Volume 33, Number 4
Summer 1999
THE WINDS OF CHANGE: THE 1999 ANNUAL MEETING AND BEYOND
The Chicago ASR meeting was another great success. Almost 250 people
registered, exceeding all other meetings except 1996, when our numbers
were supplemented by the NEICP sessions added onto our own. This issue
of News & Announcements will summarize the major reports presented
to and actions taken by Council, provide a list of our committees, as charged
in the by-laws, and try to give you some sense of where we have been and
where we are headed.
Highlights of the meeting included the Paul Hanly Furfey lecture, "Queering
the Dragonfest: Changing Sexualities in a Non-Patriarchal Religion,"
by Mary Jo Neitz, which was followed by a joint reception between ASR and
the ASA Sociology of Religion Section, which Mary Jo chaired this year,
as well as Nancy Nason-Clark's Presidential Address, "Making the Sacred
Safe: Woman Abuse and Communities of Faith." Both of these will be
published in a forthcoming issue of Sociology of Religion, which
will also include other pieces relevant to the program theme. Because Nancy
did so well in the Presidency and Lori Beaman to the role of Program Chair,
we thought it prodigal to let loose of their gifts too quickly, thus the
Council unanimously named them to serve as Editor and Book Review Editor,
respectively, of Sociology of Religion for the 2001-2003 triennium.
We are happy to report that our library subscriptions have continued
to increase, though still lagging slightly being our 1993 high. Our membership
is also increasing, standing at a current high for this time of the year,
and through a foresighted investment program, we continue to be in excellent
financial health. We will continue to support all of our designated granting
programs at their current levels for 2000 and increase the amount of moneys
available through the Gallagher travel grants program. The 2000 meeting
is the once-in-every-four-years meeting when there is no major competing
international meeting, and we want to do our utmost to facilitate the inclusion
of international scholars in our program.
As far as our awards for 1999 are concerned: The McNamara award was
earned by Russell M. Jeung, of the University of California, Berkeley,
for his paper "Changing Churches: A Comparison Between Ethnic-Specific
and Asian American Pan-Ethnic Congregations." Recipients of this year's
Fichter grants were Helen Berger, "Covenant of Unitarian Universalist
Pagans (CUUPS) and the UUA--Organizational Synchrony," Tracy Fessenden,
"Veiled Power: Henriette Dilille and the Social Terrain of American
Sainthood," Soyoung Park, "The Intersection of Race and Gender:
Korean-American Women Clergy in Cross-Cultural Ministry," Shuly Rubin
Schwartz, "Serving the Jewish People: The Rebbetzin in American
Jewish Life," Sarah McFarland Taylor, "Sisters of Earth: Catholic
Nuns Reinhabiting Religion, Culture, and Creation," and Laura L. Vance
for a study of the relationship between changing delimitation of gender
expectations for women in the LDS Church and the Church's evolving response
to secular society. Gallagher grant recipients, who must either be graduate
student or foreign scholar members, who attended this year were Sandra
M. Baillie, Stephanie Boddie, Grace Davie, Eleanor Dionisio, Guy Enosh,
Inger Furseth, Gareth Higgins, Elena Kalinichenko, Susan Kinnevy, Ezra
Kopelowitz, Brian Lowe, Andrew Malinowski, Soyoung Park, Maria José
Rosado Nunes, Lenora Sleep, David Smilde, Michelle Spencer-Arsenault, Gregory
Thompson, and Sherry Wright. Council appropriated $6,500 for this purpose
in 2000. Applications for this funding are properly directed to the 2000
program chair.
Your election ballots were counted, and the tallies were reported by
nominations Committee member Nancy Eiesland, on behalf of chair Jim Kelly.
Tony Blasi was elected 2001 President, and began his term
as President-elect in Chicago. He has named Pat Wittberg to serve as Program
Chair for the Anaheim meeting. Three council members were also elected
for three-year terms. They are Mike Cuneo, Grace Davie, and Chris Smith.
Your Executive Officer was reelected for four more years, and the Constitutional
and By-law changes proposed all carried. Nancy Nason-Clark will chair the
Nominations Committee for the coming year. Each year we elect a President-elect
and three Council members; persons with suggestions for nominees should
contact Nancy quickly. Nominees should be able to attend the Washington,
Anaheim, Chicago, and Atlanta meetings, 2000-2003. The person elected to
the presidency this year will deliver his or her Presidential Address at
the Chicago meeting in 2002.
