From August 24 to 30, 2025, the XXIII Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) was held at Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland). The event brought together more than 1,100 participants from around the world, including researchers from the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) at Daugavpils University (DU). The Congress focused on the relationship between religion, politics, economics, and culture with sessions organized into parallel working groups, roundtables, and panel discussions.

Representing both Daugavpils University and the Latvian Association for the Study of Religions, Professor and senior researcher Dr. theol. Anita Stašulāne took part in the IAHR network meeting, where participants discussed ongoing initiatives, outlined future directions, and elected the new IAHR board. During the Congress, the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) also held a special meeting to mark its 25^th anniversary.

IHSS senior researchers Dr. philol. Ilze Kačāne and Dr. philol. Oksana Kovzele contributed to the section “Religion, Festivals and Communities: Formation of New Social Identities”, presenting the results of their joint research.

Their report “Celebrations of Religious Holidays in Deportation: Kasimir Gendel’s Autobiographical Prose” examined depictions of Christmas and Easter in the works of Latgalian writer Kazimir Gendel, highlighting how these traditions were maintained in deportation. Meanwhile, the presentation “Celebrations of Christian Holidays in the Testimonies of Latvian Deportees” analysed oral testimonies and interviews preserved in the DU IHSS Oral History Centre collection and in periodicals. The session concluded with an engaging discussion on the role of religion in preserving cultural heritage under Soviet secularization and in the current geopolitical context.

Professor Stašulāne’s participation was supported by the DU research project “Interdisciplinarity and Diversity in Contemporary Research in the Humanities I” (No. 14-95/2025/15). Dr. Kačāne and Dr. Kovzele took part in the Congress with the support of the Lena Neuland Foundation (Stiftelsen till minne av Lena Neuland) and DU, as part of the research project “Representation of Living Memories: Cultural-Historical, Literary and Economic Aspects” (No. 14-95/2025/6).

Contact information:
Prof. Dr. theol. Anita Stašulāne, IHSS senior researcher – anita.stasulane@du.lv
Dr. philol. Ilze Kačāne, IHSS senior researcher – ilze.kacane@du.lv
Dr. philol. Oksana Kovzele, IHSS senior researcher – oksana.kovzele@du.lv