Hartford Seminary is proud to announce that Prof. Scott Thumma has been installed as President of the Religious Research Association, a three-year position.

The association is a group of academic and religious professionals working at the intersection of research and practical religious activities. Members include college, university, and seminary faculty; religious leaders; organizational consultants; laypersons; and other professionals interested in the intersection of religion and society.

The association’s goals are:

• To increase understanding of the function of religion in persons and society through application of social scientific and other scholarly methods
• To promote the circulation, interpretation and use of the findings of religious research among religious bodies and other interested groups
• To cooperate with other professional societies, groups and individuals interested in the study of religion, and
• To aid in the professional development of religious researchers.

Prof. Thumma is also poised to become the interim Academic Dean of Hartford Seminary. That appointment will begin Jan. 1, 2017.