The conference brought together scholars from around the world, including two keynote speakers and eighteen competitively selected presenters, to explore mystical traditions beyond the Western canon. The conference was organised around shared themes—including language, rationality, ethics, contemplation, practice, love, etc—in order to encourage dialogue across religious and cultural boundaries. A central message of the conference was the importance of rethinking the conceptual frameworks through which mysticism has traditionally been studied, asking whether categories developed largely within Western scholarship adequately capture the diversity of mystical traditions worldwide. By fostering comparative and interfaith engagement, the conference highlighted the value of approaching mystical traditions on their own terms while encouraging new forms of cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration.
The event also fostered a strong sense of academic community, bringing together both new and longstanding colleagues and laying the foundations for future collaborations. The organisers are now preparing an edited volume based on selected conference papers to continue these conversations beyond the event itself. The conference was possible thanks to the generous support of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Campion Hall, and the Spalding Trust.
