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Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review, the official journal of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, is published quarterly for the purpose of advancing scholarship in the sociological study of religion. The journal seeks to publish original (not previously published) work of exceptional quality and interest without regard to substantive focus, theoretical orientation, or methodological approach.
Join the following award winners published in Sociology of Religion:
- 2000 American Sociological Association Religion Section Distinguished Article Award: Rhys Williams, "Visions of the Good Society and the Religious Roots of American Political Culture" (vol. 59, no. 1).
- 2000 SSSR Distinguished Article Award: Matthew Lawson, "The Holy Spirit as Collective Conscience" (vol. 60, no. 4).
- 1997 SSSR Distinguished Article Award: Fred Kniss, "Ideas and Symbols as Resources in Intrareligious Conflict: The Case of the American Mennonites" (vol. 57, no. 1).
WHAT'S NEW. . .
*Supplemental appendices for "Portable Politics and Durable Religion" by James Wellman and Matthew Keyes (Winter 2007) are available on the "Previous Contents" page.
*The full 2007-2008 editor's report is now available. You can also view a one-page tabular summary of our editorial activity. From July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, our acceptance rate was 15-17 percent and average editorial lag time was 12-14 weeks.
*Six new associate editors have been appointed to our editorial board.
*Meet our staff
MESSAGE FROM EDITOR DAVID YAMANE
Sociology of Religion is a journal with a distinguished history and exciting future. My goal as editor is to build on the former while looking to the latter.
A big part of looking to the future is embodied in this web site. As scholars become more and more networked electronically, we increasingly expect to get on-line much of the information we need to do our work. My hope is that those who like the convenience of getting information, documents, and the like on-line will be able to locate everything they need to participate in the life of Sociology of Religion right here. If there is anything else you would find helpful to have on this site, please let me know.
Building on the distinguished history of the journal means living up to the high standard set by previous editors. As you can read on the "About" page, Sociology of Religion has published work by renowned scholars from Ammerman to Wuthnow. Robert Bellah, Niklas Luhmann, Talcott Parsons, and Pitirim Sorokin all published in Sociology of Religion. More recently, under Joe Tamney's editorship, the journal published an article by Rhys Williams that won the ASA Religion Section Distinguished Article Award. As editor I feel the weight of the responsibility to live up to this standard.
The journal has also been a valuable outlet for scholars just getting started in their careers. This is true of Nancy Ammerman and Andrew Greeley and James Davison Hunter and Mary Jo Neitz and on and on. And, significantly, it was true of me. I published the first peer reviewed article of my career in Sociology of Religion in 1994. So, as editor I feel the weight of the responsibilty to provide opportunities for younger scholars.
Looking to the exciting future for me means being open to work that is on the cutting edge of the field -- regardless of its substantive focus, theoretical orientation, or methodological approach. It means being open to work by people or on topics or from perspectives with which I am unfamiliar.
Of course, the backbone of Sociology of Religion will continue to be theoretically-driven, empirically-grounded research reports. But I also encourage -- and will solicit -- people to submit articles that go beyond the standard research report. To invoke the well worn cliché, I'm looking also for people who "think outside the box."
On this last point, I would like to share two particular ideas I have for types of essays I would like to publish in Sociology of Religion. The first goes under the heading "The Craft of Research." These are essays offering critical reflections on the research act -- e.g., tales from the field or lab -- designed to increase reflexivity and sophistication in our empirical work as sociologists of religion.
The second goes under the heading "Improving the State-of-the-Art." These essays are surveys of and interventions into substantive areas or theoretical debates intended to push the field ahead. These are pieces that may later become touchstones for anyone working in a particular field or on a particular problem
Be thoughtful and meticulous in crafting the articles you send to Sociology of Religion, of course. But also be creative and bold. Be provocative. After all, has there been any more influential article in the sociology of religion in the past 20 years than R. Stephen Warner's "New Paradigm" essay? A standard research report it was not, but as an intervention and programmatic statement, it was brilliant. It is already a landmark for our field. I want Sociology of Religion to publish the next generation's "New Paradigm" essay.
Like you, I am swamped with reading material. Academic journals and books, student exams and papers, the New York Times and Chronicle of Higher Education, and (let us not forget) Tennis Week, Esquire, Vibe, etc. I even try to treat myself to a novel or biography from time to time! Given this competition, as incoming editor I feel the weight of the responsibility to produce a journal that compels your attention.
So, send me your most compelling work. And if you have an idea for an essay, a symposium, or a special issue, please be in touch with me. I'm all ears. I have only about 400 pages a year to work with and I want to make them the most intelligent, memorable, and useful pages possible.
Finally, a word about turn-around time. When I am looking for an outlet for my work, I consider three things. The focus of the journal; its status in the field (and, relatedly, the likelihood that the journal will accept my paper); and turn around time. This last factor is one that I can try to affect directly as editor. It is my goal for Sociology of Religion that an editorial decision be made within 16 weeks (four months) of receiving a manuscript. By comparison, journals like the American Sociological Review, Sociology of Education, and Sociological Theory average about 12 weeks. So, I am giving our editorial team and reviewers a month longer than those flagship ASA journals. I think this is a reasonable expectation. Watch for my annual reports to the ASR Council (which will be on the "From the Editors" page) to see how well we meet this goal.
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