THE MILLENNIUM IN WASHINGTON
You are reminded that in 2000 the ASR will meet in Washington,
D.C., 11-13 August. The venue is the Omni Shoreham Hotel, which
is directly across the street from the Woodley Park Marriott, one of ASA's
two principal hotels, where the we have been promised that the ASA Religion
Section sessions will be scheduled on the third day of our meetings. The
fall issue of News & Announcements will provide the call for
papers on the theme "Religion and Global Civil Society," a letter
of invitation from President José Casanova, as well as other information.
But you can mark your calendar now to make sure you will
be there next August! (A sneak preview of the program call is available
on the web site.)
A NEW LOOK TO NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
If you are sitting reading a paper copy of N & A right now
that looks more or less just like every other copy of N & A you've
read in recent years, trying to figure out what's new about it, the answer
is, for you, nothing. The majority of our members are reading it on our
website, www.sociologyofreligion.com. The reason you are
reading it in paper is because our records do not show you has having an
email address, hence lacking access to the web. We will continue to produce
and mail paper copies of N & A to those members that need them,
but certainly if you do have access to the web and haven't told us, please
send your email address to the Executive office, swatos@microd.com,
as soon as possible.
Of course, some communications will still have to go out in paper form.
In fact, this is the only issue of the four that needs no paper component.
Nevertheless, by reducing the amount of paper we need to send, we can reduce
both our printing and postage costs significantly. Note, in particular,
that the new Constitution and By-Laws are on the website.
If you wish a paper copy because you cannot access the web, contact the
Executive Office.
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
The long-awaited ASR Membership Directory is now done--at least in a
trial edition that seems to meet most people's needs. The Membership Directory
will not be posted on the web. You will have to contact the
Executive Office (by email, phone, or snail) to obtain a copy. There will
be no charge for copies, one copy per member. The directory is intended
solely to facilitate communication among members. Reproduction or distribution
of the directory for any other purposes will be considered a violation
of our Code of Ethics.
EDITORIAL CHANGE
Nancy Nason-Clark will begin receiving manuscripts to be considered
for publication in Sociology of Religion beginning 1 January
2000. Please note that Joe Tamney remains editor through the publication
of the year 2000 issues and that he is looking for a few more good manuscripts;
however, persons wishing to serve as either manuscript or book reviewers
during the new triennium may wish to contact Nancy or Lori now.
MEETINGS
The joint RRA/SSSR meeting is scheduled for 5-7 November
at the Swisshôtel, Boston. The two organizations will be using this
occasion to mark their 50th Anniversaries. The SSSR theme is "The
Sacred in the Secular: Finding 'Religious' Dimensions in the World Beyond
Religion"; RRA, "What Do We Know About Religious Institutions?
And How Have We Come to Know It?" For registration information contact
the SSSR business office at <rwt6@email.byu.edu>.
Association Française de Sciences Sociales des Religions:
"The Internationalization of Religion: Realities, Stakes, Limits,"
7-8 February 2000. Contact: Martine Cohen <cohen@iresco.fr>.
The BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group will hold its
annual conference 29 March-1 April 2000 at the University of Exeter on
the topic "Prophets and Predictions." The conference will celebrate
25 years of the Study Group and honor the contributions of David Martin
and Bryan Wilson. ASR President José Casanova will be one of the
plenary speakers, and your Executive Officer will also be present. The
primary questions the conference seeks to address are: For whichever specific
expression of spirituality or religious interest, time, place or society
you study, what have been the effects of modernization? And assuming you
are right about the past, what follows for the future? The more specific
your prediction, the better! For general information contact g.r.c.
davie@exeter.uk. Submit paper proposals to p.heelas@lancaster.ac.uk.
The registration deadline is 15 February. The paper proposal deadline
is 15 January.
NEWS OF MEMBERS
Nancy Ammerman has been elected Chair-elect of the ASR
Sociology of Religion Section.
Robert Beckley recently completed a term as President
of the Southwestern Sociological Association, the largest affiliate of
the Southwestern Social Science Association. He continues as a member of
the Executive Committee and was named to a three-year term as chair of
the Nominations Committee of the SSSA.
