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The Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa (ASRSA) is an international scholarly association that seeks to advance the study of religion. ASRSA encourages and communicates research that ranges widely across the multiple themes and approaches in the study of religion, and is a focal point for comparative, historical and theoretical contributions to the field.
The Association aims to promote the scholarly study of the religions of Southern Africa and the wider world; to promote contact among scholars in its field of study and among others who support such study; to promote respect for the diversity of religions and worldviews in Southern Africa and internationally; to contribute to the above aims towards achieving and maintaining a just and peaceful society; and to promote the study of the effect of religion in the context of the numerous fields of human existence, such as economics, politics, psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, etc.
A Message from the Desk of the ASRSA President
On behalf of the ASRSA executive, I welcome you to our website. As President of the association, I get to extend such a ceremonial gesture of greeting, while the ASRSA Secretary, Denzil Chetty, does all of the real work in making this website a dynamic medium of communication for the academic study of religion. ASRSA is dedicated to a study of religion that is open and diverse, interdisciplinary and intercultural, and informed by theory. Obviously, religion is important. But why is the study of religion important? The value of the academic study of religion, I would like to suggest, is demonstrated by the ways in which theoretically informed description, interpretation, explanation, or analysis can illuminate (and challenge) our understanding of ways of being human. From cutting-edge research to innovations in education, the academic study of religion is an important resource for critical and creative understanding of the diversity of ways of being human in our world. Through the association's conferences, its journal -The Journal for the Study of Religion - and the communication network revolving around this website, ASRSA is committed to sustaining and advancing the academic study of religion.
Sincerely,
David Chidester (ASRSA President)
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