From Disciples to Followers: Questioning the Digital Experience of Religions Online

About

We are pleased to announce the launch of the call for papers for the UCSIA Summer School 2026, to be held in Antwerp from 23 to 28 August 2026.

The 2026 edition, titled “From Disciples to Followers: Questioning the Digital Experience of Religions Online”, marks the final year of UCSIA’s three-year cycle on “Religion & Politics: (Dis)Entanglements in Communities and Societies”.

This summer school invites early-career scholars to critically examine how digital technologies, online platforms, and political economies are reshaping religious practices, publics, authorities, and forms of belonging.

Call for papers
We welcome paper proposals from PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers working in the humanities, social sciences, or law, whose research engages with religion in relation to digital media, online publics, theology, ritual, ethics, or (theo)politics.

Contributions may address, among other themes:
→ the transformation of religious authority, authenticity, and community in online environments
→ the interaction between digital religion and political imaginaries
→ historical and comparative perspectives on media and religion
→ questions of power, representation, racialization, and moral vocabularies in digital religious spaces

Selected participants will join an intensive one-week mentoring programme combining expert lectures, interdisciplinary discussions, paper presentations, and individual tutorials.

The Faculty
Two experts have already confirmed their attendance:
Yasmin Moll (University of Michigan) is a socio-cultural anthropologist whose work explores the intersections of religion, media, politics, and ethics in the Middle East and North Africa.
Alessandra Vitullo (Sapienza University of Rome) is a sociologist specializing in digital religion, online mediation of belief, and the transformation of religious authority and belonging in digital cultures.

Submit your abstract by 20 April 2026, and be part of this enriching academic experience!

Practical information
Date & Location
23 - 28 August 2026
Antwerp, Belgium
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Participation and stay
for young scholars and researchers are free of charge, but participants should pay for their own travel expenses to Antwerp. A limited number of partial travel grants is available for participants who are unable to fund their own travel and do not qualify for a travel grant at their host institution.
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Application procedure
Submit your cv, research statement and research paper (4000–8000 words, including bibliography) via www.ucsia-summerschool.org.
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Deadline for applications
Monday 20 April 2026, 9.00 am UTC+2
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Notice of acceptance
Thursday 30 April 2026
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Course leader

Gilke Gunst

Target group

PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers working in the humanities, social sciences, or law, whose research engages with religion in relation to digital media, online publics, theology, ritual, ethics, or (theo)politics

Course aim

bringing together promising researchers from different fields and disciplines with a common interest in religion
fostering cross-pollinations across academic silos
discussion of theoretical frameworks through expert lectures
mentoring of young scholars by the faculty
presenting research to peers and receiving constructive feedback
academic networking

Fee info