American Academy of Religion

The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a professional and learned society for scholars involved in the academic study of religion. It has some 10,000 members worldwide, with the largest concentration being in the United States and Canada. AAR members are university and college professors, independent scholars, secondary teachers, clergy, seminarians, students, and interested lay-people.

History

AAR was founded in 1909 as the Association of Biblical Instructors in American Colleges and Secondary Schools.^[1] The name was changed to National Association of Biblical Instructors (NABI) in 1933. The American Academy of Religion was adopted as the organization name in 1963^[2] to reflect its broader, inclusive mission to foster the academic study of all religions.^[3] Over its long history, AAR has broadened its scope to reflect contemporary values of its membership, such as responding to feminist scholarship and women in religion, increased attention to religions beyond Christianity, differentiation between theology and/or religious reflection within the academic study of religion as a cultural/historical/political phenomenon, and engagement with the public understanding of religion. Presidents of the AAR have included well-known scholars such as Judith Plaskow, Mark Juergensmeyer, Wendy Doniger, Emilie Townes, Peter J. Paris, Rebecca Chopp, Elizabeth A. Clark and Ann Taves.

Publications

Oxford University Press publishes Journal of the American Academy of Religion on behalf of the AAR.^[4] Religious Studies News is the quarterly newspaper of record for the organization; it transitioned from a print to online-only publication in 2010. AAR published the online book review Reading Religion. AAR publishes five book series through Oxford University Press: Academy; Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion; Religion, Culture, and Theory; Religion in Translation; and Teaching Religious Studies. AAR presents awards each year to notable books in the study of religion. It offers three categories of Awards for Excellence: Analytical-Descriptive Studies, Historical Studies, and Constructive-Reflective Studies.

Annual meeting

AAR hosts an Annual Meeting each year in November. The AAR Annual Meeting is the world's largest meeting for religious studies scholars. Over 400 events, including meetings, receptions, and academic sessions, occur on the AAR program alone; hundreds more, hosted by affiliated societies and institutions, occur over the course of the meeting. Some 10,000 people attend the AAR Annual Meeting; the location of the meeting changes each year. The AAR Annual Meeting program is developed entirely by volunteers involved in program units representing disciplines and sub-disciplines within the field.

Other activities

AAR offers activities on a regional level for its members. Professional development resources such as research grants, career services, and scholarships are some of the member benefits. AAR also advocates the importance of the critical study of religion on institutional and national levels.

Presidents

1910–1925: Charles Foster Kent
1926: Irving Francis Wood
1927: Eliza H. Kendrick
1928: Walter W. Haviland
1929: Ralph K. Hickok
1930: Irwin R. Beiler
1931: Laura H. Wild
1932: Chester Warren Quimby
1933: James Muilenburg
1934: Elmer W. K. Mould
1935: Florence M. Fitch
1936: S. Ralph Harlow
1937: Frank G. Lankard
1938: Mary E. Andrews
1939: William Scott
1940: Harvie Branscomb
1941: Katherine H. Paton
1942–1943: Edgar S. Brightman
1944: Floyd V. Filson
1945: Mary Ely Lyman
1946: J. Paul Williams
1947: Rolland E. Wolfe
1949: Vernon McCasland
1950: Virginia Corwin
1951: Mary Francis Thelen
1952: Charles S. Braden
1953: Carl E. Purinton
1954: W. Gordon Ross
1955: Arthur C. Wickenden
1956: A. Roy Eckardt
1957: Robert M. Montgomery
1958: H. Neil Richardson
1959: Lauren Brubaker Jr.
1960: Lionel Whiston Jr.
1961: Robert V. Smith
1962: Fred D. Geally
1963: Clyde A. Holbrook
1964: Ira Martin
1965: James Price
1966: William Hordern
1967: John Priest
1968: J. Wesley Robb
1969: Jacob Neusner
1970: Claude Welch
1971: James Burtchaell
1972: Robert Michaelson
1973: Charles Long
1974: Christine Downing
1975: William E. May
1976: Preston Williams
1977: Schubert M. Ogden
1978: John Meagher
1979: Langdon Gilkey
1980: William Clebsch
1981: Jill Raitt
1982: Gordon D. Kaufman
1983: Wilfred Cantwell Smith
1984: Ray Hart
1985: Wendy Doniger
1986: Nathan A. Scott Jr.
1987: John Dillenberger
1988: Martin E. Marty
1989: Robert Wilken
1990: Elizabeth A. Clark
1991: Judith Berling
1992: Robert Cummings Neville
1993: Edith Wyschogrod
1994: Catherine Albanese
1995: Peter Paris
1996: Lawrence Sullivan
1997: Robert Detweiler
1998: Judith Plaskow
1999: Margaret R. Miles
2000: Ninian Smart
2001: Rebecca Chopp
2002: Vasudha Narayanan
2003: Robert Orsi
2004: Jane Dammen McAuliffe
2005: Hans J. Hillerbrand
2006: Diana L. Eck
2007: Jeffrey Stout
2008: Emilie Townes
2009: Mark Juergensmeyer
2010: Ann Taves
2011: Kwok Pui-lan
2012: Otto Maduro
2013: John Esposito
2014: Laurie Zoloth
2015: Thomas Tweed
2016: Serene Jones
2017: Eddie Glaude
2018: David P. Gushee
2019: Laurie L. Patton^[5]

References

↑ Gearon, Liam (2013). MasterClass in Religious Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning. London / New York: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 40. ISBN 9781441160065. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/825398792. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
↑ Clark, Elizabeth (2011). Founding the Fathers. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8122-4319-2. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/794700594. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
↑ "History of the American Academy of Religion". Official AAR website. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081228235153/http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/History/default.asp. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
↑ "Journal of the American Academy of Religion". Oxford University Press Journals website. http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
↑ "Past Presidents". Atlanta, Georgia: American Academy of Religion. https://www.aarweb.org/node/243.

External links

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[1] Gearon, Liam (2013). MasterClass in Religious Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning. London / New York: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 40. ISBN 9781441160065. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/825398792. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

[2] Clark, Elizabeth (2011). Founding the Fathers. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8122-4319-2. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/794700594. Retrieved 14 April 2015.

[3] "History of the American Academy of Religion". Official AAR website. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081228235153/http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/History/default.asp. Retrieved 2008-12-18.

[4] "Journal of the American Academy of Religion". Oxford University Press Journals website. http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org. Retrieved 2011-04-09.

[5] "Past Presidents". Atlanta, Georgia: American Academy of Religion. https://www.aarweb.org/node/243.

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