Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

And that's a wrap! We extend our gratitude to all who helped make #SSSR_RRA2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania another successful annual meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone next year in Minneapolis, Minnesota for #SSSR_RRA2025! Religious Research Association Pew Research Center Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance Religion and Public Life Center, Boniuk Institute, Rice University The Religious Studies Project https://lnkd.in/eisP7eEx

💡 Calling scholars of race and religion 💡 The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR) is pleased to invite manuscripts for a special issue on Race and Religion. The special issue will be edited by Korie Little Edwards (Editor-in-Chief) and Oneya Fennell Okuwobi, Ph.D. and Rachel C. Schneider, PhD (Guest Co-editors). In recent years, scholarship on race and religion has come to the forefront, generating fruitful discourse both within and outside of the academy. Yet, there remains a need for globally relevant, theoretically driven studies that do not just include race and religion but also shift our understanding of each field and the intersections between them. For this special issue, we are interested in empirical studies that cross boundaries constructed in studies of race and religion, both topically and disciplinarily. We are particularly interested in studies that break new methodological or theoretical ground, and those that focus on inequality driven by race and religion. Papers with a geographic focus or authorship outside of North America are especially welcome. We will engage submissions that address all aspects of religion (including non-religion) and race, broadly construed; however, they will need to substantively engage the current body of race literature. We are currently soliciting abstracts for proposed papers for this special issue. Abstracts should be 250- 500 words and be accompanied by up to six keywords. Inquiries regarding article ideas are welcome. Email abstracts and keywords to the guest editors (Edwards.623@osu.edu, Oneya.okuwobi@uc.edu, and rsv2@rice.edu) by November 1, 2024. Please put “Abstract for JSSR Race and Religion Issue” in the subject. Full papers will be invited no later than November 8, 2024. Manuscripts are due on December 31, 2024, and are expected to be no more than 35 pages. Each submission will be rigorously refereed using a double-blind peer review process with reviewers from relevant disciplines. Please note: positive review of an abstract does not mean automatic acceptance of the full paper. In the event the full paper is not written to the standards of the reviewers and editors, the full paper will not be accepted for publication. Full submissions will be submitted via JSSRs online submission system. Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Congratulations to Jonathan Fox & Jori Breslawski, winners of the SSSR's 2024 Distinguished Article Award for “State Support for Religion and Government Legitimacy in Christian-Majority Countries,” published in the American Political Science Review. In their study, the researchers found "that state support for religion is associated with lower levels of individual confidence in government." #Religion #Government #PoliticalScience Cambridge University Press & Assessment American Political Science Association https://lnkd.in/gvSdDsbp

Folks I am so pleased to share with you a piece Denise DanielsChris Scheitle and I just wrote in the conversation https://lnkd.in/grhcQstD

TOMORROW: Join PRRI and the Meanings of Democracy Lab for a conversation about Americans' resistance to Christian nationalism at Noon Eastern. We'll hear from experts Ruth Braunstein, Ph.D., Rev. Jim Wallis, Michael R. Fisher Jr., Ph.D., Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., and Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eb28nKSu 

Happening next week!

📢 Call for Papers: The AAR Eastern International Region (EIR) Annual Meeting The EIR is the region of the American Academy of Religion that serves Ontario, Quebec, Western Pennsylvania, and the State of New York (excluding New York City). The 2025 EIR Annual Meeting will be held at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

🏆Last weekend I received an award for best student paper, published category, from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. This was an immense honor from an organization that has offered me invaluable support throughout my PhD years. If you have not done so already, take a look at my article “Trajectories of Public Islam” recently published in Social Problems! https://lnkd.in/g82TVgux

Folks -- One of the things I love about being director of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance is the chance to amplify the excellent research and scholarship of others through our program. On Wednesday our Religion and Public Life Center, Boniuk Institute, Rice University hosted Diane Winston for a Religious and Civic Leaders Gathering at my home led by Rachel C. Schneider, PhD. We had about 45 religious, academic, and civic leaders with us for a short presentation of Winston's new book, Righting the American Dream. We had good scholarship, food and conversation. What a privilege to be part of it all! https://lnkd.in/g6htKdD8

I appreciated hearing about the work of Gerardo Marti, Kevin Dougherty, and Mark Mulder on churches’ anti-racists efforts during the SSSR Presidential Address at the #SSSR_RRA2024 annual meeting. Too often congregations get caught in the “awareness trap,” becoming stuck in anti-racist discourses because collective action is fraught with fear due to its contentiousness.