【Call For Papers】Challenges to Religious Worldviews: East-West Dialogue (Inaugural Conference of ASPR)

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 on13–15 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.

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 and cc 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)

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)

Organizer:

• Centre for Sino-Christian Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University

Co-organizer:

• Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion

Sponsored by:

• Center for Traditional and Scientific Metaphysics, National Taiwan University
• Angelicum Thomistic Institute
• Society of Christian Philosophers