Research Committees

RC22 Statutes were originally adopted in Durban, South Africa, July 2006; amended in Yoko-hama, Japan, July 2014.

1. The Research Committee 22 was established by the International Sociological Association in order to open up a broader range of opportunities in the activities of the Association in the field of sociology of religion. To this end the Research Committee 22 shall undertake measures:
   1. to serve and develop personal and institutional contacts amongst sociologists of religion and scholars of social studies of religion throughout the world;
   2. to encourage the international dissemination and exchange of information on significant developments in sociology of religion world-wide;
   3. to facilitate and promote international meetings and research in the field of sociology of religion;
   4. to help non-represented countries to use the Research Committee 22 resources and its facilities.
2. The Research Committee 22 shall consist of a Board and members. Members are individuals active in research and/or teaching in the field of sociology of religion and other social studies of religion.
3. Members shall either be regular members or affiliated members:
   1. regular members shall be individuals or institutions in good standing within the ISA.
   2. affiliated members shall be individuals or institutions interested in the activities of RC22, who are not members of the ISA.
4. All regular and affiliated members of RC22 shall be entitled to vote as individual members in the discussions about organisational matters at the General Meetings according to the principle “one member, one vote”. Institutions have also one vote. All decisions of the Research Committee 22 as a whole are accepted by a simple majority except the following. In the year of the elections the Board presents all proposals regarding modification of the statutes to the Committee which shall vote on each of them. In order to be passed a proposal concerning modification to the statutes shall obtain a two-thirds majority of the members present at the General Assembly.
5. All regular and affiliated members of RC22 shall be entitled to:
   1. participate in the scientific activities of the Research Committee
   2. receive the newsletter issued by RC22 free of charge
6. All regular and affiliated members of RC22 shall be obliged to
   1. uphold the present Statutes of RC22 and to adhere to the stipulations of the present Statutes.
   2. conscientiously fulfil the tasks entrusted to them by the General Meeting or other bodies of RC22
   3. pay their fees for the respective period (i.e. 4 years)
   4. This fee shall be fixed by the Board of the Research Committee at each General Meeting for both individual members and organisations, The respective amounts to be paid shall be specified in the By-Laws to the present Statutes.
7. The Board of the Research Committee 22 consists of the President, Vice-President(s), Sec-retary-Treasurer, ten members and ex officio members. The President, the Secretary-Treasurer and the members are elected by the Research Committee 22. After two consecutive terms on the RC22 Board no member is eligible for a further consecutive term, except as President. In these circumstances, the member will serve for one term only as President.
8. Each member of the Board must at all times be:
   1. a member in good standing of the ISA in accordance with the ISA Statutes, and
   2. a member in good standing of RC22.
   3. Temporary vacancies in the Board between consecutive ISA World Congresses may be filled by appointment by the President, in accordance with ISA Statute 4.5
   4. The places of any Board member not in good standing with either the ISA or the RC22 may be declared temporarily vacant by the President, at the President’s discretion, and the vacancy filled according to paragraph 8c.
9. Should the President fail to carry out her or his presidential responsibilities or allow her or his membership to lapse, the Secretary/Treasurer is required to inform the Board and to serve a six-month period of grace notice on the President. Should the irregularity not be resolved by the end of this period, the Secretary/Treasurer is required to inform the Board and to refer the matter to the ISA Secretariat.
10. The Board shall provide a newsletter or equivalent to the membership at least twice annually.
11. The Board shall identify
    1. the themes and topics for at least one mid-term conference and take responsibility for the organisation of those session.
    2. the Research Committee’s delegate to the ISA Research Council and other organisations and
    3. the alternate delegate to the Research Council.
12. The Research Committee 22 convenes every four years, during the World Congress of So-ciology. The date and venue of the meeting shall be included in the programme of the World Congress. The agenda of the Research Committee 22 meeting shall include the reports of the President and the Secretary-Treasurer as well as the verification of the results of the election to the Board.
13. Election procedures for the Board:
    1. all members of the Research Committee 22 have voting rights;
    2. the organization of the voting is the responsibility of the Election committee, which con-sists of the President, Vice-President(s) and Secretary-Treasurer. In the event that one or more members of the Election committee expects to be a candidate for any RC22 position, and before the Election Committee is formed, such member(s) will be replaced by a Past President or current member of the RC22 executive board.
    3. elections shall be organized by ballot at least one (1) month before the World Congress of Sociology.
    4. not later than nine (9) months before the election date, the Election Committee will send members of the Research Committee 22 a notice of the election, together with a nomi-nation form for the President, the Secretary-Treasurer, and for members of the Board. They will also send a list of current Board members and which of these, if any, are eligible for re-election. Members of the Research Committee may nominate any member in good standing for any of these posts. Members of the Board who are eligible for re-election will be presumed to be re-nominated.
    5. members of the Research Committee 22 shall return the nomination form within three (3) months from the date of its mailing. (The meaning of “mail” and “mailing” includes elec-tronic mailing.) All nominations must bear the signatures of three RC22 members in good standing other than the nominee.
    6. the ballot list for the second stage of the election shall include the names of four (4) persons who received the largest number of nominations from each of the geographic areas. If more than one person received the same number, all of them shall be listed. Not later than four (4) months before the election the Secretary-Treasurer shall mail to the members of the Research Committee 22 the ballot list.
    7. members of the Research Committee 22 shall vote for the President, the Secre-tary-Treasurer and for two (2) persons from each geographic area. Persons who have obtained the largest percentage of the vote shall be declared elected. If two persons re-ceive the same number of votes, a vote shall be organized at the General Assembly of the Research Committee 22. It is the responsibility of the members of the Research Com-mittee 22 to return the ballot list to the Secretary-Treasurer not later than one (1) month before the election date;
    8. if the need arises, the Research Committee 22 can decide on an alternative election procedure.
14. In order to enhance equitable representation of the various regions of the world, two (2) members of the Board shall be elected from each of the following geographic areas: Europe, North America, Latin-America, Asia and Australia, Africa.
15. Candidates for President, for the Secretary-Treasurer and for the Board shall agree to their nomination.
16. At its first meeting the Board elects one or more Vice-President(s). The Board directs all ac-tivities of the Research Committee 22 with the exception of those regulated by the statutes of the ISA. In case of a tie in voting at the Board’s meeting the President shall have the casting vote.
17. The new President and Secretary-Treasurer will take up office at the end of the General Assembly.
18. The Board shall report on its activities and the use of its funds to the quadrennial meeting of the Research Committee 22. The Board has the power to solicit proposals for using the available funds and to establish the criteria for their acceptance

By Laws

Dues for a 4-year period are: Category A countries USD 30; category B USD 20 and category C USD 10.ISA membership registration form is available on https://secured.com/~f3641/formisa.htm

Approved July, 2014 at the General Assembly Meeting, World Congress, Yokohama, Japan.