The European Association for the Study of Religions chose Bucharest to be the host of its 6th conference. This is a gesture of curtesy towards the pioneer work of Mircea Eliade, the Romanian who founded this new academic discipline.

Between September 20- 23 the 6th EASR Conference (The European Association for the Study of Religions) took place in Bucharest, under the high patronage of the President of Romania. Having as a theme "Religions from Europe and Africa" this event was considered also a homage to the founder of this area of studies, the eminent professor Mircea Eliade.

The conference had a formal atmosphere, but also a great importance, because it tried to link the research in the history of religions with the current issues raised by the religious conflicts. With a more rather intellectual perspective, the conference also tried to present different perspectives towards religion and their implications, uncovering especially the religious elements unknown to the general public.

The clash between Christian and Islamic cultures was one of the great themes for the conference, many lecturers preferring to approach this subject because its current importance. Thus, in the three days there were different perspective to look from to this subject: “The Drama of Recent Religious Violence”, Hans G. KIPPENBERG (University of Bremen); “Jews, Christians and Muslims in Controversy: Public Theological Disputations in Medieval Europe”, Andrei OIŞTEANU (University of Bucharest); “Byzantine Attitudes to Islam: from St John Damascene to St Gregory Palamas”, Andrew LOUTH (Durham University). Other interesting lectures were given about the latest discoveries in the legend of Buddha, about a new area in the study of religion, "History of occidental esoteric currents" or the practice of mystical Judaism.

Situated in the temporal proximity of the Somet International de la Francophonie, also hosted by Bucharest, the EASR conference was also a high point in the cultural life of Romania. The organizers, EASR (www.easr.de), The International Association for the History of Religions (www.iahr.dk) and The Romanian Association for the Study of Religions (www.rahr.ro) managed to create a special event, where the participants strengthen their relations and managed to convince the world the study of religions may encourage a future extinction of the religious conflicts.

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