Rules, Guidelines, and Deadlines

The 2025 IAHR World Congress in Kraków is an in-person only event. The organizers do not provide the possibility to present a paper or participate in the Congress virtually.

The official languages of the IAHR Congress 2025 in Kraków are English and French. A proposed abstract should be written in the language of the presentation.

The 2025 IAHR World Congress welcomes the following presentation formats:

All individual papers and suggestions for open and closed panels and roundtables are subject to review before acceptance.

Please note: Each participant can submit only one proposal in a given category (and therefore give only one individual paper, convene only one panel or roundtable, and present only one film). If a proposal in any category is rejected, there is no possibility to submit a revised or a new proposal.

Note that there is no restriction on the number of closed panels and roundtables in which a participant can serve as a respondent or discussant.

Note to student presenters: You will be asked to provide a recommendation letter from your supervisor during submission – please have a suitable document ready when submitting a proposal. If you cannot obtain such a letter, another document confirming your student status issued by your university will suffice.

[submissions closed]

Open panels are convened by one or more participants who openly invite scholars interested in a particular topic to present a paper. The announcement of an open panel acts as a call for papers. The conveners of the open panel decide which papers, previously accepted by the Congress committee, are included in the panel. Papers not accepted in panel will still be included in the Congress and will be treated as individual submissions (see below).

Each open panel comprises a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 papers. Presenters of each paper are allowed 15–20 minutes (depending on the number of participants) for their presentation. The duration of a panel is 90 minutes. Open panels which receive a large number of submissions are permitted to organize a maximum of 5 panel sessions, each with a maximum of 4 papers.

Topics of open panels must be consistent with the scientific theme of the congress, “OUT OF EUROPE: Studying Religion(s) in Interconnected Worlds” and fit one of its subthemes, i.e.:

Please check the list of accepted open panels here.

Closed panels are convened by one or more participants and include, from the beginning, the complete list of scholars presenting papers in the panel.

Closed panels must be consistent with the scientific theme of the Congress and in line with one of its subthemes. The closed panels consist of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 panelists presenting a paper, with a panel convener as the chair. Further responders or discussants are allowed. The duration of a panel is 90 minutes. The conveners of the panel must prepare a single proposal for the entire panel and assign it to one of the six thematic streams.

A closed panel proposal should include a title of no more than 20 words, a description of the panel of  200 to 250 words, names and academic affiliation of all participants, including the panel chair and all presenters, and titles and abstracts for all papers in the panel (200 to 250 words each). Please include all of this information in the Round Table/Closed Panel/Film title & text section.

Please note: When listing panel participants in the Authors & institutions section, please mark only the first author as “presenting author” (by ticking the appropriate box in the submission system). This is necessary solely due to the internal constraints of the submission system – the remaining co-authors will still be able to present during the panel.

Deadlines:

Scholars are welcome to submit individual papers. They must be consistent with the scientific theme of the congress and fit one of its subthemes. Each presenter is allowed 15 minutes for their presentation.

Proposals for individual papers should include the name of the presenter(s), their academic affiliation, the title of their paper (of no more than 20 words), an abstract of 200 to 250 words, and 3–6 keywords. When submitting a proposal, authors should assign their paper either to one of the fifty-one open panels and one of the six thematic streams.

Please note: To submit a paper with multiple authors, please mark only the first author as “presenting author” (by ticking the appropriate box in the submission system). This is necessary solely due to the internal constraints of the submission system – the remaining co-authors will still be able to present.

Deadlines:

Roundtables are pre-arranged sessions in which a group of up to 5 scholars discusses topics of general academic interest consistent with the scientific theme of the Congress and in line with its subthemes. The duration of a roundtable is 90 minutes. It may contain short, 5–10 minute presentations, but the general goal must be to spark a vibrant discussion among the panelists and with the audience.

A roundtable proposal should include a title of no more than 20 words, a 200 to 250 word description of the roundtable topic, and the names and academic affiliation of all the participants, including the chair and all the discussants. When submitting a proposal, authors should assign it to one of the six thematic streams.

Please note: When listing roundtable discussants in the Authors & institutions section, please mark only the first author as “presenting author” (by ticking the appropriate box in the submission system). This is necessary solely due to the internal constraints of the submission system – the remaining co-authors will still be able to present during the roundtable.

Deadlines:

PhD students workshops are thematic sessions to which a group of up to 3 scholars invite PhD students. A workshop may last 180 minutes (with a 30-minute break in the middle), i.e. the equivalent of two regular sessions.

The proposal for a workshop must contain a title of no more than 20 words (including the words “PhD student workshop”), a 200 to 250 word description, 3–6 keywords, the names and academic affiliation of the hosts, and the e-mail address to which PhD students should direct their applications. When submitting a proposal, authors should assign it to one of the six thematic streams.

Please note: When listing workshop hosts in the Authors & institutions section, please mark only the first host as “presenting author” (by ticking the appropriate box in the submission system). This is necessary due to the internal constraints of the submission system.

Please note that workshop proposals will undergo standard review.

Please note as well the student applications to the accepted workshops will be handled directly by workshop hosts. Once the workshop proposals are reviewed, we will publish a list of accepted workshops. The PhD students will be asked to apply to the workshops of their choice by contacting the workshop hosts directly. We will ask the workshop hosts to review the applications and provide the Congress secretaries with a full list of accepted student participants.

Deadlines:

We welcome films created by academics studying religion/s created no earlier than 1st January 2020. While there is no running time limit, we give priority to short and medium films (up to 60 minutes). All films shall be in the original language(s) with English subtitles. See Call for films for details.

Please note: If listing multiple authors of the film proposal, please mark only the first author as “presenting author” (by ticking the appropriate box in the submission system). This is necessary due to the internal constraints of the submission system.

Deadlines:

Each open panel, closed panel, roundtable, individual paper, or film submission is first assessed for compliance with formal requirements. If these requirements are met, the submission is forwarded for peer review to two members of the Academic Programme Committee. As a result of the review, the proposal is accepted/rejected. The author is informed about the decision within the above-mentioned deadlines. See the criteria for reviewers.

Please note: Proposals that do not meet the Congress’s formal requirements will not be sent for peer review.

Submit an abstract now

Read the Regulations of the XXIII IAHR World Congress