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Join us at the Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) 2026 Conference and Public Lecture which will take place on May 29-30, 2026. The conference will take place on Saturday, May 30, 2026 at St. John's College, located on the campus of the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. A public lecture will also be held the evening before, on Friday, May 29 at a Willowlake Church in Winnipeg, MB. CATA will be meeting alongside of other Canadian academic theological and religious societies as part of the inaugural Canadian Theology and Religion Colloquium. The overarching theme of the colloquium is “Common Places, Contested Spaces: Religion and Theology in Canada and Beyond” and the keynote speaker is the Dr. Daniel Stulac whose address is entitled, “Learning To Be Here: Canonical Reflections on the Canadian Prairie.”
The Executive of CATA welcomes proposals for papers to be presented at our Annual Meeting to be held on day two. Proposals from graduate students are enthusiastically welcomed!
This year’s CATA conference will be part of the inaugural Canadian Theological and Religious Studies Forum. Registrants have the option of enrolling for the single day on which the CATA annual meeting will be held ($45) or for the entire forum which includes admission to the various academic societies that will be meeting over the course of four days ($150).
More information coming soon!
This year’s program includes two events: (1) a public lecture on the evening of Friday, May 29, 2026; and (2) a full-day conference at St. John’s College (Winnipeg, MB) on Saturday, May 30, 2026. The conference theme is Common Places Contested Spaces: Religion and Theology in Canada and Beyond and will feature Keynote Speaker, Dr. Daniel Stulac, whose address is entitled, “Learning To Be Here: Canonical Reflections on the Canadian Prairie.” The conference will also include many papers, given in parallel sessions, on a range of related topics in biblical studies, theology, history, philosophy, and interdisciplinary studies.
Coming soon!
Daniel Stulac
Learning To Be Here: Canonical Reflections on the Canadian Prairie
At an exegetical level, this plenary address describes ways in which the books of John and Acts expand upon the Old Testament’s place-based creation theology. John’s portrait of the incarnate Christ makes sense only with reference to the Old Testament’s abiding regard for the holy materiality of God’s good earth, while Acts asserts that the Holy Spirit makes concrete hope for life in the Promised Land radically available to everyone, everywhere. In sum, the gospel proclaimed in both books does not “de-place” Israelite faith, but rather “all-places” Israelite faith by taking seriously the Old Testament’s vision of a landed worship community composed of Israelites and Gentiles alike (Acts 13:47; see Isa 49:6). In the New Testament, “Promised Land” is any materially particular place that the Holy Spirit generates faith in Christ.
At a theological level, the address puts these observations into dialogue with the work of agrarian and Kentucky farmer, Wendell Berry, as well as with the speaker’s agroecological experiences in rural Saskatchewan. For any Christian church that imagines itself to be a redemptive witness within the modern, industrial, disintegrated, unholy, and idolatrous culture that presently governs North America, Berry’s unswerving fidelity to his particular place helps to prompt a crucial question: How might a contemporary gathering of Jesus-followers, aware of its creaturely “placed-ness” before its Creator, worship God in ways consistent with this theological truth? How do we learn to “be here” as a mode of missional resistance over against the cultural rootlessness with which we are surrounded?
Daniel Stulac
Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Briercrest College
Dr. Daniel Stulac is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Briercrest College. He holds a PhD from Duke University, where he previously taught for five years. Dr. Stulac specializes in Old Testament interpretation and agrarian hermeneutics, and is the author of five monographs including Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings (Cambridge University Press, 2021). His research explores the intersection of Scripture, ecology, and theology, bringing both scholarly expertise and pastoral sensitivity to biblical studies.
The abstract submission deadline has been extended to March 13!
CATA encourages submission of high-quality papers on any topic falling within the disciplines of biblical studies; theological readings of Scripture; historical, systematic, philosophical, moral, and pastoral theology; and interdisciplinary theological work that engages with other academic disciplines. Special consideration will be given to papers that broadly intersect with the colloquium theme. “Common Places, Contested Spaces: Religion and Theology in Canada and Beyond.” Graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-tenured faculty are invited to submit papers for the CATA Student and Early Career Paper Competition.
Papers should be scholarly but not highly specialized presentations of about 20 minutes, aimed at an audience of students, pastors, and faculty from across the spectrum of theological disciplines.
Topics |
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Topics in the broad theological disciplines that fall outside of the specific theme of the conference are also welcome. For example, related themes might include theological reflection on:
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Student and Early Career Paper Competition |
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Graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-tenured faculty are invited to submit papers for the CATA Student and Early Career Paper Competition. The winning paper will be published in CATA’s journal, the Canadian-American Theological Review, and its author will receive a congratulatory monetary gift. |
Submission Guidelines |
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Important Dates |
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Topics in the broad theological disciplines that fall outside of the specific theme of the conference are also welcome. For example, related themes might include theological reflection on:
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Graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-tenured faculty are invited to submit papers for the CATA Student and Early Career Paper Competition. The winning paper will be published in CATA’s journal, the Canadian-American Theological Review, and its author will receive a congratulatory monetary gift. |
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