Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Business Meeting Minutes

1981

October 31, 1981      

President Benton Johnson opened the meeting with words of welcome to everyone.

Johnson moved that the Minutes of 1980 meeting be accepted. The motion was seconded and passed.

Announcements: President Johnson thanked Loyola and Johns Hopkins universities for their gifts to assist in the costs of this year's annual meeting.

Election Results: President Johnson announced the following election results of new officers and council members for next year: Marie Augusta Neal, President; Jeffrey Hadden, Vice-President; John Seidler, Council; and Eileen Barker, Council.

Executive Secretary's Report: Wade Clark Roof reported the Society had a good year with a stable membership and fiscal soundness. SSSR has 2575 member subscribers about the same as last year, however the turnover in membership is still a concern. Too many members have not renewed, thus Roof suggests continued work on obtaining new members. Library memberships remain high. Thus the Society is doing well. With a good diversity of holdings the Society is in a secure financial position.

The annual meeting in progress is proving very successful with some 283 registrations at this time. This number is somewhat less than last year however. Roof expressed thanks to Mary Jo Meadow, the 1981 Program Chairperson, and also Mary C. Rose, the Local Arrangements person. D. Roozen also worked hard in contacting the media. Some eight press and radio science reporters are covering these meetings.

Roof thanked Phillip Hammond, JSSR Editor, for a superb job and also Donald Capps, Book Review Editor, and William Newman, SSSR Monograph Series Editor, for their excellent work. All three are stepping down as editors.

Roof also noted that SSSR was represented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meetings last winter and that we have broadened our relations with them.

Roof suggested that we perhaps should look inward towards serving our own membership more in the future. We should investigate sources of research funds and opportunities. Thus the Council has appointed a Research Committee. We wish to serve not only mature scholars but younger ones and individuals just beyond their Ph.D. degrees. Roof is pleased with the past year and optimistic about next year.

Moved and seconded to accept the Executive Secretary's Report. Accepted.

From the floor, Roof was asked where the 1983 meetings would be located. He replied Knoxville.

Also from the floor, Roof was asked if SSSR had any sessions in the AAAS meetings this year. No, we had proposals, however they were rejected. The Secretary of the Sociology-Economic section of AAAS indicated that the proposals were excellent, however AAAS is accepting far fewer now than in the past.

Treasurer's Report: Ruth A. Wallace noted that it turned out to be a much better year than had been expected. We have a good surplus and the Council has decided to invest a part of this in the membership. Approximately $3,500 is to be spent for a new membership directory. Up to $6,000 will be granted in the research awards, doubling the amount of last year. A Research Committee was established with the Vice-President as chairman with a $250 budget. And for the best graduate paper the Council has set aside a $100 award and up to $400 in travel monies depending upon need. Also, $4,600 has been set aside for a new address label system. Beyond a suggested wage increase to $7,500, the Council voted to increase the Business Manager's salary to $10,000. The Council believes this to be an appropriate wage. The Council also voted to donate $500 to COSSA and Ruth called on Russ Dynes to say a few words about that organization. Dynes explained the nature of COSSA as a cooperative effort, with psychology, history, geography, political science, linguistics, anthropology, economics, etc., lobbying for the social sciences. It emphasizes grass roots lobbying, contacting a wide range of schools and professionals especially in swing districts. It takes some credit for helping defeat an amendment which would have cut more deeply into social science funding. It has also attempted to make social science more visible, triggering editorials in major journals and elsewhere, and giving testimony for every pertinent piece of legislation. It also continues to contact leaders in NSF, AAAS, and other general scientific organizations, in order to strengthen the social scientific branches of these organizations. Since 27% of the scientific community is in the social sciences--i.e., about 140,000 persons--social sciences have potential clout. The donations are needed to keep this effort going over the long haul.

Report of Program Chair: Mary Jo Meadow noted the main innovations in this year's program (1) the poster session, which encourages give-and-take between displaying researchers and other interested persons; (2) the inclusion on the program of presenter's discipline, as well as affiliation. This should help indicate the interdisciplinary nature of the program and the Society. Sincere thanks to all who helped in preparing the Program.

Report of Publicity Chair: Roozen commented there was more press coverage this year than in the past. Reporters from the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, and a couple of local radio stations have shown interest and said they would be here.

Report of Advertising Agent: Harve Horowitz expressed thanks for all the support. Traffic has been good in the room for book displays. The representatives from Publishing Companies appreciate this.

Report of Journal Editor: Hammond noted briefly that the Journal had a good year, though submissions were down. He called attention to the 20 year Index to be printed. It was announced that Council has selected Donald Capps as new editor for JSSR, and Robert Wuthnow as Book Review Editor.

Report of Program Chair for 1982: Wuthnow called attention that in 1982, the SSSR will meet jointly with RRA and ASR, and possibly with APRRE, in Providence, Rhode Island at the Biltmore Plaza Hotel. The theme will be "Religion and Power"--an international and timely topic. Anyone who wishes to help is invited to contact Robert Wuthnow, Dept. of Sociology, Princeton University, Princeton, N. J. 08540

Publications Report: Sister Neal gave the report of the Publications Committee. For the Research Award, there were many good projects from which to choose. One award was given--$2500 to Roland Robertson and Ruth Mouly to investigate Religion and Foreign Policy. Next year more money will be allotted--up to $6000 for multiple awards, with no single award exceeding $3000.

A new Research Committee was proposed and approved. Its chair will be the Vice-President of SSSR. Members will be four, though others may be added on an ad hoc basis. These members will represent sociology, psychology, anthropology, and religious studies. The committee will be a standing committee, with two members being replaced each year. We encourage young scholars, though not exclusively, to apply for these awards, to be reviewed by the new Research Committee. A "young scholar" is anyone who is five years or fewer past the Ph.D. If a student applies, his or her proposal must be approved by the appropriate thesis committee at the local school.

New Business

  1. Mary Jo Meadow announced there was a Women's Caucus during the meeting. If anyone is interested in doing research on women, please contact her.

  2. Concern was expressed over the lessening government commitment to affirmative action. The following resolution was moved by Marie Augusta Neal, seconded, and passed:

    "We affirm our support for continuing federal government's commitment to the historically developed and presently existing regulations, interpretations, and enforcement regarding Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action for members of protected classes."

    This resolution will be signed by the SSSR President and sent to the proper authorities.

  3. Ted Mills moved that we thank all the outgoing officers for their contribution to SSSR. Formal thanks were then given to outgoing members of Council, President and Vice-President, Editors of Journal, Monograph Series, etc.

  4. Jim Richardson suggested a new committee to investigate the possibility of an Endowment Fund to support research and scholarship, especially Post-Doc Fellowships. We could encourage people to put this Fund in their wills, and we could raise money in other ways as well. Jim welcomes suggestions.

  5. It was moved, seconded, and passed that letters of appreciation be sent to the Hotel, the Program Chair, and Local Arrangements Chair.

N. Ross Crumrine
Secretary