Call for Papers: The 7th Scientific Atheism Forum

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Forum on Scientific Atheism is hosted by the Leading Group for the Construction of Marxist Theoretical Disciplines and Theoretical Research Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and is jointly organized by the CASS Center for Research on Science and Atheism and the Chinese Atheism Society. The Seventh Forum on Scientific Atheism is co-organized by Xinjiang Normal University and is scheduled to be held from June 22 to 23, 2019, in Urumqi, Xinjiang. The theme of this forum is “Promote the Spirit of Scientific Atheism, Forge a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation.”

Scientific atheism is the crystallization of the civilization and reflection of human society. As the starting point and cornerstone of the Marxist worldview, scientific atheism entered the practice of the scientific socialist movement from the sphere of ideology and culture.

At the Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs held in 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “To strengthen the great unity of the Chinese nation, the long-term and fundamental task is to enhance cultural identity, build a shared spiritual home for all ethnic groups, and actively cultivate a sense of community for the Chinese nation.” This was the first time the Party Central Committee used the concept of the “community for the Chinese nation” (zhunghua minzu gongtongti). This constitutes a revolutionary shift in the current logic of governance regarding China’s ethnic issues ^[1]. The report to the 19th CPC National Congress pointed out: “Forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and strengthen exchanges, communication, and integration among all ethnic groups.” This was the first time a Party National Congress proposed to “forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.” During the constitutional amendments at the Two Sessions ^[2] in 2018, the “Chinese nation” (zhunghua minzu) was formally written into our country's Constitution for the first time.

“Promote the spirit of scientific atheism and forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” is the historical mission bestowed upon us by the New Era.

The forum operates on the principle of “attendance based on submission.” We warmly welcome experts and scholars from research institutions, higher education institutions, Party schools, and cadre academies across the country, as well as comrades from practical work departments, to actively submit papers and participate.

Submitted papers must be original, unpublished works and should include an abstract, keywords, author profile, mailing address, postal code, contact phone number, and email address.

The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2019. Following expert review, we will issue formal invitations to authors whose papers have been selected.

Forum Email: kxwslluntan@163.com. (Note: the “ll” in the email address is the lowercase of the letter LL, please do not write it as the number 11).

Thank you for your enthusiastic support and active participation in the cause of scientific atheism!

Contacts: Huang Yanhong, Yang Junfeng, Wang Peng

Preparatory Group for the Seventh Forum on Scientific Atheism Chinese Academy of Social Sciences February 28, 2019