Call For Papers

Church and Ecumenism Topic Session

The 2013 CTSA convention will be addressing the call to conversion and its place within the Christian faith. The Church-Ecumenism Topic Session invites submissions that address “conversion” as an ecclesiological topic, particularly in either of the following ways: 1) How does one speak about the conversion of the church and its members in the light of the Second Vatican Council’s description of the church as semper purificanda (Lumen Gentium, §8)? How does continuing ecclesial conversion relate to the structures of the church or to the universal call to holiness? What might theologies of ecclesial conversion say about understandings of ecclesial sinfulness? 2) How does ecclesiology understand the phenomenon of “de-conversion”, that is, of individuals leaving the Roman Catholic Church, in the contemporary North American context, or in other world contexts? How do so-called “conversions” from one Christian church to another condition our thought about the Church and ecumenism? Sociological as well as theological analyses are especially welcome on this topic.

Submission guidelines:

• Proposals should be 200-500 words.

• Provide the name and institution of all participants, if your proposal is for a panel presentation (Moderator, presenters, responders, etc.) Please limit the panel to 2 major presentations. Insofar as possible, please ensure that they are active members of the CTSA.

• Include the full name and contact information of all participants.

• Indicate whether your presenters require A.V. equipment.

• Provide a 100-word précis of the papers that can be used for the online conference program.

• Submit on or before Thursday, September 1st to Brian Flanagan at bflanaga@marymount.edu.

An e-mail reply will be sent soon after confirming that we have received your submission. You will be further notified no later than September 21st regarding the eventual acceptance of your proposal.