Boston, birthplace of the American Revolution, seems an apt location for this year’s joint meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, as freedom is a major theme at the conference. More than 7,000 scholars from around the world are expected to gather Saturday–Tuesday, November 22–25 at the Hynes Convention Center and nearby hotels, to share their research, support, and encouragement during a time of increasing political and social division.
The event’s massive program lists nearly 1,000 sessions, from plenary addresses to discussions of scholarly papers delving into nuances of scripture or touching on today’s hottest issues—Palestine, Israel, sexuality, gender, migration, global warming—through the lenses of history, theology, ethics, and culture. There will be a daylong preconference workshop on digital technologies on Friday and more than a dozen sessions addressing artificial intelligence, including one featuring a paper titled, “Do Androids Dream of God? An Augustinian Critique of Generative AI.”
Among the event’s special sessions is a panel addressing the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal among Catholic clergy that rocked Boston in 2002 and exploded worldwide. Another is a performance by the Theater of War, a New York City–based company that presents dramatic readings of poems, prose, and plays to confront social issues and prompt audience discussion. Steed Vernyl Davidson, executive director of SBL, noted an array of book review sessions in which panels explore with authors how their work situates the Bible in relation to contemporary issues such immigration, prison life, the climate crisis, and gender-based violence.
Yet the conference highlight for many will be the conversations and meetings among the 85 booths in the books exhibition hall, where attendees can chat with mentors or explore new collaborations. In private corners, acquiring editors for publishing houses will talk themselves hoarse with authors eager for contracts. And job hunters will be industriously networking, painfully aware of the cutbacks, closures, and tight budgets in religious studies departments and seminaries in recent years.
AAR executive director Claudia Schippert points out many attendees will be traveling at their own expense—if they travel to Boston at all. While the registration numbers are similar to 2024’s San Diego meeting, Schippert says, “a few international scholars may have decided not to even try to enter the United States, as a protest against what they see as a really problematic political situation.” They add, “We have had one or two people withdraw their participation because they did not feel comfortable presenting their research in public at this particular time, out of fear for themselves and their families and potentially other panelists.”
Meeting in Boston—a city threaded with a trail of monuments to freedom—is, according to Schippert, itself an act of resistance. “We are here to focus with the skills of scholars who are very invested in academic freedom and the integrity of our work,” they say. “We’re facing the political times head-on.”
Read more from our AAR & SBL Preview:
AAR/SBL 2025: Take It to the Streets: PW Talks with Leela Prasad
AAR/SBL 2025: Open the Gates: PW Talks with Ehud Ben Zvi
AAR/SB 2025: Mitri Raheb’s Existential Questions
AAR/SBL 2025: Changing People, Changing Worlds
AAR/SBL 2025: A Cautious Amen to AI
AAR/SBL 2025: Mapping Modern Evangelicalism
