The International Congress for the History of Religions, which will bring together specialists from 315 academic institutions in 58 countries, will take place in Bucharest from September 20 to 25.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, the official opening will be held on September 20 at the Romanian Athenaeum, with an event combining lectures on the history of religions, cultural heritage and intercultural dialogue with a programme of classical music, in a celebration of knowledge, culture and universal values. The congress sessions will subsequently be held at the University of Bucharest.

During the six-day event, held under the theme 'Religions 360', participants will examine, from multidisciplinary perspectives, the historical development, social impact and contemporary transformations of religious phenomena worldwide. Bucharest will thus join the select group of cities to host the congress for a second time, alongside Paris, Leiden and Stockholm.

The congress is organised under the auspices of the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) and the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR), two of the world's most prestigious academic organisations in the field.

The 2026 edition will combine the 22nd EASR Conference and the IAHR Regional Conference, marking 20 years since the first edition held in the Romanian capital in 2006.

'The field of religious studies in Romania is extremely important, and our Romanian colleagues are highly respected within our international academic community. We therefore wholeheartedly supported hosting the conference in Romania. It is significant that this conference marks the 20th anniversary of our first EASR conference in Bucharest, held from September 20 to 23, 2006, a major event that focused on the legacy of Mircea Eliade,' Professor Marco Pasi, President of the EASR, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The international congress in Bucharest also carries strong symbolic significance for Romanian culture, marking four important milestones in the country's cultural calendar: 170 years since the birth of Moses Gaster, 150 years since the inauguration of the first Sanskrit language course at the University of Bucharest by Indologist Constantin Georgian, 40 years since the death of historian of religions Mircea Eliade, and 35 years since the death of scholar Ioan Petru Culianu.

The 2026 International Congress for the History of Religions is organised by the Society for the History of Religions and the Institute for the History of Religions of the Romanian Academy. The project is coordinated by historian of religions Eugen Ciurtin, who also organised and coordinated the first edition of the event in 2006. AGERPRES (RO - writting by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writting by: Cristina Zaharia)

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