Illumine, the official journal of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria, BC, will take “Religion and Economy” as the theme for its 2013 issue. The issue will explore cross-pressures between religious and economic imperatives across a variety of time-periods and traditions.

From prohibitions against usury to principles of care for the needy, how have religious communities assessed economic practice and innovation in ancient, medieval, and modern contexts? The recent financial crisis and the capitalist system underlying it continue to threaten regional stability and equitable distribution around the world. How are religious communities responding? What new dimensions of religiously informed economics have emerged in light of the changing demographics of globalization?

Some key considerations for this issue may include:

Value:
In the past decade, it has been recognized that liberalism’s banning of religion from public life, relegating all religious teaching to the realm of private “value,” obscures the realities at play in the world. How to balance the promises and incitements of earthly and heavenly reward?

Credit:
The word “credit” derives from the Latin term for belief. Credit requires faith that loaned capital will be repaid. A credit economy is a religion in which policy is doctrine, consumerism is charity, and the deity itself is the Economy. How do financial and religious faiths interact?

Trade:
Religious traditions pass on ritual practices and essential teachings over centuries; each new generation learns the worth of past spiritual riches for its own needs. Can encounters between religious traditions also be conceived as forms of trade or mutually beneficial exchange?

The scope of the issue is not limited to these possible directions of inquiry, but is open to a broad interpretation of the relation between religion and economy.

Please refer to the Author Guidelines for preparing your submission.

Along with book reviews and full-length articles, an additional section of the issue will be devoted to shorter critiques and position pieces (2,000-3,500 words) that address particular issues and possible alternatives from specific confessional or theoretical perspectives.

Completed articles may be submitted to illumine@uvic.ca by May 1, 2013.

Author Guidlines

Illumine Editorial Policies