This conference investigates the process of formation and transformation of eastern and western religions during the time of their emergence. In the dynamics of this process, trade plays an important role. Different cultures and religions are brought into contact along regional and transregional trade routes. In this context, various ideas and religious “commodities” are exchanged – “offered”, “negotiated” and “bought”. This leads to expansion and densification as well as amalgamation of religions. "'Trading Religions' aims at opening new pathways for approaching religious dynamics by focusing on four elements or “commodities” of religious interchange: Topology of Religious Space, Religious Symbol Systems, Religious Knowledge, and Religious-Ethical Ways of Life.