The 2015 CERC Plenary: Religion in the Text and on the Ground gathered together an international collection of historians, philosophers, literary scholars, anthropologists, archaeologists, ethnographers, cognitive scientists, and psychologists to engage in targeted and substantive discussions concerning the convergence of historiographic and ethnographic approaches to the study of religion. As the midterm plenary of the Cultural Evolution of Religion Research Consortium, this event constituted a rare though crucial opportunity to bring CERC researchers together into a single location so as to coordinate their scholarly efforts. In addition to the formal scholarly program of papers and posters, we have coordinated two public events: a keynote lecture by Charles Taylor (Professor Emeritus, McGill University), entitled “Religious Mutations in our Time?”, and an educational, peer-reviewed concert by the Canadian artist Baba Brinkman, entitled “The Rap Guide to Religion.