The 1972 Annual Meeting of the Religious Research Association, Inc. was called to order by President Thomas Gannon at 12:12 p.m. at the Parker House, Boston, Massachusetts. Proper notice of the meeting had been given in accordance with the By-laws. A quorum was present.

The minutes of the August 29, 1971 meeting were accepted as distributed.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT -- THE STATE OF THE ASSOCIATION.

President Gannon reported that the Association is financially healthy. Membership is stable. The Review of Religious Research continues to improve.

This is the second year of the planned exploration of relationships with other organizations concerned with the social scientific study of religion. In 1971 the Association met jointly with the Association for the Sociology of Religion in Denver. This year the Association met with the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. It is now our task to evaluate this experience and decide what future steps we wish to take. President Gannon thinks that all the organizations have been enriched by the experience of joint meetings. Dialogues, trialogues, and explorations will continue through the agency of the Ad Hoc Committee on Organizational Relationships established by the Board of Directors. (David O. Moberg, Chairman.) A report from this Ad Hoc Committee is to be presented to the Board this year and will be communicated to the RRA membership at the next annual meeting of the Association.

TREASURER'S REPORT.

Charles Thorne, Treasurer, presented his report. Copies of his "Treasurer's Annual Report" and "Report of Income" were distributed. (See exhibits A and B.)

The 1971-1972 fiscal year ended with a surplus. This was possible because the Association saved money on expenses. We spent $1,800 less than was expected. A slight decline in membership was offset by an increase in the number of subscribers. Raising dues has not produced major losses of members or subscribers.

The membership voted to accept the treasurer's report.

The report of the FINANCE COMMITTEE was presented by the Chairman, Douglas Johnson. The Review of Religious Research will be increased to 70 pages per issue. Five finance committee actions were presented to the meeting by the chairman:

1. The proposed budget of $9,770 is recommended for 1973, with referral back to the Finance Committee to make adjustments to reflect actions of the Board: to maintain agency discounts on subscriptions ($290): to bond the Treasurer ($75); and to transfer an amount from the general fund to cover the deficit shown by the auditor in the H.P. Douglass Lecture fund. (See Exhibit C for the proposed budget )
   
   
2. It was voted to print an interpretation of By-law 1, section 6 on membership and subscription billings, and to implement it. (The By-law discusses delinquency in paying dues.)
   
   
3. The Board supported the recommendation of the Finance Committee that present membership and subscription fees be maintained for at least one more year.
   
   
4. It was voted to bond the Treasurer in the person of Charles Thorne or his successor for $10,000 the bonding to be secured from a company at the discretion of Charles Thorne, cost not to exceed $75 for a three year term.
   
   
5. It was agreed that for 1973 the H. Paul Douglass lecture be considered an important instrument for promoting dialogue between applied and academic research, with funding to be provided by a church agency.

The membership voted to approve all five actions.

In response to questions, the Chairman said that an attempt would be made to provide money to cover the cost of research that may be done 1, the Ad Hoc Committee on Organizational Relationships. A suggestion that a membership drive be conducted among students will be referred to the new chairman of the development committee.

The report of the PROGRAM COMMITTEE was presented by Ross Scherer, Chairman. For the Boston meeting the program committee opted for a policy of maximum program integration. A unified program was prepared without any separately labeled RRA or SSSR sessions except the H. Paul Douglass lecture. The members of the program committee for the 1973 annual meeting are Jeffrey Hadden and Barbara Payne. A motion of thanks for the work of the program committee was made, seconded and passed.

The PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE report was distributed by David O. Moberg, Chairman. (See Exhibit D for the "Report of the Publications Committee" and Exhibit E for the "Interim Report of the Editor-Designate, RRA."

The publications committee met with the new editorial staff and prepared two recommendations for the RRA Board: 1. That the Board approve a policy of soliciting advertising for the Review with the income from the advertising to be used for the Review. 2. That a new schedule of reprint or permission fees be established. At a rate of approximately 4-5 dollars a page, payable to the RRA, not to the author. The exact fees to be established in consultation with the finance committee.

The membership voted to accept the report of the publications committee as distributed.

The membership also voted to extend a vote of thanks to all of the people who worked on the Review during the past year. (These people are listed on pages 2 and 3 of the publications committee report.)

The membership voted to express thanks for their work on the Review to Ross Scherer, retiring managing editor, and to David O Moberg, retiring editor.

The NOMINATING COMMITTEE report was presented by Everett Perry, acting Chairman. (The members of the Nominating Committee were Everett Perry and Thomas Cannon.)

The committee presented the following slate of nominees:

The membership voted to accept the slate as presented by the committee.

Under the rubric NEW BUSINESS, President Cannon announced that the RRA will meet jointly with the SSSR in 1973 in San Francisco. An invitation has been received from the Association for the Sociology of Religion to have a joint regional meeting in New York City in August. This invitation will be discussed by the RRA Board.

David O Moberg, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Organizational Relationships, invited imput and ideas from members of the Association to that committee.

The membership voted to express thanks for their work for this meeting to the SSSR Program Committee, to Dr. William V. D'Antonie, and especially to Mrs. William V. D'Antonie.

The membership voted to express thanks to Miss Gertrude Kaler for her dilligent work on the records of the Association.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m.