The Editor of Sociology of Religion is elected by Council, upon the recommendation of the Publications Committee. S/he serves a 3-year renewable term. No Editor has served less than two terms for at least the past 25 years, but only one has served three terms. The Editor is a nonvoting member of Council and is required to report yearly to Council. The Editor, hence, must be a member of the Association prior to his/her appointment. The Editor should interface with the Publications Committee, but the Publications Committee is not his/her "supervisor." The Editor receives both a personal stipend and a stipend for assistance as well as expense moneys for materials and supplies used in the exercise of the office and for travel and accommodation at the annual meeting. Specific arrangements for these items are usually negotiated in the first instance by the Publications Committee as a part of the "package" it brings to Council in presenting the candidate's nomination; subsequent modifications are negotiated with Council directly.

By custom the Editor appoints a Book Review Editor, who also receives a stipend, and associate editors, who are not remunerated. The book review editor is not a member of Council, nor are the associate editors. It is the Editor's responsibility to coordinate the activities of the persons s/he has appointed, along with others whom s/he asks to serve as referees. The book review editor and the associate editors should be or become members of ASR. Occasional reviewers are not necessarily expected to be members of ASR, although it seems reasonable to expect that the review process as a whole reflect the memberships' competencies and interests.

The Editor has two principal functions:

1. Receiving, tracking, and evaluating manuscripts through the review process. (Over 50 manuscripts are submitted annually, but not necessarily in a constant stream.):

   •Soliciting (at conferences), assessing, editing, revising, accepting, and rejecting items for publication, including original research articles, research notes, and review articles (Book reviews are handled exclusively by the Book Review Editor.);

   •Providing intensive, ongoing editorial guidance in order to advise, consult with, and encourage authors to meet the highest publication standards;

   •Administering the peer-review process in the disposition of manuscripts;

   •Working particularly closely in the editing phase of an accepted manuscript with an author whose first language is not English;

   •Providing leadership and initiative within the disciplinary domains of the journal and the professional organization that publishes it (i.e., the ASR);

   •Liaising with the associate editors, including ensuring the integrity of the blind-vetting process;

   •Soliciting the comments of, and providing feedback to, the associate editors;

   •Appointing new associate editors and recognizing the contributions of "retiring" associate editors;

   •Responding to letters /inquiries from a wide range of associates, including past, future and potential contributors and readers

   •Evaluating, planning and coordinating the desirability and feasibility of special issues of the journal.

2. Producing the journal:

•Overseeing all aspects of copyediting and proofreading;

•Supervising assistants;

•Ensuring that accurate communication takes place between the editorial office and the firm that prints and distributes the journal.

Guidelines printed at the back of the journal describe many of the formal expectations associated with the first of these functions. The production of the journal is negotiated between the Editor and the printer, in consultation with the Executive Officer with respect to matters of finance and legal questions. A crucial aspect of the production process is the timely production of the journal issues, which impacts particularly on library clients and relations with subscription agencies.

Through the journal, the Editor also represents both the journal and the Association to a variety of constituents. While the Executive Office handles the business end of copyright negotiations, the Editor is contacted by a variety of people and agencies for a variety of reasons across the year and needs to be aware that his/her correspondence is often interpreted to speak for the Association. This is true also in the way in which s/he chooses to organize and present issues, particularly special issues, which signal potential definitions of the field.

The Editor normally draws up a preliminary annual budget for the journal, which is submitted to the Executive Officer to be included in the budget s/he presents to Council.