From Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider <okubiak@gmail.com>:linebreak======================linebreaklinebreakCall for Book Chapter ProposalslinebreaklinebreakDIVINE BUREAUCRACIES: HOW TEMPLES WORKED IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN - ECONOMY, ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT (4th c. BCE to 4th c. CE)linebreaklinebreakStudies dealing with ancient religions often revolve around the deities: their representation, names, religious perception, but also rituals and practices. Often, the structure built to worship and house the deity, or deities, is often ignored or purely examined as a built complex, rather than the economic and social institution of the temple. The concept of "sacred bureaucracy" invites us to move beyond viewing temples solely as places of worship and to consider them as institutions that required continuous administration. linebreaklinebreakBy integrating approaches from ancient history, archaeology, epigraphy, economic history, and the history of religions, Divine Bureaucracies offers a new framework for understanding temples as dynamic institutions embedded within the political, economic, and social structures of the ancient world. It aims to establish an agenda for future comparative research on the organization and management of religious institutions in antiquity. We encourage submissions that examine topics such as:linebreaklinebreak1. Who is working for the temples and in what capacity?linebreaklinebreak2. What resources, financial, material and/or spatial, are required for the functioning of a temple in the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire?linebreaklinebreak3. How did religious institutions influence the economy of the cities?linebreaklinebreak4. To which degree was the institutional character of the temples susceptible and vulnerable to impact of the empires?linebreaklinebreak5. Is there a fundamental difference between a temple and a house of prayer?linebreaklinebreakWe aim to bring together papers analyzing various aspects of temple life, such as sources of personnel, resources, impact on the urban economy and development, as well as the interactions of these institutions with the Roman state powers (emperors, governors, army, etc.). Moreover, these papers will also question the rigid definitions of what a temple is, and whether smaller religious institutions belonging to monotheistic religions can be considered a temple institution in an economic or social sense.linebreaklinebreakThe volume thus hopes to foster a comparative and interdisciplinary dialogue on the role of temples as social and economic institutions, while challenging conventional approaches that view them merely as architectural or cultic entities. By re-evaluating their functions within urban, imperial, and religious frameworks, it seeks to reveal temples as dynamic centres of economic management, social interaction, and negotiation with imperial power across the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. This will provide a basis to further discuss the similarities and differences between temples and places of worship belonging to various religions, cults and sects in the eastern Mediterranean during the Roman period.linebreaklinebreakIf you are interested in taking part and writing a chapter for the volume, please provide a document containing an abstract of up to 250 words of the proposed paper and key words, a short biographical paragraph, your ORCID details, academic affiliation, name and email address by the 15st of October 2026 to one of the editors: Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider (aleksandra.kubiak-schneider@uwr.edu.pl) and Haggai Olshanetsky (haggai1990@gmail.com)linebreak