As president of the Religious Research Association I am happy to present an annual report which summarizes a year of progress. Many of us have had high hopes for and great faith in the Association. I believe that we are in the midst of a process of development which will lead us beyond our fondest hopes.

This is a growing organization. The fact that our membership now exceeds 300 is a simple, straight-forward documentation of our growth. But our growth shows up in other ways. Our organization is a more representative organization than it has ever been before. This statement applies to our geographic representation, our disciplinary representation, and our inter-faith involvement. This is very important. We began with a very small group of individuals, representing a very limited area of specialized interests. Most of them came from a background of church and community study, which had actually made them pioneers in a special field. Now our membership is drawn from the entire country, it includes persons from a number of disciplines in the social sciences and from program and administrative agencies of religious bodies, and it is becoming more truly an inter-faith group. The program for this meeting attests to this latter fact.

Not only is the RRA growing, it is also a dynamic organization. You may have some idea of the amount of work involved in carrying out the work of this Association, but I assure you that the actual facts far exceed any idea you may have. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours have been given by interested individuals to keep the organization functioning. There is no time here even to summarize the work that has been done, but this voluntary effort is a testimony to the dynamic and enthusiastic involvement of many individuals in the RRA.

There is no way to apply a cost accounting procedure to this voluntary service, but it is obvious that if it could be done it would produce a total figure that would far exceed the figures that appear in the financial report. Without this help, we would not be where we are today.

Furthermore, there has been a real development in the program and service of the Association. The regional meetings have become an important aspect of our program. They reach new people and involve old members in the organization. They contribute to membership growth and they help in establishing channels of reporting and communication for more people than can ever be served by one annual meeting. They provide a new reservoir of potential leadership.

The REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS RESEARCH has established itself as a solid journal and we hope to see it develop a larger format, a wider circulation, and a broad recognition as the basic journal in the area of our interests. It's a big venture to launch a journal, even a modest journal such as the REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS RESEARCH. It has taken a lot of hard work and again this has been provided on a volunteer basis.

I think we can also say that our goals have become clearer as we have developed and matured. As an organization we are committed to the task of the theory, the insights and methods of the social sciences helpful and meaningful to the institution of religion. We do not hesitate to admit that we have a favorable bias toward religious institutions. We do not study religion and religious institutions simply because of an interest in religion as a subject of study but because we believe that the social sciences have a contribution to make to religious institutions and because we believe that the effective functioning of religion in society is dependent upon an application of the knowledge and insights of social science. In this the RRA is unique -- I know of no other organization that will admit to such a purpose.

There are one or two items relating to the year's activity that I want to mention especially. Considerable work has been done toward securing our incorporation papers and our tax-exempt status. We expect, momentarily, to learn that our incorporation certificate has been granted. Certain actions will be necessary during this meeting to further implement these steps.

Also, considerable progress has been made in setting up systematic bookkeeping procedures which will make easier and clearer the finances of the Association. This is related to the growing-pains of an organization such as ours. We didn't have to worry too much about bookkeeping techniques in the early days!

And, in order to help the officers and committees function more effectively, carefully worked out analyses of their duties have been prepared and will serve as a guide to the new leaders of the RRA.

There are other things which should be mentioned, but I want to conclude by referring to the outstanding work of three people in the RRA during the past year. I know I shouldn't do this. It's always dangerous to single out a few individuals for special mention. But anyway, here goes--

Our Secretary-Treasurer, Carolyn Odell, has been in many ways the mainstay of the Association. Doing work in a detailed way far beyond the call of duty, she has kept us going. All that we are or hope to be we owe in large extent to Carolyn!

Walter Kloetzli, Vice President and Program Chairman, has made a major contribution through his program leadership.

Margaret Tammen has been Managing Editor for the REVIEW and has given it loving attention and even nursing care during its infancy. It has meant a lot of work but she has done it well.

I do want to say Thank-You to all who have helped. There have been a very few times when a member has said "no" to a request for help, and the excuses have been excellent in such cases.

It has been a privilege to have served for two terms as President of the Religious Research Association. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve in this way. it has been a great and rewarding experience. And on the basis of my experience, I know that the future looks very rosy for the RRA.

Lauris B. Whitman