We are currently confronted with profound crises and upheavals that affect the religious sphere as well as societies as a whole. Against this background, the ZRKG conference approaches the concept of transformation in order to discuss its analytical and heuristic capacity when it comes to handling such upheavals. On the one hand, this involves an interdisciplinary approach to the concept of transformation. This does not generally refer to historical change and social shift, but rather marks the experience indicated in the conference title that reality as a whole is seen, experienced and interpreted in a different, new way. Questions of mediality, language and culture, ways of thinking and living, organizing categories and guiding orientations, which are subject to historical change and sometimes epochal ruptures, play a key role. After an initial interdisciplinary approach to the concept of transformation (Section I), the conference proceeds in three steps that correspond to the research fields of the ZRKG: First, we take a look at the upheavals and challenges of the present (Section II) and investigate the religious, ecclesiastical and social transformation processes and conflicts that they induce. Section III approaches exemplary historical transformation processes that are related to the transformation of media and language, the encounter of cultures, translation processes, forms of demarcation and adaptation, etc. Finally, Section IV deals with questions of personal development: Crises and the processing of upheavals demand a high level of competence and education of individuals and social groups alike. At the same time, educational processes themselves can be interpreted as forms of transformation that affect personality as a whole (including intellectual, affective and physical dimensions), depend on processes of inter-subjective recognition and have a decisive influence on a society's ability to deal with crises and upheavals.
The conference will take place from May 19-21, 2021. Should on-site implementation be impossible due to restrictions caused by the corona pandemic, the conference will still be held in a hybrid or online format.