Religious Education Association

The Religious Education Association is the world’s oldest and largest association of scholars and researchers in the field of religious education.[1][2] It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a professional and learned society for scholars and researchers involved in the field of religious education. It has several hundred members, most of whom are from North America, with a scattering of members worldwide.[3] REA members are university and college professors, independent scholars, secondary teachers, clergy, church educators, curriculum developers, judicatory executives, seminarians, graduate students, and interested lay-people. REA members come from multiple faith traditions, and no tradition, and study a very diverse array of religious traditions.[4] The REA's leaders (presidents and executive secretaries) are drawn from a distinguished list of educators.

Religious Education Association
AbbreviationREA
Formation1903
FounderWilliam Rainey Harper
President
Patrick Reyes
AffiliationsAmerican Academy of Religion
Websitehttp://religiouseducation.net

History

The REA was founded in 1903 by William Rainey Harper, the first president of the University of Chicago, with the support of the Council of Seventy, a learned society of biblical scholars.[5][6] The keynote speaker at its first convention was John Dewey.[7] In its early years the Association was organized into several groups: Council of religious education, Universities and colleges, Theological seminaries, Churches and pastors, Sunday schools, Secondary public schools, Elementary public schools, Private schools, Teacher-training, Christian associations, Young people’s societies, the Home, Libraries, the Press, Correspondence instructions, Summer assemblies, Religious art, and Music.[8] In 1906 the Association began to publish the journal Religious Education under the editorship of Henry Cope.[9] In 1953 the Association marked its 50th anniversary with a three-day meeting at the University of Pittsburgh that brought together more than 2500 Christian and Jewish educators from the US and Canada.[10] In 1973 the Association began awarding the William Harper Rainey award to distinguished educators.[11] In 1975, the Association held a major national colloquy on civil religion at which scholars Robert Bellah, Vine DeLoria, Jr., and Michael Novak spoke.[12] In 1992 the Association began awarding the Herman E. Wornom award to distinguished institutions.[13] In 2003 the REA merged with the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education[14] (which was formed in 1970 from an earlier section of the National Council of Churches). Yale University holds the archives of the Religious Education Association and its predecessor bodies.[15][16]

Publications

The REA has published the scholarly journal Religious Education continuously since 1906 (archives of which are available electronically at Taylor & Francis).[17] This journal has consistently published work by scholars from multiple continents, diverse faith traditions, and various educational settings, and maintains a high level of citation in various ranking systems.[18] In 2014 the REA began publishing a scholarly monograph series entitled Horizons in Religious Education jointly with Wipf & Stock.[19] The REA also publishes a quarterly newsletter, eREACH, which began as the “religious education association clearing house,” and which serves to network, resource, and connect the association members.[20]

Annual meeting

The REA hosts an annual meeting, usually in early July.[21] Meeting presentations occur in three formats: research interest group (a formal scholarly paper), collaborative session (engaging ideas from a number of scholars on the same theme), and poster (a typical scholarly poster presentation).[22] The association has a long history of commitment to collegiality, innovative learning design, and support for students.[23] In addition, the REA is a “related scholarly organization” to the American Academy of Religion, and hosts one session each year at the AAR annual meeting.[24]

References
  1. McBrien, Richard (1995). Encyclopedia of Catholicism. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco. pp. 1096–1097.
  2. Boys, Mary (1989). Educating in Faith: Maps and Visions. Sheed & Ward. p. 4.
  3. Cully, Iris; et al. (1990). Harper's Encyclopedia of Religious Education. Harper & Row. p. 545 ff.
  4. Schmidt, Stephen (1983). History of the Religious Education Association. Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press. pp. 192–196.
  5. "Form new organization for religious education," Chicago Daily Tribune, June 20, 1903, p. 6
  6. Archibald, Helen (Fall 2003). "Originating visions and visionaries of the REA". Religious Education. 98 (4): 413–425. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.630.9546. doi:10.1080/00344080390244856.
  7. Moran, Gabriel (Fall 2003). "Still to come". Religious Education. 98 (4): 495–502. doi:10.1080/00344080390244829.
  8. "The Religious Education Association," in The Biblical World, Vol. 25, No. 1, p. 70-72, Jan. 1905
  9. Moore, Allen J. (Fall 2003). "100 years of the Religious Education Association". Religious Education. 98 (4): 426–436. doi:10.1080/00344080390238114.
  10. "Church educators to mark 50th year," New York Times, 31 October 1953, p. 9
  11. "William Rainey Harper Award". Religious Education Association. 2011-02-13. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  12. "Educators weigh a 'civil religion,'" New York Times, 27 November 1975, p. 38
  13. "Herman E. Wornom Award". Religious Education Association. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  14. "Design for a joint reorganization of REA and APRRE" (PDF). Religious Education Association. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  15. "Guide to the Archives of the Religious Education Association (Record Group #74)". Yale University Library. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  16. "Guide to the Archives of the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education (Record Group #154)". Yale University Library. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  17. "Official Journal of the Religious Education Association". Taylor & Francis Online. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  18. "Journal ranking". SCImage Journal and Country Rank. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  19. "Horizons in Religious Education series". Wipf & Stock Publishers. Wipf & Stock Publishers. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  20. "Archives of eREACH". Religious Education Association. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  21. "REA Annual Meetings". Religious Education Association. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  22. "Guidelines for presenters at the annual meeting". Religious Education Association. 2014-06-18. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  23. Cully, Iris; et al. (1990). Harper's Encyclopedia of Religious Education. Harper & Row. p. 545 ff.
  24. "Partnerships". American Academy of Religion. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
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