A different trend in the study of religion is the forma-
tion of centers that focus on religious topics but draw faculty
from numerous departments. Such centers capitalize on the
inherent interdisciplinary nature of the field drawing on
scholars from multiple disciplines. Harvard’s Center of the
Study of World Religions, Toronto’s Department and Cen-
ter for the Study of Religion, and the University of Chicago’s
Martin Marty Center (and institute devoted to relating the
scholarly study of religion to wider public audiences) are
three examples. There has also been a rise of “centers” that
focus on a geographic area (culture, religions, politics, histo-
ry, and languages). An example is the Center for Sikh and
Punjab Studies at the University of California, Santa Barba-
ra. Some centers focus on an issue, such as conflict studies
or women’s studies, or a specific time period. For example,
Trinity College’s Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study
of Religion in Public Life focuses on religion in the contem-
porary world. Other disciplines and cultural studies pro-
grams also contribute significant studies of religious subject
matters. One example is the Department of Cultural Studies
and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, PROJECTS, AND PUBLICA-
TIONS. Professional organizations in the study of religion ar-
range conferences (regional, national, and international), dis-
seminate information, support various publications (books,
conference volumes, and journals), and publicize the field.
The American Academy of Religion (AAR), founded in
1909 and incorporated in 1964, includes scholars from sev-
eral disciplines and promotes reflections and teachings focus-
ing on a critical understanding of religious traditions, issues,
questions, and values. The AAR collects and publishes data
and statistics about theology and religious studies programs
and sponsors the publication of the Journal of the American
Academy of Religion (JAAR). The North American Associa-
tion for the Study of Religion (NAASR), formed in 1985,
is devoted to historical, comparative, structural, theoretical,
and cognitive approaches to the study of religion. The
NAASR is affiliated with the International Association for
the History of Religions (IAHR). Its journal Method and
Theory in the Study of Religion (MTSR) examines theoretical
issues and pedagogical and research methods. The Canadian
Corporation for Studies in Religion (CCSR) is a consortium
of several other academic societies in the field of religious
studies (including the Canadian Society for the Study of Re-
ligion and the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies). It coor-
dinates research and publications and was originally formed
in 1971 to coordinate research among the different societies
and to publish the bilingual (French and English) journal
Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses (SR). The Society for
the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) was founded in 1949
by scholars in religious studies and social sciences. Its Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR) generally focuses on
sociological approaches to the study of religion. There are ad-
ditional organizations that support or publish academic
studies of religion either from outside the field (such as those
devoted to anthropology or literature) or from area studies
within the field. Area and topical studies organizations are
numerous. Examples include the Society of Biblical Litera-
ture (SBL), the American Schools of Oriental Research
(ASOR), and the Society for Tantric Studies (STS). Numer-
ous other journals publish religious studies topics, such as
History of Religions, Religion, and Journal of Hebrew Scrip-
tures.
Publications are an intense area of academic interest. In
addition to scholarly monographs, edited works, and jour-
nals, North Americans have contributed significantly to the
publication of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks in
the field of religion. Encyclopedias of religion, religion and
nature, religion and ecology, mythology, ritual, Christianity,
and many area studies works have been published in single-
and multivolume sets and electronically. Textbooks arranged
topically, geographically, and historically offer a broad and
creative area of introductory and advanced sourcebooks for
scholars and students. North America has been a leading
contributor in this last area, offering, for example, Mark Tay-
lor’s edited text, Critical Terms for Religious Studies (1998),
and Daniel L. Pals’s Seven Theories of Religion (1996).BIBLIOGRAPHY
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