Disciples Historical Society

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2025 Theme: The Past, Present, and Future of “Unity” in the Stone-Campbell Movement

The Journal of Discipliana—an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society—aims to host a two-hour roundtable session in Boston in November 2025, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion. The roundtable will consist of a moderator and five presenters. Each presenter will have fifteen minutes to present on a designated theme, from either a written paper or notes. Presenters will be expected to engage in conversation with each other and with the audience. We hope that the Discipliana Roundtable will be a regular feature of future AAR meetings, with a different theme for each year.

The theme for 2025 is “The Past, Present, and Future of ‘Unity’ in the Stone-Campbell Movement (SCM).” We are seeking presentations addressing how the theme of unity originated, has functioned, and evolved in the SCM’s past and present and how it needs to be envisioned for a better future. The theme can be engaged with from various disciplinary perspectives, e.g., biblical, historical, and theological, from the standpoint of one or more streams within the SCM. Possible topics include: 

  • Is unity still a core value in the SCM? If so, how is it manifested in communal and spiritual practices of the SCM? 
  • Has the notion of unity—its nuance and scope—evolved in SCM history? If so, how has it evolved, especially with respect to ecumenism, multiculturalism, and interreligious dialogue?
  • Does or can unity cohere with restoration? How has the relationship between unity and restoration evolved in SCM history?
  • What significance does emphasis on unity have in our polarized time? Was the context in which the SCM emphasis on unity was born also polarized? If so, in what significant ways was that context similar or dissimilar to ours? 

While presentations may focus on just one or two of the three temporal dimensions, we covet especially those that will speak to all three dimensions with emphasis on the future. 

To apply for a place at the Roundtable, please submit a 150-word abstract of your presentation to Dr. Timothy S. Lee, General Editor of The Journal of Discipliana ([email protected]), along with your name, title, email address, and institutional affiliation (if none, home address). If you have questions about the Roundtable, please reach out to him as well. The status of applications will be notified after the deadline. The submission deadline is June 30.