Yale to launch institute for religious study in the fall

Yale has plans to be among the vanguard in religious studies. Starting next fall, its new Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion will become a center for interdisciplinary religious scholarship.

Created with the aid of a $2.2 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Institute will focus on the role of religion in American society. Professors Harry Stout and Jon Butler will co-direct the Institute.

Stout, a professor of American Christianity and Master of Berkeley College, explained the goals of the Institute: "First, to support the production of cutting edge scholarship in the form of books and major articles around a common theme. Second, to disseminate this research to informed popular audiences in the form of newsletters, symposia, colloquia, websites, and public lectures." Butler, who teaches American studies, history, and religious studies, said that the Institute will also aim "to raise public awareness of religion's role in modern American society, especially of religion's role as portrayed by the media."

Starting with the 1999-2000 academic year, a team of one junior and two senior fellows will be funded every year to study a particular theme pertaining to religion in American society. Next year, scholars at the Institute will study "American Religion, Race, and Ethnicity." According to Stout, the theme was chosen because "while the issue of race has been widely studied from social, political, economic, and cultural perspectives, much less has been done on the subject of race and religion."

Joshua Levithan, DIV '01, said of the new center, "I'm glad to hear that there are more funds being devoted to studying religion in the context of its social and human implications in America. I'm not sure too many people realize the unique and increasingly consequential nature of American religion."

Stout said the formation of the Institute will enrich the Yale community. "Yale will have the honor of welcoming some of the best and brightest scholars in the world," Stout said. Institute scholars will give talks and conferences on campus.

Divinity School Dean Richard Wood, a member of the Institute's advisory board, said, "It is exciting to envision an integrated research community of institute fellows, faculty, staff, and students working together, all within the context of the broader Yale community."

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