It is a pleasure and honour to welcome you, delegates from six continents, to the 2023 annual conference of the European Academy of Religion and the associated conferences.

On behalf of the international, multifaith St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, I am particularly pleased to be able to host you in St Andrews, where alongside the week’s rich programme of academic discussions, we have planned social activities, cultural events, art installations, and services of worship which showcase the best of the town and its University. The Encyclopaedia has invited many of its authors and editors to present the research we are publishing, in order to engage in critical and constructive conversation with the wider scholarly community as we build a resource of common utility.

Academic rigour, faithful diversity, and the conversation of traditions compose the scholarly vision shared with the EuARe by the editors of the Encyclopaedia and the researchers of Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Religion and Critical Enquiry.

All of us hope that this week together will reflect this vision, including through the conference theme of ‘Religion from the Inside’.