International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion
Encyclopedia
The International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR) (founded in 2006), is a scholarly association dedicated to the promotion of the Cognitive Science of Religion
. The IACSR is an interdisciplinary association, including scholars from a wide variety of disciplines in the human, social, natural and health sciences that are interested in the academic, scientific study of religious phenomena. The IACSR seeks to advance the naturalistic study of religion. It is strictly scientific and does not encourage or welcome those who are interested in dialogue between science and religion, attempt to find religion in science and science in religion, or attempt to validate religious or spiritual doctrines through cognitive science.
The IACSR supports the Electronic Archive for Religion & Cognition at the Centre for Religion & Cognition, Groningen, the Journal of Cognition & Culture (Brill Publishers
) , and two book series, Cognitive Science of Religion (AltaMira Press) , and Religion, Cognition and Culture (Equinox Press).
.
Second General Assembly: January 7, 2006, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Second General Assembly: May 30, 2008, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Third General Assembly: August 16, 2010, University of Toronto
, Canada.
Other IACSR meetings:
July 29, 2009, at the Free University of Amsterdam, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
.
Luther H. Martin, Professor, Department of Religion, University of Vermont
President:
Robert N. McCauley, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Emory University
President Elect:
Armin W. Geertz, Professor, Department of the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus
Secretary General:
Joseph Bulbulia, Senior Lecturer, Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
Treasurer:
William W. McCorkle, Jr., Director and Associate Professor/Research Specialist, (LEVYNA) Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion and Ritual, Masaryk University
Publications Officer:
István Czachesz, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Religion & Cognition, University of Groningen
Internet Officer:
Dimitris Xygalatas, PhD, Research Fellow, Program in Hellenic Studies, Aarhus University
Member-at-large:
Pascal Boyer
, Professor, Department of Psychology Washington University
Member-at-large:
Colleen Shantz, Assistant Professor, University of St. Michael's College
Member-at-large:
Ann Taves, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of California
Member-at-large:
Harvey Whitehouse
, Professor, Chair of the School of Anthropology, Oxford University
Cognitive science of religion
Cognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. The field employs methods and theories from a very broad range of disciplines, including: cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, cognitive...
. The IACSR is an interdisciplinary association, including scholars from a wide variety of disciplines in the human, social, natural and health sciences that are interested in the academic, scientific study of religious phenomena. The IACSR seeks to advance the naturalistic study of religion. It is strictly scientific and does not encourage or welcome those who are interested in dialogue between science and religion, attempt to find religion in science and science in religion, or attempt to validate religious or spiritual doctrines through cognitive science.
The IACSR supports the Electronic Archive for Religion & Cognition at the Centre for Religion & Cognition, Groningen, the Journal of Cognition & Culture (Brill Publishers
Brill Publishers
Brill is an international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands. With offices in Leiden and Boston, Brill today publishes more than 134 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year...
) , and two book series, Cognitive Science of Religion (AltaMira Press) , and Religion, Cognition and Culture (Equinox Press).
History
The IACSR was founded in 2006, and the inaugural meeting took place in Aarhus University, in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Second General Assembly: January 7, 2006, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Second General Assembly: May 30, 2008, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Third General Assembly: August 16, 2010, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Canada.
Other IACSR meetings:
July 29, 2009, at the Free University of Amsterdam, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Cognitive Science Society
Cognitive Science Society
The Cognitive Science Society is a professional society for the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. It brings together researchers from many fields who hold the common goal of understanding the nature of the human mind...
.
Executive committee
Past President:Luther H. Martin, Professor, Department of Religion, University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
President:
Robert N. McCauley, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
President Elect:
Armin W. Geertz, Professor, Department of the Study of Religion, University of Aarhus
University of Aarhus
Aarhus University , located in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, is Denmark's second oldest and second largest university...
Secretary General:
Joseph Bulbulia, Senior Lecturer, Religious Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
Treasurer:
William W. McCorkle, Jr., Director and Associate Professor/Research Specialist, (LEVYNA) Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion and Ritual, Masaryk University
Masaryk University
Masaryk University is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the third Czech university , it now consists of nine faculties and 42,182 students...
Publications Officer:
István Czachesz, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Religion & Cognition, University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
Internet Officer:
Dimitris Xygalatas, PhD, Research Fellow, Program in Hellenic Studies, Aarhus University
Member-at-large:
Pascal Boyer
Pascal Boyer
Pascal Boyer is a French anthropologist, and Henry Luce Professor of Individual and Collective Memory at Washington University in St. Louis.He is a Guggenheim Fellow.-Work:...
, Professor, Department of Psychology Washington University
Member-at-large:
Colleen Shantz, Assistant Professor, University of St. Michael's College
University of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
Member-at-large:
Ann Taves, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Member-at-large:
Harvey Whitehouse
Harvey Whitehouse
Harvey Whitehouse is an anthropologist and a leading figure in the cognitive science of religion. Professor Whitehouse holds a Statutory Chair in Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and is a Professorial Fellow of Magdalen College...
, Professor, Chair of the School of Anthropology, Oxford University
See also
- Cognitive science of religionCognitive science of religionCognitive science of religion is the study of religious thought and behavior from the perspective of the cognitive and evolutionary sciences. The field employs methods and theories from a very broad range of disciplines, including: cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, cognitive...
- Cognitive scienceCognitive scienceCognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
- Cognitive anthropologyCognitive anthropologyCognitive anthropology is an approach within cultural anthropology in which scholars seek to explain patterns of shared knowledge, cultural innovation, and transmission over time and space using the methods and theories of the cognitive sciences often through close collaboration with historians,...
- Religious studiesReligious studiesReligious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...