)
• Dr. Michael LONGENECKER (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China)
• Prof. Aihua XIE (Minzu University of China, China)
• Prof. Xiaofei Liu (Wuhan University, China)

 

Honorable Advisors

• Prof. Yujin NAGASAWA (University of Oklahoma)
• Prof. Graham OPPY (Monash University)
• Prof. Eleonore STUMP (Saint Louis University)
• Prof. Richard SWINBURNE (University of Oxford)
• Prof. Dean ZIMMERMAN (Rutgers University)

 

Supported by

• Centre for Sino-Christian Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
• Center for Traditional and Scientific Metaphysics, National Taiwan University
• Angelicum Thomistic Institute
• Society for Christian Philosophers

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Forthcoming Talk: Bertrand Russell’s Influence on the Anti-Christian Movement in China by Dr. Andrew Loke

Bertrand Russell’s Influence on the Anti-Christian Movement in China (focusing on the relationship between science and religion), hosted by the China Academic Consortium 

罗素对中国非基运动的影响, 中国时间：

2024 年 5 月 25 日（星期六）上午 8:00 – 10:00

• 美西时间：5:00 – 7:00 pm, May 24, 2024 (PDT)

• 美东时间：8:00 – 10:00 pm, May 24, 2024 (EDT). 

Please click the link to Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81029101829...

Meeting ID: 810 2910 1829

Passcode: 073635

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Conference: The Questions of Origins: Contemporary Science, Philosophical and Religious Perspectives (16-17 June 2023)

For online registration/ details, click HERE

Conference: The Questions of Origins: Contemporary Science, Philosophical and Religious Perspectives

Date and Time: 16/6/2023, 09:00–17:30 and 17/6/2023, 09:00–13:00

Venue: SCT 503 (LT 3), Cha Chi-ming Science Tower, Ho Sin Hang Campus, Hong Kong Baptist University

Plenary speaker: Prof. Luke Barnes (PhD Astronomy, Cambridge University)

Keynote 1: Finding Design in Physics (16 June, 09:15-10:45)

Keynote 2: How God can use Randomness (17 June, 09:00-10:30)

Language: English

Registration fee: $20 (free for invited speakers and students)

 

Public Talks:

1. The Fine-Tuning of the Universe for Life

Speaker: Prof. Luke Barnes (PhD Astronomy, Cambridge University)

Date: 16/6/2023 (Fri)

Time: 19:00–21:00

Venue: ICA, Shop 209-220, 2/F, 33 Marble Road, North Point

Language: English

2. Is the Universe an Accident?

Speaker: Prof. Luke Barnes (PhD Astronomy, Cambridge University)

Date: 17/6/2023 (Sat)

Time: 20:00–22:00

Venue: St. Andrew’s Church,138 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Language: English

 

About the speaker:

Luke A. Barnes is a theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and postdoctoral researcher at Western Sydney University. He received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge in 2009.   He is a John Templeton Fellow.  He has published papers in the fields of galaxy formation and the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He is the author, with Geraint Lewis, of "A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos”, published by Cambridge University Press. He has also published papers on the philosophy of science, and regularly engages in public outreach through public speaking, articles in the popular press, and social media.

 

 Centre for Sino-Christian Studies

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Invitation to the 7th Annual Logos International Forum!

Dear SSRA's Friends,

The world of 2022 continues to surprise us.

Join this half-day online conference to explore how we could use our education and career to make a difference for such a time as this. 

7th Annual Logos International Forum

"Serving Our Generation in Changing Times 萬變世代，不變使命"

Sat. 9:30am-1pm, 14th May 

FREE registration 

[Exploring the Fundamental Questions]

• Science & Religion - exploring fundamental questions 
• "The Surprising Things That Models Don't Tell Us" - Dr. Mike Brownnutt, Faith and Science Collaborative Research Forum of HKU
• "The Origin of Humanity & Evolution: Science & Scripture in Conversation" - Dr. Andrew Loke & Rev. Vincent Chan of HKBU

Language: English   Free registration: Here 

 

We look forward to seeing you online!

The LIF2022 Committee together with co-organizers

CSCS of HKBU, FaSCoRe of HKU, HKPES and SSRA

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SSRA gets launched

 

The Society for Science and Religion in Asia (“SSRA”) is a non-governmental, independent academic organization registered in Hong Kong. It is formed by a voluntary group of academics across Asia who share an extensive background in studying the relationship between Science and Religion. It is established for the following purposes

(1)  To develop academic research on issues related to Science and Religion, motivate academic exchange activities among universities in Asia, and collaborate on academic projects such as the editing and publication of academic books and periodicals;

(2)  To develop partnership and cooperation with other academic and religious organizations;

(3)  To promote the education of the public

(4)  To discover and develop potential talents through mentoring and training activities.

 

We plan to carry out the following activities

(1)    Organize summer schools in universities around Asia.  

(2)    Organize international conferences

(3)    Organize publication seminars for postgraduate students taught by well-published scholars 

(4)    Organize public lectures, podcasts and video interviews.

(5)    Collaborate on research writing projects

 

Membership is free. If you would like to become a member and take part in our activities either as a speaker, presenter of papers, participant in discussion, collaborator in publication projects, or just being a member of the audience at our events, please fill up the form below and email our treasurer vincentchan@hkbu.edu.hk , and we will include you in our mailing list for our future activities.

Name:

Email:

Country:

Occupation (if you are an academic, please indicate the name of your institution, department, and your areas of expertise):

 

Best wishes,

A/Prof Andrew Loke (Vice President), HK Baptist University, for the Executive Committee

A/Prof Chan Man Ho (President), Education University of HK (Hong Kong)

Prof Kwan Kai Man (Secretary), HK Baptist University (Hong Kong)

Mr Vincent Chan (Treasurer), HK Baptist University (Hong Kong)

Prof Liu Xiaoting, Beijing Normal University (China)
Dr Mike Brownnutt, University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

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