Overview of the AAR

AAR members find the academic study of religion intrinsically interesting because people often express their deepest values in forms of religious symbolic behavior, whether in ritual settings, creedal statements, or in their ordinary ways of living. Throughout history religion has been a vital source for some of our greatest artistic and literary achievements. The religious imagination can give us access to insights which could not be garnered in any other way, insights that can play an important role in helping to foster social harmony, especially in times of rapid social change. It is also the case that many of the world's major conflicts have religious differences ingredient in them. Making sense of these conflicts requires understanding the role religion plays in them and the resources religion may bring to their resolution.

The study of religion is a tool for understanding and appreciating people whose beliefs and practices often seem strange and threatening. While religious studies helps make those who are different more familiar, it also helps us learn more about who we are. By studying religious traditions that are near at hand, our own world emerges more clearly and becomes more meaningful.

This desire for a more nuanced appreciation of others and a keener understanding of ourselves provides part of the rationale for the AAR's development from a small group of scholars in 1909 to its current status as the largest, most comprehensive association dedicated to promoting the academic study of religion. The AAR welcomes inquiry into all religious traditions, as well as all human activities associated with religion. It is inclusive of the whole range of methodologies and theories in the human sciences.

At the AAR's annual meeting, over 7,500 scholars gather to share research and collaborate on scholarly projects. AAR annual meeting sessions are grouped into over 70 program units, each representing an ongoing community of scholars who are collectively engaged in pursuing knowledge about a specific religious tradition or a specific aspect of religion. In addition, the AAR's ten regional groups sponsor smaller annual meetings that are similar in structure to the Academy-wide meeting. All of the world's major religious traditions, as well as indigenous and historical religions, are explored in the work of AAR members.

 The Academy does not endorse or reject any religious tradition or set of religious beliefs or practices. Our commitment is, rather, to the highest standards of scholarship. AAR members include those who have a secular interest in the study of religion, as well as those whose research springs from participation in a religious tradition or community of practice. By bringing together secular scholars with scholars who are themselves religious, the AAR helps to ensure that academic reflection about religion does not become disjoined from the realities of religious practice and that religious theorists open their work to criticism.

The same inclusive principles are applied to the AAR's publication program. The Journal of the American Academy of Religion publishes current scholarship that is representative of the spectrum of work in the field. The AAR publishes books for scholarly and classroom use (in five ongoing series) and reference materials in both print and electronic formats.

The annual meeting and the publication program are the AAR's principal tools for disseminating the fruits of members' scholarly activities. Since most AAR members are teachers, the AAR supports that dimension of their professional lives as well. Through the AAR's newest periodical, Spotlight on Teaching, a pedagogically oriented book series "Ventures in the Study of Religion," and an ongoing series of teaching workshops, the AAR provides its membership with opportunities to reflect upon the teaching vocation and to engage actively in improving their own skills as teachers.

Since its inception, the AAR has identified itself as both a learned society and professional association. Its commitment to advancing research in religion is an expression of its mission as a learned society. As a professional association, the AAR is also committed to developing programs that support its members' professional development. Such services include support for teaching, a quarterly newspaper called Religious Studies News–AAR Edition that keeps members informed about recent developments in the field, and an employment information program that provides a comprehensive set of services to help coordinate the efforts of job seekers and employers.

While most of these professional services and programs are designed to provide direct support to the membership, the AAR also works to secure the field of religion for the future. Through memberships in both the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Humanities Alliance, the Academy works to improve the climate for the humanities and to continue to foster the role of religious studies as an integral part of the humanities and social sciences.

At the departmental level, the Department Chairs Association supports religion department chairs through a variety of programs. In addition, the AAR actively lobbies institutions that are considering new or expanded programs in religion as well as those that are threatening to reduce their commitment to the academic study of religion. A new Institutional Services Program began in 1998.

The AAR supports the academic study of religion because its members believe that it is in the public's best interest that religion and religions be reflected upon and understood. Thus, in addition to the AAR's support for activities related to teaching and publication, the AAR also works for the broader dissemination of our members' research to the interested public. While this represents the newest phase in the AAR's development, it is an area where some of the organization's most creative energies are currently focused.

In carrying out its work the AAR has enjoyed the support from a number of foundations that recognize the importance of the academic study of religion. The Lilly Endowment Inc., the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Booth Ferris Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education have all provided funding for AAR programs.

At its core, the AAR is a learned society and professional association dedicated to promoting the academic study of religion in all its dimensions. Acting on the conviction that a better understanding of religion is essential to just about all aspects of community life, the AAR plays an important role in establishing the intellectual space where scholars and their students can conduct such study. Moreover, the AAR is engaged in finding new ways to help ensure that the results of such research are communicated publicly.