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| International Association for the Study of Religions | |
|---|---|
| Name | International Association for the Study of Religions |
| Formation | 20th century |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | International |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Languages | Multilingual |
International Association for the Study of Religions is an international learned society dedicated to comparative, historical, and interdisciplinary study of religious traditions. It convenes scholars, curates publications, and organizes conferences to promote research in fields related to theology, ritual studies, and religious history. The association interacts with universities, research institutes, and international bodies to advance scholarly exchange.
The organization traces origins to postwar scholarly networks that included participants from Oxford University, University of Chicago, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and University of Göttingen and developed alongside forums such as the International Congress of Historical Sciences and the International Congress of Orientalists. Early meetings involved figures associated with Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Mircea Eliade, Rudolf Otto, and Wilhelm Schmidt and paralleled initiatives at institutions like the School of Oriental and African Studies and the École pratique des hautes études. Its institutionalization echoed patterns seen in organizations such as the American Academy of Religion, the British Association for the Study of Religions, and the International Association for the History of Religions. Key milestones included founding assemblies influenced by scholars from Columbia University, Leiden University, Heidelberg University, and Kyoto University and formal constitution modeled on the statutes of the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Société Asiatique.
The association’s charter aligns with objectives pursued by bodies like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the European Research Council, and the British Academy: to foster comparative scholarship, support archival access, and disseminate peer-reviewed research. Its stated aims resonate with programs at the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities that fund humanities inquiry. The mission emphasizes collaboration with museums such as the British Museum and the Musée du quai Branly, archives like the Vatican Secret Archives, and libraries including the Bodleian Library and the Library of Congress.
Membership categories mirror models used by the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society, and the Academia Europaea, accommodating individual scholars, institutional affiliates, and student associates from universities such as Yale University, Princeton University, University of Toronto, and Peking University. Governance comprises an elected council, a president, and standing committees comparable to structures at the Max Planck Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Election procedures reference precedents from the European Science Foundation and incorporate ethical guidelines akin to those of Committee on Publication Ethics and the International Council for Science.
The association organizes triennial congresses modeled on the World Congress of Philosophy and periodic symposia like those of the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Society for Biblical Literature. Venues have included auditoria at the Sorbonne, conference centers associated with UNESCO, and lecture halls at McGill University and National University of Singapore. Its official journals and series follow publishing practices similar to Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Brill, and SAGE Publications, producing peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, and bibliographic resources akin to the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and the Numen journal. Proceedings have featured contributions referencing scholars from Durkheimian and Weberian traditions as well as contemporary research networks like the Digital Humanities consortia.
Research programs cover comparative ritual analysis, material religion, sacred texts, and diasporic religiosities, intersecting with projects at the Smithsonian Institution, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. The association has sponsored archival digitization initiatives in partnership with the Getty Research Institute and collaborative fieldwork consortia similar to the Human Relations Area Files and the Austronesian Comparative Dictionary projects. Training workshops draw on methods from the Institut Catholique de Paris, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the University of Stellenbosch.
Formal links have been established with international organizations such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Science Council, as well as academic networks including the European Association for Jewish Studies, the Association for Asian Studies, and the African Studies Association. It partners with research institutes like the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, the Center for the Study of World Religions, and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine for interdisciplinary projects. Publishing collaborations involve houses such as Springer Nature and Bloomsbury.
The association has influenced curricula at universities including University College London, University of Edinburgh, National Taiwan University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University through conference outputs and bibliographic tools. Critics—drawing on debates similar to those surrounding the Cambridge School and critiques of orientalism by Edward Said—have questioned representation, methodological bias, and North–South imbalances, echoing critiques leveled at institutions like the Royal Anthropological Institute and publishing circuits centered on New York University Press and Harvard University Press. Reforms have been proposed inspired by initiatives at the Wellcome Trust and the Open Society Foundations to broaden participation and decolonize research agendas.
Category:Learned societies Category:Religious studies organizations Category:International scholarly organizations