Description
Established in 1909 as the Association of Biblical Instructors in American Colleges and Secondary Schools, the American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world’s largest organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the academic study of religion. As a learned society and professional association of teachers and scholars, the Academy draws its membership from colleges, universities, seminaries and theological schools throughout North America and beyond. The AAR is not a faith-based organization. The expertise of its membership spans many religions, and the Academy neither endorses nor condemns any religious belief or practice. The AAR’s professional staff is based in the Luce Center on the campus of Emory University. Its work is overseen by an elected board of directors, with additional leadership provided by a series of committees and working groups.
As articulated in its newly revised mission statement—to foster excellence in the academic study of religion and enhance the public understanding of religion—the AAR seeks to advance and disseminate exceptional scholarship and teaching. To assist scholars, the Academy provides grants and awards, offers pedagogical materials and employment services, manages a publication program, and organizes a large annual meeting. To better connect scholars with broader publics, the AAR has created programs and resources for intermediary sectors—such as K-12 teachers, law enforcement, policy makers, prison chaplains, museum curators, and journalists—with additional proposals under development.
Building on these efforts, and in concert with the work of the AAR’s Committee on the Public Understanding of Religion, the AAR proposes a multifaceted project focused on advancing public scholarship. The project will involve the redevelopment and expansion of an innovative online review of books, the regular production of podcasts with popular authors who publish books about religion, collaborative engagement with journalists, media makers and other public intellectuals, a working group exploring the risks and rewards of thinking and writing about religion in public, and an annual program of small grants to support emerging scholars pursuing public-facing scholarly projects.
A central dimension of the project will involve the further development and expansion of Reading Religion, an online review of books initially launched in 2016 as an adjunct to the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Recently spun off as an independent publication of its own, Reading Religion provides up-to-date coverage of scholarly publishing in religious and theological studies, reviewed by scholars with special interest and expertise in the relevant topic. Reviews are open access, and aim to be concise, comprehensive, and timely. As a next step in the development of Reading Religion, the AAR seeks to remake the website that houses it, expand its readership, and diversify its content—including increased attention to popular titles published by large trade presses, as well as support for regular podcasts with authors.
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The Luce Foundation’s grant would provide support for editorial and program assistance, website and database development for Reading Religion, digital archiving of new and existing book reviews, the production of a series of podcasts in partnership with the New Books Network, focus groups with journalists and media decision makers, regular meetings of a working group charged with addressing the challenges and future possibilities of public scholarship, and an annual program of small grants for emerging scholars.
