PRESENT: Bibby, Capps, Davidson, Gaede, Gannon, Hadaway, Hadden, Hammond, Hood, Ingram, Johnson, McGuire, Neal, Nelsen, Robertson, Roozen, Shupe, Wood, .

1. CALL TO ORDER: President Hadden called the council meeting to order at 7:40 p.m., October 24, 1985.

2. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hadden announced the results of the election. President-elect is Meredith McGuire and the new council members are Ruth Wallace and Roland Robertson.

3. MINUTES: It was moved (Johnson) and seconded (Wood) that the minutes of the 1984 council meeting be approved. The motion carried.

4. '85 PROGRAM CHAIR REPORT: Andy Shupe reported that the '85 program contained 73 sessions (56-SSSR, 17-RRA) and 305 participants. He thanked Nelsen and Hadden for their help, as well as RRA Program Chair, Larry Ingram (who will be the '86 SSSR Program Chair).

His main disappointment was the lack of quality entrants in the Student Essay Contest due to deficient publicity; he recommended that no award be given this year. A committee of Robertson and Hood was set up to work on the student award problem next year.

5. RECORDING VOTES: Nelsen asked for a formal vote to approve two matters that had, of necessity, been handled earlier by mail. MOTION: It was moved (Hammond) and seconded (Hood) that the JSSR editorships be extended through 1988, and that the 1986 Annual Meeting be held in Washington, D.C. The motion passed.

6. NOMINATION COMMITTEE REPORT: The committee put before Council the names of Armand Mauss for treasurer and Margaret Poloma for secretary. MOTION: It was moved (Nelsen) and seconded (Hammond) that the nominees be approved. The motion carried.

7. PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Hadden reported that it had been a very difficult year but that some progress had been made on a number of important matters.

He noted that the endowment fund was getting off to a slow start, but he was pleased to report that George Gallup had agreed to chair the Endowment Fund Committee. Otherwise, he said there has been more talk than action.

Media interest in the Society is up this year. He felt confident that this would have a positive effect upon the image of the SSSR among the general public.

Hadden noted that he had attended the CISR meetings this year, representing the SSSR.

George Gallup wants to pull together a variety of religious research organizations in order to undertake a major survey project. Question: should SSSR participate and, if so, what financial contribution should we make to the project?

A lengthy discussion ensued. It was established that, if we participate, we would have the opportunity to contribute questions to the survey and SSSR members would have access to the data.

MOTION: It was moved (Hammond) and seconded (Davidson) that Council agrees in principle with the idea of working with Gallup in order to undertake such a research project, and authorizes the President to negotiate the details of the arrangement with the stipulation that a proposal specifying the conditions of the arrangement will come back to Council for final approval. The motion carried.

Gannon asked about the possibility of the Lilly Foundation supporting the start-up costs of the endowment fund, or even religious research itself. A lengthy discussion followed. Nelsensuggested that we invite Bob Lynn of the Lilly Foundation to the Washington meetings as a guest of the Council. This would enable him to get to know us and vice versa. MOTION: It was moved (Roozen) and seconded (Hammond) that someone be authorized to contact Lynn on behalf of the Society to explore his interest in Nelsen's idea.

Davidson asked how George Gallup was selected to head the fundraising committee for the endowment. Hadden said that he had made the appointment himself. Question: where do we go from here on the endowment? Much hand wringing ensued. Roozen suggested that Hadden and Hammond return after the evening break with some ideas about how to proceed with the endowment campaign.

8. MEDIA REPORT: Roozen confirmed the increase in media attention. He said that publicity efforts have increased 200%. We have added 200 names to the mailing list due to the addition of the members of the Religious Newswriters Association.

More information was sent out to the media this year as well, including preliminary programs and abbreviated abstract books. Roozen said that next year he would like to send abstracts to each individual on the mailing list, but he didn't know if we could afford it. Nelsen thought we might be able to do it if the abstracts were short.

9. EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S REPORT: Nelsen began his report noting that we have made the transition to a balanced budget. For the year just finished, September 1984 - August 31, 1985, this was accomplished by reducing some annual meeting costs and the operating costs of the office of the executive secretary. Membership rates and library journal subscription rates were increased as of September 1, 1985, and this should bring about $16,000 in additional income. Nelsen asked the Council to think about the possibility of raising dues / subscriptions every three or four years on a regular basis.

