Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

What Society for the Scientific Study of Religion does

The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) is an interdisciplinary nonprofit academic association founded at Harvard University in 1949 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3). It promotes social scientific research on religious institutions and experiences, serving a membership of more than 1,000 scholars spanning sociology, religious studies, secular studies, psychology, political science, economics, gender studies, and related fields. The society operates from a small executive office in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, with approximately 5 employees.

SSSR's core offerings include the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR), a highly cited flagship peer-reviewed publication; an Annual Meeting (held jointly with the Religious Research Association) featuring paper presentations, networking, and professional development; and a portfolio of awards and grants including the Distinguished Article Award, Distinguished Book Award, Student Paper Award, Jack Shand Research Grants, Jack Shand International Travel Grants, Student Research Grants, and Student Travel Grants. Supporting resources include a biannual newsletter and periodic free webinars. The society has no proprietary technology platform; its digital presence consists of a website, a membership portal operated through ZmSystems (Z2Systems), and email communications.

The society's revenue model is subscription/dues-based and recurring: annual membership dues across Regular, Joint, Emeritus, and Student tiers (pricing set by the Executive Council and ratified by voting members, with specific amounts not publicly disclosed); annual meeting registration fees and sponsorship; and publication revenue from the journal. Membership acquisition is event- and community-driven, relying on academic networks, conference attendance, referrals, and scholarly publishing visibility rather than commercial sales motions. The organization is governed by an elected Executive Council (President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer) and an appointed Executive Officer; the current Executive Officer, Meredith Whitnah, Ph.D., is set to be replaced following an announced 2026 search.

Name

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Legal name

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Website

https://sssreligion.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion is a 501(c)(3) academic association serving over 1,000 interdisciplinary scholars through the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, an annual joint conference with the Religious Research Association, and a portfolio of research and travel grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Academic Association

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Academic association services
• Scholarly journal publishing
• Annual academic conference
• Religious studies research
• Professional society membership

Headquarters

HQ city

Cherry Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from Regular, Joint, Emeritus, and Student members. Dues are set by the Executive Council and ratified by voting members at the Annual Business Meeting.
2. Annual Meeting Revenue: Registration fees from the Annual Meeting, including sponsorship revenue from organizations seeking visibility among academic scholars of religion.
3. Publication Revenue: Revenue from the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR), the society's flagship publication, including potential subscription and licensing arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SSSR is a membership-based interdisciplinary academic association that supports social scientific research on religion through its quarterly Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR), an annual meeting held jointly with the Religious Research Association, member research and travel grants, distinguished scholarship awards, and a newsletter and webinar program.

Product overview

The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) is an interdisciplinary academic association that operates as a membership organization rather than a commercial product company. Its core offerings include the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR), annual conferences, and various awards and grants including the Distinguished Article Award, Distinguished Book Award, Jack Shand Research Grants, and Student Travel Grants. The Society also provides member resources including newsletters and webinars. These offerings collectively serve to stimulate, promote, and communicate social scientific research about religious institutions and experiences to scholars from sociology, religious studies, psychology, political science, and other disciplines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SSSR Annual Meeting
• Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR) The Society's flagship quarterly peer-reviewed publication for research articles and book reviews on the social scientific study of religion.
• SSSR Membership Annual membership in the Society available in Regular, Joint (household), Emeritus, and Student tiers, providing access to JSSR, the annual meeting, grants, awards, and the newsletter.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Religious Research Association (RRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSSR holds joint annual meetings with the Religious Research Association, combining both societies' conferences to create a collaborative academic forum for researchers studying religion from social scientific perspectives.
• Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSSSR shares PRRI fellowship opportunities and public fellowship programs with members, promoting interdisciplinary public scholarship at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics.
• Louisville InstituteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLouisville Institute provides grants and fellowships for researchers studying Christian faith and life, with SSSR sharing these opportunities with its members through announcements.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI): PRRI is a nonpartisan research organization studying the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. As a named partner of SSSR (sharing fellowship opportunities), PRRI is comparable as an applied research outlet for sociology-of-religion scholarship, though more policy/public-facing than SSSR.
• Society of Biblical Literature (SBL): SBL is an adjacent scholarly society studying biblical texts and ancient religions. While its core subject is more textual/theological than SSSR's social-scientific focus, the membership-society model, annual meeting, journals, and academic audience are structurally comparable.
• Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture: Based at Indiana University, this center is a comparable applied research and convening entity in the social scientific study of religion, publishing scholarship and hosting events for an overlapping scholar audience.

Direct peers

• Religious Research Association (RRA): RRA is the closest peer to SSSR — a parallel scholarly association studying religion from social scientific perspectives. The two societies already hold joint annual meetings, making them near-perfect direct comparables in mission, membership, and conference structure.
• Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR): ASR is an American scholarly association for sociologists of religion, publishing its own journal and hosting sessions at the American Sociological Association meetings. Its membership society model, journal, and sociological focus on religion directly overlap SSSR's core activities.
• International Society for the Sociology of Religion (ISSR): ISSR is the global counterpart to SSSR's sociology-of-religion focus, convening an international congress and publishing scholarship on the social scientific study of religion. It is the most directly comparable international peer.

Broad incumbents

• American Academy of Religion (AAR): AAR is a much larger scholarly association covering religious studies broadly (including theology and humanities), publishing multiple journals and hosting the largest religion-studies annual meeting. It operates as a broad incumbent in the same space as SSSR but with a wider humanities-leaning scope.
• Council of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR): CSSR is an umbrella organization of which SSSR is a constituent member, coordinating annual meetings and serving as an umbrella for multiple religion-related scholarly societies. It is comparable as a higher-level convening body.
• American Sociological Association (ASA): ASA is the parent disciplinary association of sociology in the U.S., publishing multiple journals (including Sociological Analysis & Sociology of Religion-related titles) and hosting a large annual meeting where SSSR-adjacent sessions occur. It overlaps as a broad incumbent and host venue.
• Pew Research Center — Religion & Public Life: Pew's religion research program produces highly cited empirical work on religious demography and practice, partially overlapping SSSR's subject matter though delivered by a large non-academic research institution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sssr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Society for the Scientific Study of Religion