Whose Children Are They?

Responsibilities for religious formation of a new generation

REA Annual Meeting 2023

10-14 July, Online

REA2023 Guidelines for Proposals

Step 1: Determine the type of proposal

Once you have an idea of a topic that interests you, determine which type of proposal you wish to submit. There are three types of presentations at the annual meeting. A select number of proposals whose topics do not relate directly to the meeting’s general theme may also be accepted in light of their scholarly quality and creativity.

Research Interest Group (RIG). A finished paper of publishable quality is presented and discussed among a group of conference participants. If your proposal is accepted, the final paper must be submitted by May 31st in order to be prepared for and posted in the REA Annual Meeting Proceedings. Please see instructions under Step 2.

Collaborative Session. A group of three to four scholars may propose to build a breakout session (1.5 hours) in which they model collaborative academic inquiry around a particular topic related to the theme. Research and practical wisdom may be shared through a panel presentation, a dialogue or interview, or other modes of embodied engagement. Preference will be given to sessions that bring together scholars who embody diverse cultural perspectives, methodological approaches, or religious traditions in their research. If your proposal is accepted, the final papers, outlines of process, or other descriptive framework must be submitted by May 31st in order to be posted in the REA Annual Meeting Proceedings. Please see instructions under Step 2.

Posters. Posters are a place to present emerging research, research-in-progress that may lead to a publishable paper, or current practices and programs. A poster presentation will allow the author to meet and speak informally with interested participants pertaining to research done, still continuing, or in preparation, thus stimulating the exchange of ideas and networking opportunities. This format offers an opportunity for both established and newer researchers. To facilitate conversation across levels of expertise, established members in the field and in the organization will be invited to briefly respond to each of the posters. A presentation using words, graphs, charts and/or tables embodied in a slide deck (no more than four slides) for display and discussion will take place during a prominent time slot at the conference. A description of the presentation must be submitted by May 31st to be posted online. Please see instructions under Step 2. Note: students whose posters are accepted into the meeting are NOT eligible to apply for travel awards.

Step 2: Write your proposal

The proposal begins with an abstract of no more than 600 characters (approximately 130 words). You then have an additional 1,000 words per presenter (i.e., 1,000 for a single presenter, 2,000 for two presenters in a collaborative session, 3,000 for 3, etc.) to make the case for your proposed presentation(s).

For RIG papers, in 3 distinct and labeled sections: (after 600-character abstract)

  1. Main points or a summary of the argument or analysis that will be presented;
  2. Description of methodology (e.g., literature-based review and analysis, qualitative or quantitative research, conceptual analysis, historical research, or insights from a community of practice); and
  3. A selected bibliography of primary sources grounding your work.

For Collaborative Sessions, in 5 distinct and labeled sections: (after 600-character abstract)

  1. Main concepts/issues, and/or practice(s) being addressed,
  2. Session participants: Who is involved in the presentation?  (e.g. scholars of a specific disciplinary focus? practitioners with experience in a community of faith? in higher education? some combination thereof?);
  3. What form will the session take? How will it offer interactive engagement with attendees? Provide an outline of the session with a clear description of who will be doing what. (If coordinating papers are going to be presented, see RIG description above for specific elements necessary in a paper proposal and include these elements for each paper on the panel. Individual paper proposals for collaborative sessions should be submitted together either as one complete file, or in a ZIP file
  4. What theories inform your presentation? (if coordinating a session with multiple papers, you may include this step in each individual paper description); and
  5. What bibliographic or other resources will be presented and/or used in the presentation? (if coordinating a session with multiple papers, you may include this step in each individual paper description).

For posters, in 5 distinct and labeled sections: (after 600-character précis)

  1. What is your topic?
  2. What is your research question and methodology?
  3. What theories inform your research? What are your core references?
  4. How is this research innovating the field of religious education?
  5. What is the status of the research at the time of the proposal (e.g. finished ethnographic research, at beginning of reading)?

Step 3: Submit your proposal

The deadline to submit is February 28th. Proposals are accepted online. Proposals sent by other means will not be considered.

Step 4: Wait for notification of acceptance

Notification of your proposal’s acceptance status to the Annual Meeting program will be sent by Friday, March 31st, 2023.

Participation requirements at the Annual Meeting

You do not have to be a member of REA to submit a proposal. However, if selected to present, presenters must hold a current membership and be registered for the meeting by June 1st.

Step 5: Submit completed papers, outlines, or descriptions

Completed Research Interest Group (RIG) papers for the program must be received in electronic format (‘doc’ or ‘pdf’) by the Executive Secretary (secretary [at] religiouseducation [dot] net) no later than May 31st, 2023.

Completed Collaborative Session papers, outlines of process (including handouts), or other necessary materials must be received in electronic format (‘doc’ or ‘pdf’) by the Executive Secretary (secretary [at] religiouseducation [dot] net) no later than 31 May 2023.

Presenters of Posters must submit an outline of the main concepts/ issue, the methodology, and the primary sources grounding the poster for posting on the website, along with any digital media requests. Revised outlines and descriptions must be received in electronic format (‘doc’ or ‘pdf’) by the Executive Secretary (secretary [at] religiouseducation [dot] net) no later than 31 May 2023.

MATERIALS NOT RECEIVED BY THAT DATE WILL BE CANCELLED FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING PROGRAM.

All materials will be posted on the website prior to the meeting.

REA publishes all conference proceedings under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license in order to permit their wide dissemination and use. By submitting their work to the REA, authors accept that it will be published under the CC-BY 4.0 license. Once posted on the REA website, materials will not be removed from the online annual conference proceedings. However, copyright remains with the author, and authors can make whatever further use of the material they wish. 

By July 31 RIG or Collaborative Session papers that were presented at the meeting may also be revised and submitted to the Proposals Selection Committee, which will act as a peer review jury for the conference issue of the journal Religious Education. Selected papers are recommended for possible publication and sent to the editor of the journal, who then makes the final selection.

Please follow the Guidelines for Presentations and supplementary Guidelines for Creating Posters on the REA website. 

For questions about the Call for Papers, please write to:

Rev. Dr. Mark Chung Hearn
Chair of the Proposals Selection Committee
mhearn [at] cdsp [dot] edu

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