Regarding solicitations, Nelsen said he concentrated on libraries this year. First, he sent letters to libraries subscribing to (any or all of) JSSR, RRR, and SA, inviting them to subscribe to all three journals. Second, American libraries not subscribing to JSSR were contacted, along with liaison faculty. Third, ASA, ASR, and RRR members not belonging to SSSR were solicited, as were a number of regular purchasers of sociology of religion books. Finally,delinquent members were contacted. In all, between 5,000-6,000 letters of solicitation went out this year. He said he was hopeful that, as a result, we would see an increase next year in memberships and library subscriptions.

Nelsen noted that there was some concern last year about meeting in Savannah since it was not located near a large SSSR membership base. The interest shown in the meeting, however, remains high. The '86 meeting will be in Washington D.C., 1987 is open, and in 1988 we will meet in Chicago.

Turning to publications, Nelsen stated that the Journal continues to be of the highest quality. The editor and book review editor have agreed to have their terms renewed through 1988. The monograph series has two new books in print--by Blizzard and Davidson. Wood has fulfilled his term as monograph editor and it is time to make a new appointment.

At the last Council meeting it was voted to budget $6,000 for research awards and, should income exceed that projected or should income exceed cost, that amount was to increase to $8,000. It was so increased and these monies were spent according to Nelsen.

The Secretary voiced concern about the preponderance of sociologists in the Society and noted the need for more psychologists of religion. He asked for suggestions. Capps said the "call for papers'' needs to have more of a psychological orientation. Robertson suggested that this issue ought to be discussed openly at a future meeting, possibly as a conference theme.

The revised constitution and bylaws were passed by 260 of 289 ballots received (9 negative votes were tallied). Two members questioned why we did not have a separate mailed ballot. Nelsen did note an implementation problem: The old constitution stated that the executive secretary serves a five-year term, while the new one specifies a four-year term. MOTION: It was moved (Gannon) and seconded (Johnson) that we immediately implement the rules of the new constitution regarding terms of office. The motion passed.

Finally, Nelsen said that there have been questions raised about the relationship between the SSSR/RRA annual meeting and the New ERA Hilton Head conference. The questions were answered via correspondence. The bottom line: there is no relationship between SSSR/RRA and the Ecumenical Research Association.

Haddaway asked to say a few words on the ERA issue. The President said he did not want to pursue the matter. When Hadaway persisted, he was cut off by the President, who then suggested that the issue should be taken up in his absence. Hadaway protested but the discussion was terminated in favor of a coffee break.

10. '86 PROGRAM CHAIR REPORT: Larry Ingram handed out the "Call for Papers" for the '86 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The program theme is " The Sacred and the Public Realm." Ingram asked if he could spend around $600 for honoraria in order to attract Washington-based speakers to the meeting. Gannon said he doubted a large honorarium was needed. The matter was delayed until the budget discussion.

11. JOURNAL EDITORS' REPORT: Don Capps reported that things are continuing to go smoothly with the Journal. Submissions were down just a bit from last year, but quality of accepted articles remains high. One perennial problem is the flood of submissions that come in during the summer when it is difficult to get reviewers.

Capps noted the inclusion of two special symposia: the ''Religious Orientation Typologies Symposium'' (24/4 issue) and the ''Augustine Update Symposium" (25/1).

Finally, Capps reported that the L.A. Times has featured three JSSR articles over the last year.

Robert Wuthnow was unable to make the meeting but he submitted a written Book Review Editor's Report. It included, first, a reminder to authors to ask their publishers to send review copies of their books directly to him and, second, a request that persons interested in being considered as book reviewers should make their names known.

The meeting broke off at 11:00 p.m., October 24, and resumed the next morning, October 25, at 9:00 a.m.

12. CISR PRESIDENT'S VISIT: Karel Dobbelaere of the Catholic University of Leuven and President of the International Conference for the Sociology of Religion was invited to the meeting to talk about the CISR.

Originally CISR was a denominational organization, after which it became an interdenominational group interested in sociological research on religion. In 1969 it officially became a professional organization.

Dobbelaere suggested three ways in which SSSR and CISR might work together in the future. First, the presidents of each organization could bring formal greetings at their respective meetings. Second, information of general interest could be publicized by both associations. Third, membership lists could be exchanged, including a listing of areas of interest. All agreed that dialogue between the two groups should continue.

