Executive Board:
Robert Alley (University of Richmond)
Hector Avalos (Iowa State University)
J.A. Barnhart (University of North Texas)
Vern Bullough (University of Southern California)
Carol Delaney (Stanford University)
Antony Flew (University of Reading, UK)
Van A. Harvey (Stanford University)
R. Joseph Hoffmann (Wells College), Chair
Paul Kurtz (SUNY and Center for Inquiry, Amherst)
Joyce Salisbury (University of Wisconsin, Green Bay)
Robert Tapp (University of Minnesota)
Fellows of the Committee:
Mona Abousena (Ain-Shams University, Cairo)
Karen Armstrong (Author, UK)
Aziz al-Azmeh (Budapest)
Peter Atkins (Lincoln College, Oxford)
Scott Atran (University of Michigan)
Nadia al-Baghdadi (Central European University)
Clinton Bennett (Cambridge, UK)
Susan Blackmore (Science writer, UK)
Laurence A. Brown (Monash University, Australia)
Margaret Chatterjee (Oxford University)
Ward Churchill (University of Colorado)
Bill Cooke (SUNY and Center for Inquiry, Amherst)
John Dominic Crossan (DePaul University)
Don Cupitt (Emmanuel College, Cambridge)
Austin Dacey (SUNY and Center for Inquiry)
Carol Delaney (Stanford University)
Hermann Detering (Editor, Radikalkritik, Berlin)
Arthur Droge (University of California, San Diego)
Robert Eisenman (California State University, Long Beach)
Alvar Ellgard (University of Goteburg, Sweden)
J. Harold Ellens (University of Michigan)
Cynthia Eller (Montclair State College)
Reuven Firestone (Hebrew Union College)
Robert Fisher (Westminster College Oxford)
Robin Lane Fox (New College, Oxford)
Michael Goulder (University of Birmingham, UK)
Stuart Guthrie (Fordham University)
Samira Haj (City University of New York)
Sam Harris, Writer
Susan Jacoby, Writer, New York, NY
Wendy Kaminer (Associate Editor, Atlantic Monthly)
Amy Jill Levine (Vanderbilt University)
Judith Lichetnberg (University of Maryland)
Gerd Lüdemann (University of Göttingen)
Daniel Maguire (Marquette University)
Irshad Manjit (University of Toronto)
Michael Martin (Boston University)
Colin McGinn (Rutgers University)
Justin Meggitt (Cambridge University)
David Nash (Oxford-Brookes University, UK)
Taslima Nasrin (Activist)
Kai Nielsen (University of Calgary)
Graham Oppy (Monash University)
Pauletta Otis (Pew Trust)
Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez (Youngstown State University)
Keith Parsons (University of Houston)
Massimo Pigliucci (U. Tennessee at Knoxville)
Steven Pinker (Harvard University)
Katha Pollitt (Contributing Editor, The Nation)
Robert Price (Editor, Journal of Higher Criticism)
Stephen Prothero, Boston University
Philip Pullman (Writer, Oxford)
Laura Purdy (Wells College, NY)
Rosemary Radford Reuther (Pacific School of Religion)
Betsy Reed (Contributing Editor, The Nation)
David Reis (College of Santa Fe)
James M. Robinson (Claremont Graduate University)
Richard E. Rubenstein (George Mason University)
Acharya S. (Writer)
David E. Schafer, Biophysicist, Hamden, CT
Regina Schwartz (Northwestern University)
Alan Ryan (New College, Oxford)
Joseph Tyson (Southern Methodist University)
Ibn Warraq (Writer, Paris)
Erik Wiedenberg (DePauw University)
The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER)
is a division of the Council
for Secular Humanism. It is linked through this association
to a number of international organizations, including the Center
for Inquiry Transnational . Since its 1983 founding in Washington,
DC, the Committee has worked to encourage humanistic, critical
and non-parochial approaches to the study of religious traditions
and institutions and to develop programs which promote the public
understanding of religion in an international context.
CSER is an international research and educational consultation
comprising members (fellows) of the Committee who are nominated
and appointed by an executive board. The current Chair of CSER
is Dr. R. Joseph Hoffmann, who succeeded Dr. Gerald Larue in January
2004. The Executive Director of CSER is Dr. Hector Avalos.
CSER examines the claims of Eastern and Western religions and
of well-established and newer sects and denominations in the light
of scientific inquiry. The committee is interdisciplinary, and
includes specialists in Biblical and Quranic studies, the history
of religion, archaeology, linguistics, anthropology, the social
sciences, and philosophy. Its fellows and consultants represent
a variety of secular and religious traditions. While its perspective
is broadly humanistic, the Committee values the academic contributions
of critical scholarship regardless of orientation. Its motto,
from Seneca, “Ignis aurum probat” (“Fire proves gold”) suggests
the importance assigned to critical method and scholarly debate
in its activities.
CSER activities include the following:
- The sponsorship of conferences and seminars at university
sites in the United States and abroad.
- Short courses and seminars held in conjunction with the Center
for Inquiry or its affiliated organizations.
- In cooperation with Prometheus
Books the publication of classic works of religious studies
scholarship and newer titles in the critical study of religion.
- Beginning fall 2005, publication of The Journal for the Scientific Examination of Religion (JSER)
The mission statement of CSER provides information about its
guiding principles and commitments and a summary of its history.
While membership of CSER is reserved to those having the status
of fellow of the Committee, it is possible to become an associate.
Associates receive the publications of the Committee, including
the CSER Review, at a discounted rate and receive regular updates
concerning activities.
Information about the publications listed above and discounted
rates for libraries and professional societies is available from
the CSER membership secretary at the following address:
CSER
P.O. Box 741
Amherst, NY 14226
