What is the IAHR?
The IAHR seeks to promote the activities of all scholars and affiliates that contribute to the historical, social, and comparative study of religion. As such, the IAHR is the preeminent international forum for the critical, analytical and cross-cultural study of religion, past and present. The IAHR is not a forum for confessional, apologetical, or other similar concerns.
The International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) is a worldwide body of national and regional associations for the academic study of religion, and is a member of the Conseil International de la Philosophie et des Sciences Humaines/ The International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies (CIPSH) under the auspices of UNESCO.
The IAHR was founded in 1950 on the occasion of the 7th international congress of the history of religions in Amsterdam. During the last World Congress in Tokyo, Japan, 2005, the IAHR grew to 37 national and 5 regional associations, reflecting the international and global diversity of the association. (For full details see Member Associations.)
The IAHR is composed of a General Assembly, an International Committee, and an Executive Committee. The General Assembly meets at each Quinquennial Congress and is composed of all members of constituent societies of the association present at that congress. The International Committee, which consists of two voting delegates from each national or regional association, meets during every Congress to elect the Executive Committee, and to make recommendations on matters of importance to the IAHR. The International Committee also meets once between the congresses. The Executive Committee consists of 12 members, representing major areas of the world, and features as reasonable a gender balance, as possible.(For full details of these bodies see Constitution and By-Laws.)
The IAHR holds world congresses every five years. The next (the XXth) Quinquennial Congress will be held in 2010. The IAHR also sponsors regional and special conferences during the quinquennial periods, and carries on a tradition of holding its congresses and conferences in as many parts of the world as possible. This serves to support the work of IAHR affiliates, and to encourage international collaboration and intercultural exchange between scholars. (See further on Congresses and Conferences.)
The IAHR publishes the journal Numen in association with Brill Publishers, the IAHR Bulletin with supplements, and this website.
All enquiries or communications concerning the IAHR should be addressed to either:
- the General Secretary: Professor Tim Jensen
- the Deputy General Secretary: Professor Ingvild Sælid Gilhus.
