The articles in this volume were first presented at the annual British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR) conference held at Leeds Trinity University 2-4 September, 2019. Its theme was “Visualising Cultures: Media, Technology and Religion” and was organised by Dr Suzanne Owen with Dr Ilaria Vecchi, then a PhD student, and Dr Stefano Odorico, Director of the International Research Centre for Interactive Storytelling (IRIS), based at Leeds Trinity. The conference also welcomed papers employing a collaborative or inter-disciplinary methodology in the study of religion more generally.

The BASR was grateful to have Dr James Kapaló as the keynote speaker at this conference who delivered a rich and engaging paper exploring photographic and filmic representations of religious clandestinity produced by or with the help of the secret police in Central and Eastern Europe. We are pleased to be able to include his article based on his keynote paper.

The other articles either engage with visual methods or the visual as data, or focuss on collaborations and interdisciplinarity (or a combination of these). This issue begins with an op-ed from Jonathan Tuckett on his thoughts about the task of Religious Studies, drawing from Max Weber's "Science as a Vocation".  The coordinating editor would like to thank Tuckett for submitting this to the BASR committee as I think it makes some pertinent remarks about the state of RS in the UK and what this means for early career academics.

Coordinating editor: Dr Suzanne Owen, Leeds Trinity University

Assistent editor: Dr Jonathon O'Donnell, University College Dublin

Cover image: just prior to the start of the conference, I walked on Ilkley Moor nearby with another participant and took this photo of the Cow and Calf rocks.