Critical Theory and Discourses on Religion is a program unit of the American Academy of Religion (a scholarly organization with over 8500 members, primarily in the U.S.A.). As such, this is an informal group of academic researchers who study religious phenomena, using and reflecting on methods and theories drawn from the humanities and social sciences. This organization is not religious; it is about religion. CTDR was established as a Consultation in 1988 and became a Group in 1990. The program unit was founded by Tomoko Masuzawa, Jay Geller, and Kenneth Surin, with support from Mark C. Taylor and Charles H. Long.

Mandate and Focus

Our program unit was established "to maintain a forum in which critical-theoretical issues that concern a wide-range of the AAR membership are addressed in a sustained, well-focused fashion." This involves broad understandings of "critical" (examination and questioning of disciplinary presuppositions by practitioners of diverse disciplines) and "theory" (conceptual frames of reference used to make sense of religious phenomena, with a distinct focus on clearly identified sources and methods of analysis).

CTDR is not interested in serving as a showcase for the latest fashions in theory and meta-theory; nor does it offer a haven for ideas and approaches that are marginal to or that do not fit with the work of other program units. We seek to critically examine some of the categories and concepts, methods, and theories that play constitutive roles in the academic study of religion. We do not ask "What is cutting edge?" or "What is no one else talking about?" We ask "What ideas, books, and theoretical frames-that members of the Academy working with on a day to day basis-reveal unexpected complexity-and perhaps confusion-when interrogated more closely?"

Since its foundation in 1988, CTDR has consistently put together a wide range of sessions with three main foci:

1. The critical investigation of the categories generated and employed by the discourses on religion: categories such as experience, the sacred, fetishism, and the various other 'isms' that can be found in classic and contemporary studies of religion.
2. The analysis of theorists and new works central to the critical study of religion including those produced in cognate fields such as anthropology, political science, or literary theory. We are also interested in examining the relevance of older works that for various reasons may not have received the attention they deserve.
3. Theoretically informed examination of elided and often neglected themes in religious studies, including class, race, gender, violence, ideology, and the material basis of religion.
   

Collaboration with Other Program Units of the AAR

The Critical Theory and Discourses on Religion Group is committed to interdisciplinary research and often collaborates with other Groups and Sections of the AAR. Recent years have seen joint sessions with the Buddhism Section, the Comparative Studies in Religion Section, the Philosophy of Religion Section, the History of the Study of Religion Group, the Ritual Studies Group, and the History, Method, and Theory in the Study of Religion Consultation, the Cultural History of the Study of Religion Consultation, and the AAR Publication Committee.

Chairs

Steven Engler, Mount Royal College, Calgary [2001- ]
Kocku von Stuckrad, University of Amsterdam [2002- ]

Past Chairs

Gustavo Benavides, Villanova University [1995-2002]
Jay Geller, Vanderbilt University [1990-2001]
Tomoko Masuzawa, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor [1988-1994]

Steering Committee Members

Gustavo Benavides, Villanova University [2002- ]
Ipsita Chatterjea, Vanderbilt University [2005- ]
Jens Kreinath, University of Heidelberg [2004- ]
Ann Taves, University of California, Santa Barbara [2003- ]
Thomas Tweed, (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill [2005- ]

Past Members

Catherine M. Bell, Santa Clara University [1995-1997]
Gustavo Benavides, Villanova University [1993-1994]
Michel Despland, Concordia University [1998-2002]
Jay Geller, Vanderbilt University [2001-2005]
Mary Keller, University of Wyoming [2002-2005]
Frank Korom, Boston University [2000-2004]
Charles H. Long, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill [1988-1992]
Tomoko Masuzawa, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor [1995-2001]
Kenneth Surin, Duke University [1988-1997]
Mark C. Taylor, Williams College [1988-2000]
Angela Zito, New York University [1991-2001]

Our official mascot, Molly, in a contemplative mood.