2026 Annual Conference

“Public Leadership and Prophetic Witness”

Dates: April 23-25, 2026

Conference begins Thursday evening and ends Saturday at Noon.

Locations: Luther Seminary, 2481 Como Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA & Online

Religious and Theological educators face at least two immediate challenges in the second quarter of the 21 st century. First, our congregations, seminaries, and institutions of higher education can no longer ignore the shifts in religious participation that have unfolded over the past few decades. Dramatic
declines in religious attendance, religious affiliation, and rates of voluntarism put religious leaders and the institutions who educate them under financial and vocational strain. Can congregations, seminaries, and judicatories survive with less people? How can the religious institutions we’ve inherited be re-
imagined and repurposed for this new era? What kind of religious leaders are needed to meet the challenges of today, and how are they formed? Second, lower rates of religious participation have been accompanied by an intensification of illiberal religious fervor in public. From Christian nationalism on the
Right to purity tests and creedal lawn signs on the Left, religious commitment seems to have overwhelmed the banks of the institutions that once nurtured it in surprising and (in some cases) destructive ways. What responsibility do our religious institutions and leaders hold for increased political polarization and illiberalism? What forms of religious leadership and religious formation can nurture space for pluralistic democracy?

We face, in other words, the dual challenge of public leadership and prophetic witness. As public leaders, how do we nurture, support, and sustain religious and civil society organizations vital to our society amid widespread social and cultural change? What can we learn from how seminaries, judicatories, and congregations are meeting this challenge? But this moment also calls for prophetic witness, for religious leaders and institutions to resist the violence and illiberalism cascading through our politics and public discourse. How might religious institutions and leaders both resist and offer an alternative to the polarization and illiberalism of the present? What can be learned from organizations and individuals whose prophetic witness creates new possibilities for their community?

Call for Proposals

The 2026 Annual Conference of the Academy of Religious Leadership invites proposals for presentations from religious leaders and scholars with experience or interest related to this year’s theme. We welcome solo and multi-authored papers, panel presentations, workshops, and case studies that offer
theoretical, theological, praxiological, pedagogical, and/or organizational perspectives on “Public Leadership and Prophetic Witness.” Proposals can respond to, but need not be limited to the following prompts:

• What kind of religious leaders are needed to meet the challenges of today, and how are they formed?
• How do we nurture, support, and sustain religious and civil society organizations vital to our society amid widespread social and cultural change?
• What can we learn from how seminaries, judicatories, and congregations are meeting this challenge?
• What responsibility do our religious institutions and leaders hold for increased political polarization and illiberalism?
• What forms of religious leadership and religious formation can nurture space for pluralistic democracy? How might religious institutions and leaders both resist and offer an alternative to the polarization and illiberalism of the present?
• What can be learned from organizations and individuals whose prophetic witness creates new possibilities for their community?

Presentation proposals should include the following:

• Working title
• Presentation type: solo presenter, multiple co-presenters, workshop
• Abstract that provides the thesis, context, and general overview of the presentation (500 word maximum)
• Any creative delivery styles, materials (audio, visual, etc.), or practices that will be included in the presentation
• Sample bibliography of primary resources or conversation partners
• Name and a brief bio of each presenter
• Indication of whether the presenter intends to attend in person or virtually

Proposals should be formatted as Word documents and emailed as an attachment to shagley@pts.edu with the subject “ARL Proposal.”

Presenters at the annual ARL conference will also have the opportunity to submit a paper for review for the fall Journal of Religious Leadership issue. Individuals are highly encouraged to begin thinking now about how their presentations might be adapted for JRL publication, though presentation at ARL does not automatically connote approval for publication.

Deadline for proposals is November 15, 2025
Decisions will be made by December 15, 2025