NEWS and NOTES
Vol. V, No.1 

It has been quite a while since our last newsletter and much has changed at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research (HIRR).  This note is intended to catch subscribers up on the recent happenings on our site and at the Institute over the past many months.   Within a few weeks you will receive our latest research newsletter in our traditional format. 
 
Technologically: In the past year we have made major upgrades to our technological infrastructure.  We shifted to a different list management system, so bear with us if a few bugs remain.  Additionally the two persons most responsible for this newsletter have seen a reduction in work hours dedicated to the Institute.  Nevertheless, we are back and will attempt to maintain our usual every three to four week delivery schedule.  

Personnel Changes: One of our Institute colleagues, Carl Dudley, has moved to "faculty emeritus in residence" status.  This shift means Carl has achieved the "best of both worlds."  He remains with the Institute but he isn't required to teach unless he wants to, and more importantly, he doesn't have to go to committee meetings!  Likewise, former HIRR faculty member Nancy Ammerman has moved to Boston University. 

On the other hand, we have a new faculty member at the Institute, Cynthia Woolever.  Cynthia is the director of the major national research project entitled the US Congregational Life Study,  We will be discussing this study in greater detail in future newsletters.  Additionally, Scott Thumma has been promotted to a core faculty post  at  the Institute and the Seminary.  Finally, we are currently in the midst of a job search for another member of the Institute staff. 

Site Content:  Many new articles, summaries of recent studies, and excellent resources have been added to the Hartford Institute site since the last newsletter.  Over the coming months we will highlight many of these additions.  If you haven't been to the site in a while, drop by and check out our new features and additions list on our "What's New" page  at  http://hirr.hartsem.edu/about/whatsnew.html  

The most significant addition to the site in the past year has been the online version of the 500+ entry Encyclopedia of Religion and Society   The book's publisher AltaMira graciously suggested posting this reference volume, published in 1998 and edited by William Swatos, on the HIRR site in its entirety.   It is a great resource both for teaching and research.   Check it out at http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/index.html

Two other sites for which we are responsible, The Faith Communities Today (FACT) site and noted sociologist and cultural analyst Robert Bellah's home page have also added new material in recent months.   On the FACT site, we posted several new summaries of research findings at  http://fact.hartsem.edu/topfindings/topicalfindings.htm and a pdf version of the most recent book from the research which focuses on Interfaith findings and comparisons within the study  http://fact.hartsem.edu/MeetNgbors1.pdf     Likewise several articles and resources have been added to Robert Bellah's site including his classic article "Civil Religion in America" http://hirr.hartsem.edu/Bellah/articles_5.htm  

It is great to be back!  We look forward to keeping you informed about the happenings at Hartford Seminary's Institute for Religion Research and social scientific religion research in general over the next year. 

Have a great day !