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Seventh-day Adventism |
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The Adventist Society for Religious Studies (ASRS) is a Seventh-day Adventist scholarly community whose purpose is "to provide intellectual and social fellowship among its members and encourage scholarly pursuits in all religious studies disciplines, particularly with reference to the Seventh-day Adventist tradition." It was formally organized in New York City in 1979. It is more liberal than the other main Adventist theological organization, the Adventist Theological Society, which is more conservative.
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In 1972 Adventist religion scholars agreed to meet in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). The official Adventist Biblical Research Institute (BRI) agreed to sponsor and plan these meetings.[1]
After BRI ceased their sponsorship in 1978, Adventist scholars met informally at New Orleans. AAR/SBL informed the Adventist group that it could not provide meeting rooms nor announce the meetings in its printed program unless the group officially organized and adopted a distinctive name that did not have a denominational identifier. The group officially organized in 1979, selecting the name Andrews Society for Religious Studies,[1] and elected officers; at the New York meeting. The name Andrews referred to J. N. Andrews, who is considered to have been the first Adventist religion scholar.
In 1993 the society unanimously voted to change its name to the Adventist Society for Religious Studies. This became possible when AAR/SBL lifted the restrictions on denominational names.
In 1996 the society had a membership of 135 scholars.[2]
The 2008 conference theme was "Re-Envisioning Adventism".[3]
The president of ASRS is elected three years in advance and future presidents serve as vice-president and president elect prior to serving as president.