Constant H. Jacquet Research Awards

Members of the Association are entitled to compete for small research grant awards annually. The 2009 total purse is $18,000. Grants in excess of $4,000 to a single recipient/agency are rare. Applied, client-centered projects are given priority, but basic research is also regularly funded.

The Committee especially encourages proposal submissions from scholars who are in the early stages of their careers, as well as proposals from students. Applicants are required to be members of the RRA. Full-time students may join the Association at the time of their application. All others must hold membership in the RRA for at least one full year prior to the application deadline.

Funding may be used for research expenses and release time, but not for supplemental income or capital equipment. Because funds are limited, applicants are also encouraged to seek support from alternative sources of funding.

Applicants will be notified of the disposition of their applications within 60 days and will be asked to submit a written acceptance of their awards within two weeks of notification. Awards become available July 1st. Recipients should plan to expend the grant within one year after accepting the award and should note RRA support in all reports of the research for which they received the grant. Award recipients are encouraged to submit their research reports for possible publication in the Review of Religious Research, subject to editorial review. Award recipients are required to provide the committee with an abstract and a one-page summary of the research at its conclusion.

The Association also offers other research competitions from time to time, and is custodian of funds for the Olga Scarpetta Award presented in connection with the joint annual meeting of RRA and SSSR. 

Applications must be received by 1 April 2009.

2009 Awardees (with a brief description of their research) were:

• Joshua Brahinsky, University of California, Santa Cruz, as part of his PhD program in History of Consciousness,
  "Ordinary Mystics: The Organizing and Politics of Bethany Missionaries."
• Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye, Harvard University, as part of her PhD program in East Asian Languages and Civilizations,
  "The True Jesus Church and the Moral Marketplace in Fuzhou, China."
• Alexei Krindatch, Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California,
  "They are 'with us' but not a 'part of us.' The young generation of intermarried families in the Eastern Orthodox Churches in America."
• Jared Peifer, Cornell University, as part of his PhD program in Sociology, "Serving God and Mammon: The Case of Religiously Affiliated Mutual Funds."
• Jeremy Uecker, University of Texas at Austin, as part of his PhD program in Sociology, "Religion and Early Marriage in the United States."

2008 Awardees were:

• Christy Bohl (University of Kentucky)
• Michael Evans (University of California San Diego)
• Michele Garred (University of Lancaster)
• Emily McKendry-Smith (University of North Carolina)
• Melissa Mokel (University of Connecticut)
• Mandy Robbins (University of Warwick)

2007 Awardees were:

• Kraig Beyerlein (University of Arizona)
• Philip Michael Fountain (Australian National University)
• Karen Monique Gredd (University of Notre Dame)
• Kevin A. Harris (Ball State University)
• Carrie S. Konold (University of Michigan)
• Michael K. Romer (University of Texas)

2006 awardees (with a brief description of their research) were:

• Gary L. Adler, Sociology, University of Arizona, "Parishes in the Aftermath: Hurricane Katrina, Organizational Change, and Individual Believers"
• Joanne M. Marshall, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, Iowa State University, "School Superintendents Applying a Moral Imperative to Professional Practice: Evaluating Iowa's 'Leading with Soul' Pilot Program" (Client: School Administrators of Iowa)
• Nancy J. Martin, Sociology, University of Arizona, "Small Groups in Big Churches"
• Stephen Offutt, Sociology, Boston University, "A Comparative Analysis of Global Evangelicalism: Networks, Organizations, and Entrepreneurs in Central America and Southern Africa"
• J. Shane Sharp, Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "The Effects of Religion on the Behaviors and Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Victims"
• Jacqueline Wenger, Sociology, Catholic University of America, "Middle-Class African-American and White Nondenominational Protestant Congregations: Their Characteristics and Significance"

2005 awardees (with a brief description of their research) were:

• Nanlai Cao, The Australian National University, an ethnographic study of the Christian revival in postsocialist Wenzhou, China.
• Brian Calfano, University of North Texas, an examination of the role of institutional influences on the attitudes and behavior of ecclesiastical elites (ordained and lay) in the Presbyterian Church, USA.
• D. Michael Lindsay, Princeton University, a study of the role of "leading evangelical" elites and their networks in refashioning institutional boundaries and cultural repertoires.
• Marge Royle, Parish Life and Leadership Ministry, United Church of Christ, an analysis of the factors associated with stress, job performance, and coping among UCC clergy.
• Jenny Trinitapoli, University of Texas, Austin, an examination of the influence of religion on sexual behavior and HIV transmission risk among lay adults in three districts of rural Malawi

2004 awardees were:   Mary Bendyna, James Fenimore, Charlene McGrew, Anthony Pogorelc, and Rebecca Sager

2003 awardees (with a brief description of their research) were:

• Lanette Ruff, University of New Brunswick.  Religious response to victims of violence against women in Jamaica and Croatia. 
• James Wellman, University of Washington.  Study of the ministries of five megachurches in the state of Washington.
• Lori Beaman, Concordia University, Montreal.  Study of participants in the labyrinth spiritual movement.
• Stephen Krauss, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  Structure of social and religious attitudes in Ghana and United States.
• Keli Rugenstein, State University of New York at Albany.  Stressors affecting clergy and their effect on decisions to leave congregational ministry.

2002 awardees were Sally Gallagher, Enid Logan, Eric McDaniel, and Robert Woodberry.

2001 awardees were Al Herzog, Elaine Howard, Ted Jelen, David Yamane, and Fenggang Yang.

Interested persons can obtain an Awards Application Form online.

Of the 22 applications that were received in 2007, five were immediately excluded for failure to meet the criteria of the program. If you are interested in applying for a Jacquet award, it is important that you read these carefully both to ensure that you are eligible and that your application is both in order and timely.

For more information about the award
please contact Awards Committee Chairperson:

Michael Cieslak
Diocese of Rockford
PO Box 7044
Rockford, IL 61125-7044

E-mail: mcieslak@rockforddiocese.org

Awards become available after 1 July 2009.