2025 Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion Conference

Navigating cross‑cultural challenges to religious worldviews

Earlier this month I had the privilege of presenting at the inaugural conference of the Asian Society for Philosophy of Religion (ASPR), co-hosted with Hong Kong Baptist University. The event – titled “Challenges to Religious Worldviews: East–West Dialogue” – ran from 13–15 August 2025 at Hong Kong Baptist University’s impressive Shaw Tower’s Council Chamber. Organised by the Centre for Sino-Christian Studies and ASPR, the conference brought together scholars from across Asia, Europe and North America to explore how philosophical and theological traditions from East and West can illuminate pressing questions about religion and society.

The programme itself reflected this cross‑cultural mission. Keynote lectures were delivered by Dean Zimmerman (Rutgers University), Eleonore Stump (Saint Louis University) and Yong Huang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong). Not only was the programme filled with diverse East-West perspectives, there was a plethora of diverse panels and themes, including “Religion and the Problem of Evil and Suffering” and “Arguments for and Against Theism” to discussions on “Religion, AI and the Internet”. As someone rather unfamiliar with Eastern, particularly Chinese, philosophy, it was a privilege sitting in on these presentations and asking questions to the speakers.

My own paper, “Dostoevsky’s Problem of Evil: An East‑West Engagement,” explored how Fyodor Dostoevsky synthesised Eastern Orthodox theology and Western philosophical critiques to address the question of suffering. Ivan Karamazov’s rejection of any theodicy that would justify evil, I argued, forces us to reckon not just with abstract metaphysics but with the pastoral and interpersonal dimensions of belief. The paper also traced how these Russian debates resonated with Kantian and deontological ethics, showing that Dostoevsky’s insights speak directly to contemporary analytic philosophy of religion.

As the conference closed, it was a great joy to see familiar faces, catch up with old friends, as well as make new ones. The ASPR and HKBU teams deserve special thanks for arranging such a smooth and enjoyable conference. I am grateful to have been part of these conversations and look forward to seeing how the ideas exchanged here will grow into future collaborations and developments in the field. I look forward to future developments of philosophy in Asia and hope to see everyone soon!