Columbus, Ohio proved to be the perfect setting for the 2001 joint meeting of the Religious Research Association and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Overall attendance was comparable to that of recent years, despite the terrorist attacks of September 11. Yes, there were some cancellations, and some traveled by car rather than fly. 

If you did not attend, for whatever reason, you missed a great conference, stimulating and informative sessions, the always-enjoyable annual banquet, Columbus tours, opportunities for conversations among friends and colleagues, and a great sense of camaraderie.

 Robert Beckley, RRA Program Chair for 2001, deserves our sincere thanks for the work he did, in collaboration with SSSR Program Chair Mark Chaves, in organizing an excellent program. Coupled with SSSR’s offerings, there were sessions to satisfy a wide variety of interests.

 A large, attentive, and appreciative audience attended RRA’s plenary session to hear David Roozen’s H. Paul Douglass Lecture, entitled “10,0001 Congregations: H.P. Douglass, Strictness, and Electric Guitars.” Dave provided fascinating details regarding the Faith Communities Today (FACT) project  fact.hartsem.edu conducted at Hartford Seminary plus historical material about Douglass’s pioneering work. SSSR’s plenary featured a timely presentation by Mark Juergensmeyer on how some forms of religion may be linked with terrorism.

View the program of the 2001 meeting