Rice University, Council of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR) records

The Council of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR) was a federation of learned societies founded in 1969 at Wilfrid Laurier University (Ontario). The mission of the organization was to promote scholarship, research and teaching in the area of religious studies. Throughout its history, CSSR sponsored annual meetings of its members each fall and created various subcommittees as necessary to engage new members, elect new officers or plan events. CSSR published four publications during its history. The Religious Studies Review was published quarterly as a collection of literature in the field of religious studies. The Bulletin of CSSR was published quarterly and highlighted events and activities in the area of religious studies. CSSR also published annual directories of religious departments and faculty in North America. The Bulletin and directories are no longer published.

During its history, the executive office of CSSR moved from Wilfrid Laurier University to Mercer University (Georgia), Valparaiso University (Indiana) and finally to Rice University, Department of Religious Studies. Due to steadily declining membership, the Council's members voted, in the Fall of 2008, to dissolve the CSSR prior to 2010. Throughout 2009 this process took place, resulting in Rice University purchasing the Council's quarterly journal, Religious Studies Review (RSR; which will continue to be published by Wiley-Blackwell) and Equinox Publishers, of the UK, purchasing the CSSR Bulletin and contracting a "Best of the Bulletin" collection. https://cohesion.rice.edu/CentersAndInst/CSSR/index.cfm