13. TREASURER'S REPORT: Roozen reported that, using unaudited figures, total actual income for the 84-85 fiscal year exceeded total expenses by just over $2000. The only line items for which actual income or expense deviated significantly from that budgeted were the annual meeting (income was higher and expenses lower than projected) and monograph series (income and expense were less than projected).Audited statements of the fiscal specifics for the year ending August, 1985, will be circulated to Council as soon as they are available.

14. BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS: Actual and proposed budgets were handed out for 1982-1985, along with 85-86 expenses expenditures, and budget proposal. One correction was made in the 84-85 proposed budget, the corrected total figure being $86,750. It was noted the 84-85 actuals would have been greater had both monographs been paid for during the year.

The 85-86 proposed budget is $100,340 and it assumes a balanced budget (no deficit). The only substantial increase is in the"equipment" line; $3,000 has been included for the possible purchase of a computer.

In President Hadden's absence, Vice-President Hammond assumed the chair. MOTION: It was moved (Hood) and seconded (Gannon) that the 85-86 proposed budget be accepted. The motion carried.

15. ERA CONFERENCE: The relationship between the ERA conference and the SSSR meeting was brought up. Even though there was no official connection between the events, a number of questions were raised. First, should the same individual have been Program Chair for both conferences? Second, doesn't the fact that papers presented at the SSSR meeting are to be discussed at the ERA conference give the impression of a link between the two events? Third, didn't ERA's promotional efforts gave the impression of a link between the two conferences? Fourth, was there a lack of sensitivity to the potential problems ensuing from back-to-back conferences?

A debate followed about whether or not a specific policy is needed to prevent similar problems in the future. Some felt a new policy was needed, others thought it was an issue which required special sensitivity, still others thought our present policies were adequate. All agreed that, one, no affiliation with the SSSR exists without Council's specific approval, and two, general program chair guidelines need to be developed and distributed to future program chairs. Nelsen offered to put together a statement of potential problems that a program chair might encounter along with suggestions for their resolution.

A question was raised about the President's right to terminate the ERA discussion the night before and to prevent a council member from making a statement. MOTION: It was moved (Hadaway) and seconded (Hood) that the President be admonished for refusing to allow a council member to discuss an issue. The motion was approved with five voting in favor, none voting against and two abstaining.

MOTION: It was moved (Wood) and seconded (Hood) that the Council reaffirm its obligation to discuss fully any issue on the agenda.The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION: It was moved (Gannon) and seconded (Hadaway) that the Executive Secretary be encouraged to pull together guidelines for future program chairs; furthermore, that the Council reaffirms the independence of the SSSR and the need for Council's approval for any joint meetings with other organizations. The motion carried.

16. MONOGRAPH SERIES EDITOR: Jim Wood reported that page proofs for the fourth (Blizzard) and fifth (Davidson) monographs in the series were now available. A few manuscripts have come in this year and they will be passed along to the new series editor. Anticipating the appointment of a new editor, Wood expressed his thanks to those who had acted as consultants. A financial report was also submitted to the Council.

Nelsen said we need to make sure religious journals review monograph series publications. This has not been done in the past. It would help sales considerably. Others agreed.

It was also pointed out that Wood's term as series editor has ended without a new editor in place. Since a replacement needs to be appointed soon, Nelson suggested that Hammond and McGuire be approved by Council to name a new editor. The suggestion was accepted by consensus.

17. RESEARCH COMMITTEE REPORT: Hammond noted that the committee this year consisted of Clark and Hammond. Seventeen applications were received for SSSR Awards. It was decided to maximize the number of awards, even though that meant no one was funded fully. Thus, eight awards were made, three at $500, two at $1,000, and three at $1,500. The committee felt good about the overall quality of the projects funded.

18. '87 MEETING SITE: Nelsen reported that while the site for the '88 meeting has been chosen (Bismark Hotel, Chicago), '87 is still open.He handed out a sheet with comparative airfares to Salt Lake, Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Savannah. Nelsen asked that Council provide him with its first two choices and allow him to go with the second choice if the first falls through. Agreed by consensus.

MOTION: It was moved (Roozen) and seconded (Capps) to make Salt Lake the first choice and Louisville the second. The motion failed, 5 votes to 2. It was then suggested that we vote separately on the first and seconded choices. First choice votes: Louisville-5, Salt Lake-2, New Orleans-O. Second choice votes: Salt Lake-2, New Orleans-5. As a result, Louisville and New Orleans were determined to be our first and second '87 site choices, respectively.

19. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at noon, October 25, 1985.

Respectfully submitted,
S. D. Gaede
Secretary