If you are eager to learn whats new in the cognitive and evolutionary science of religion, checkout the microblogging report from our conference by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social. And huge congrats to @kundtova.bsky.social for becoming our new president!

IACESR 2026 has officially come to a close! Our new President, Eva Kundtová Klocová, closed the conference by thanking everyone for three fantastic days. We were delighted to host you in Brno and hope you had a wonderful time. Safe travels home and please send us your feedback!

What a special treat to give this keynote at IACESR! Thank you so much for inviting me, for the amazing intellectual engagement, and for the chance to visit Brno for the first time.

Our last session of the day is a series of lightening talks kicked off by Devin Wright. His work on a language-based model of identity fusion, outperformed previous approaches, generalised across culture and improved predictions. It showed how language predicts pathways to group commitment.

The first panel of Day 3 started with Myron Penner, who argued that religion functions as an adaptive system. Using evangelical support for Donald Trump and religious deidentification as examples, he explored how religions adapt to changing social contexts. #iacesr2026

Day 3 was kicked off with an excellent keynote by @drlarisa.bsky.social on God Concepts Across Development. The talk explored how our concepts of God change from childhood to adulthood and how these concepts, in turn, shape our own thinking and behaviour.

The John McGraw Award talks began with an important point: size matters, but maybe not in a way we anticipated. Carmen Callizo showed that the religious meaning of a place, not its physical size, predicted abstract thinking, while larger sacred spaces were more likely to inspire awe.

Jakub Cigan & Jana Nenadalová found that religious and spiritual practices are closely linked to feelings of presence. Pleasant experiences of sensing arise through practices like visualization, while unpleasant experiences may emerge as by-products of these practices or through other practices.

Kicking off the first parallel session, Ben Purzycki introduced the Gods, Games, and Socio-Ecological Landscapes project. The team is testing a functionalist hypothesis: do differences in ecological threat create different trust problems, and does religion (or religious cognition) help solve them?

Day 2 of IACESR started with a keynote from Kathleen Corriveau (Boston University), who explored how children develop religious beliefs across cultures. Rather than asking whether children believe, the talk asked how they learn what to believe, who to trust, and which norms matter. 🧵#IACESR2026

Our first keynote speaker today, Quentin Atkinson, challenged a question many of us take for granted: “Is religion associated with conservatism?” The answer? It depends on what we mean by “conservatism.” 🧵

Our president @aiyanakoka.bsky.social has officially declared IACESR 2026 open! In her opening speech she emphasised the importance of diversity, inclusivity and promoting younger generations as a way to push this field forward. The opening ceremony was held as Mendel Museum in Brno.

Less than a week to go until #IACESR2026! 🎉 If you’re joining us in Brno, here are a few ideas to help you make the most of your visit. Join a run with our very own Honza, who can tailor a route to your pace while showing you some of Brno’s best spots. Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit! 🩱☀️

☕ Coming to Brno for IACESR 2026? We’ve curated a list of our favourite cafés around the city for those inevitable coffee breaks between sessions, or just in case the conference coffee isn’t quite to your taste. 😉 Explore the map here: maps.app.goo.gl/9uvLTDDbqQSA... See you in Brno! #IACESR2026

🦋 We’re on Instagram and Facebook too! 📸 @iacesr International Assoc for the 👥 International Assoc for the Cognitive and Evolutionary Sciences of Religion Follow us for conference and field related updates! #IACESR #CognitiveScienceOfReligion

We are looking forward to everyone coming to Brno in July! Your timely registrations will help us prepare properly!

Registrations are still open for IACESR 2026, we encourage all to do it soon! Join us in Brno, Czech Republic for three days of talks and discussion in the cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion. 📍 Masaryk University 📅 1–3 July 2026 🔗 iacesr.com #IACESR2026 #CognitiveScienceOfReligion

We are pleased to announce Kathleen Corriveau as our keynote speaker. She will present “The Development of Cross-Cultural Religious Belief.” Her talk will explore how children acquire religious beliefs through testimony across cultures. 📅 1–3 July 2026 #IACESR2026 #CognitiveScienceOfReligion

🏆 John J. McGraw Award – IACESR 2026 We are delighted to announce this year’s awardees: 🎓Carmen María Callizo Romero — Religiosity, Not Size, Predicts Abstract Cognition in Sacred Spaces 🎓 Radim Chvaja — Is God Perceived as More Moralizing During War? Evidence from Ukraine #IACESR2026

🏆 John J. McGraw Award – IACESR 2026 We are delighted to announce this year’s awardees: 🎓Carmen María Callizo Romero — Religiosity, Not Size, Predicts Abstract Cognition in Sacred Spaces 🎓 Radim Chvaja — Is God Perceived as More Moralizing During War? Evidence from Ukraine #IACESR2026

As the conference gets closer, here’s how to get to Brno for IACESR 2026 ✈️ Fly direct (limited routes) or travel via nearby hubs: Vienna (~2h) • Prague (~2.5–3h) • Bratislava (~1.5–2h) 📅 1–3 July 2026 More info: iacesr.com/conferences/ #IACESR2026 #TravelInfo

Idk the conference, but strongly recommend Quentin!

Will Gervais, one of our keynote speakers, presents “Belief in Belief and Hidden Heathens”. His talk examines how self-reports can both over- and underestimate religiosity, and what this reveals about (ir)religious cognition. 🔗 iacesr.com/conferences/ #IACESR2026 #CognitiveScienceOfReligion

Very much looking forward to this!

Larisa Solomon will present “God Concepts Across Development.” Her talk brings together different schools of psychology to show how concepts of God change across age, highlighting differences in how children and adults distinguish human and divine minds, and the mechanisms underlying these shifts.

We are proud to introduce Quentin Atkinson as one of our keynote speakers at IACESR 2026. His talk explores how the relationship between religiosity and conservative attitudes varies across cultural contexts and measures. 📅 1–3 July 2026 | Masaryk University More info: iacesr.com/conferences/

IACESR 2026 – 10th Biennial Meeting We’re excited to announce our keynote speakers: Will Gervais • Rebekah Richert • Quentin Atkinson • Larisa Heiphetz Solomon 📍 Brno, Czech Republic 📅 1–3 July 2026 | Masaryk University Registration open soon. Stay tuned. #IACESR2026 #CognitiveScienceOfReligion