Helen A. Berger has recently published A Community
of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States
(University of South Carolina Press).
Does anyone know Ryan J. Cook? S/he registered at the
annual meeting and took out a membership but provided no address of any
sort. We cannot service the membership unless we can obtain an address.
Sharon K. Houseknecht and Jerry G. Pankhurst have published
the edited collection, Family, Religion and Social Change in Diverse
Societies (Oxford University Press).
Louisville Institute grants have been awarded to ASR members Nancy
Nason-Clark for "Congregations and Family Conflict" and
Keith Wulff for "Protestant Hour Sermons."
ASR COUNCIL MEMBERS, OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS, 1999-2000
Officers
President José Casanova, New School for Social Research (2000)
President-elect Anthony J. Blasi, Tennessee State University (2000)
Executive Officer William H. Swatos, Jr., Holiday, Florida (2003)
Council
Past-president Nancy Nason-Clark, University of New Brunswick (2000)
Editor Joseph B. Tamney, Ball State University (2000)
Editor-designate Nancy Nason-Clark, University of New Brunswick (2003)
2000 Program Chair Randal Hepner, Michigan State University (2000)
2001 Program Chair Patricia Wittberg, University of Indiana, Indianapolis
(2001)
Nancy L. Eiesland, Candler School of Theology, Emory University (2000)
Fred Kniss, Loyola University Chicago (2000)
Daniel V.A. Olson, Indiana University South Bend (2000)
James Cavendish, University of South Florida (2001)
Michele Dillon, Yale University (2001)
Milagros Peña, New Mexico State University (2001)
Michael Cuneo, Fordham University (2002)
Grace R.C. Davie, University of Exeter (2002)
Christian Smith, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2002)
Committees*
Development: Bryan Froehle, CARA, Georgetown University (chair)
Loretta Morris (2001), Lowell Livezey (2002)
Fichter Grant: Mary Ellen Batiuk, Wilmington College (chair)
Lori G. Beaman (2001), James V. Spickard (2002)
International Coordination: Grace Davie, University of Exeter (chair)
Luigi Tomasi (2001), Eileen Barker (2002)
McNamara Award: Milagros Peña, University of Florida (chair)
Fenggang Yang (2000), Anthony Blasi (2001), Catherine Faver (2002)
Membership: Paula Nesbitt, University of Denver (chair)
Shoshanah Feher (2000), Esther Heffernan (2001), Wendy Griffin (2002)
Nominations: Nancy Nason-Clark, University of New Brunswick (chair)
Mark Chaves (2000), Randy Hepner (2000)
Publications: Peter Beyer, University of Ottawa (chair)
Edward Lehman (2000), Mary Johnson (2001), Paul Johnson (2002)
*Committee chairs serve annual terms, subject to reappointment.
PAY NOW, AVOID THE HOLIDAY RUSH
You could save the ASR a lot of effort and a little money if you would
pay your 1999 dues now, if you haven't done so already. Dues are $28 for
constituent members; $14 for student and low-income members. (Low income
is defined as under $10,000 US, including persons from countries with soft
currencies [generally speaking ISA III].) Please note that both student
and low-income dues are more than 100% subsidized and restrict your use
to genuine need.
Send a check to the ASR Executive Office or fax your VISA or MasterCard
number, expiration date, and signature to us. If you don't know whether
your 1999 dues are paid, an email inquiry to <swatos@microd.com>
will get you the answer. Constituent dues may also be paid as many years
in advance as you wish (2002 is the record right now), whereas student
and low-income dues should be paid on a year-by-year basis.
Speaking of the holidays: Why not consider giving an ASR membership
to a colleague or student? Or a library subscription ($51.50) to a needy
institution you know could use it?
We are also always happy to receive contributions to our designated funds. All contributions above the annual dues are tax deductible. When you think about it, we have managed our funds amazingly well. The Fichter Fund started a decade ago with a contribution of $5,000 in principal funds: today we give away $10,000 in income! When the Furfey lectureship was handed over by Catholic University of America twenty-five years ago, we also had less money than we now give away in income, which will be $2,000 next year. When you look around at funds management, few organizations can show a better record than the ASR.
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