Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Business Meeting Minutes
1970
| Friday, 23 October, 1970 | New York City |
THE ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion convened at 5:40 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the New Yorker Hotel. President Joseph Fichter presided. Thirty-nine people were present.
The Secretary read the minutes of the 1969 business meeting. It was moved and seconded that the minutes be accepted as read. Motion passed.
Mr. D'Antonio then presented the Executive Secretary's report. As of August 31, 1970, the Society had approximately 1,600 paid members and 1,100 paid library subscriptions. Progress has been made in reducing the number of members who have not paid dues, though it has proved difficult to maintain accurate, up-to-date lists. Total registration at the current joint meeting exceeds 1,500, of which the Society's share is close to 400. Mr. D'Antonio has accepted a position at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 1971. The University has offered to provide office space for him to carry on his duties as Executive Secretary, and it has also agreed to provide secretarial services for the Society for one year. The University of Notre Dame, from which Mr. D'Antonio has resigned, has provided office space, student assistance, and a subvention of $5,000. It was moved and seconded that Mr. D'Antonio's report be accepted. Motion passed.
Father Fichter then presented the President's report. The Council has decided that the Society will not participate in the International Congress to be held in Los Angeles in 1972. It has voted to withdraw participation in the Bulletin of the Council on the Study of Religion and to publish our own news and announcements in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. The President has appointed a committee to examine our relations with other societies in the field of religious studies.He announced that efforts to secure outside sources of financial support for the Society
have been unsuccessful during the past year.
The President announced that Allan Eister and Paul Pruyser will be joint program chairmen for next year's meeting. He expressed appreciation to Dean Knudsen for taking over the program chairmanship of this year's meeting after Paul Gustafson was obliged to resign.
The Council has named Benton Johnson Editor of the Journal for a three-year term beginning with Volume XI. Father Fichter expressed appreciation to the current Editor, James Dittes, for the high quality of the Journal during his editorship.
Ralph Burhoe has resigned as Treasurer, and the Council has named Edgar Mills as his successor for a three-year term. Phillip Hammond has been named Secretary, also for a three-year term. Samuel Klausner will be chairman of the nominating committee for the coming year.
The Secretary announced the results of the election for Council members. Dorothy Dohen and Christopher Mooney have been elected.
Mr. Burhoe then presented the Treasurer's report. He announced that the Society received $14,000 more income this past year than it received the previous year. The deficit has now been cut in half. If current trends continue, the Society should be out of debt in a year or two. It was moved and seconded that the Treasurer's report be accepted. Motion passed.
Mr. Dittes then presented the Editor's report. Approximately a third of the manuscripts submitted eventually find their way into print in the Journal. The Journal is now operating on a quarterly basis. Under a new arrangement the University of California Press serves as intermediary with the printer, though this arrangement has so far not been entirely satisfactory. It was moved and seconded that the Editor's report be accepted. Motion passed.
Jeffrey Hadden then offered from the floor resolutions of appreciation to the program chairman, to the local arrangements committee, and to the outgoing Treasurer. The resolutions were seconded and adopted.
Father Fichter called for new business. A member asked why the Council had decided to alter its relationship with the Council on the Study of Religion. Mr. D'Antonio responded by reading the text of the resolution on the subject that had just been passed by the Society's Council. He explained that the costs to the Society in continuing the present relationship with the Council on the Study of Religion seem to outweigh the benefits received, and that many feel that in joint meetings such as the current one in New York our own Society tends to become absorbed
with other societies. The President invited members of the Society to write him their views on this matter.
Mr. Eister invited members to send him suggestions for next year's meeting.
Walter Houston Clark suggested that some of the members of the nominating committee always be held over to the next committee so that it will have access to recent information on who has been considered for office and who will consent to serve. He also suggested that the chairman of the committee keep notes and transmit them to his successor.
The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
BENTON JOHNSON
Secretary