The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) is an interdisciplinary academic association that stimulates, promotes, and communicates social scientific research about religious institutions and experiences. SSSR was founded at Harvard University in 1949 as the Committee for the Social Scientific Study of Religion. Today SSSR fosters interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among more than a thousand scholars from sociology, religious studies, secular studies, psychology, political science, economics, international studies, gender studies, and many other fields. The Society's flagship publication, the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR), is a highly cited resource in the field. More information about JSSR is available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14685906 and www.sssreligion.org/journal.

We are seeking an Editor-in-Chief (EIC) to begin service in January 2026 for a four-year term, with an additional period of training under the current editorial team during Fall 2025. To be eligible, candidates should hold a Ph.D. in one of the academic disciplines represented in our membership, and relevant experience in publication and editing. The EIC will be responsible for assembling an editorial team, also beginning at the same time. While the current team comprises an Associate Editor and a Book Review Editor, we are open to other staffing models that would also reflect the diversity of our constituency.

Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief:
• Manage the entire process of publishing the JSSR on a quarterly basis each calendar year;
• Ensure the quality of articles appearing in the journal is consistent with the superior standards of scholarship in the academic disciplines represented in the membership of the SSSR; and ensure that articles are drawn fairly and proportionately from these disciplines;
• Maintain a pool of volunteer peer reviewers with expertise in their respective fields to assist with the evaluation of manuscripts submitted;
• Make all final editorial decisions about all manuscripts submitted for review and publication;
• Correspond regularly and promptly with authors, reviewers, the JSSR Editorial Board, the SSSR Publications Committee, the Journal publisher (Wiley Blackwell), the SSSR Executive Officer and the SSSR Executive Council;
• Supervise all paid and volunteer JSSR staff;
• Oversee plans to maintain and improve JSSR’s reputation, significance, prestige and circulation within the community of scholars;
• Ensure that the Journal reflects the goals and values of the SSSR strategic plan;
• Maintain an active and robust social media presence for the JSSR;
• Develop an annual budget and report of activities to go to the SSSR Executive Officer.

Compensation: The combined budget for the editorial staff is $47,000, which compensates the EIC, associate editor(s), and book review editor. In addition, a discretionary fund of $2500 is available to the EIC annually, which may be used for a range of expenses including student assistants and annual meeting travel expenses for the editorial team. An additional budget covers additional journal publication expenses (e.g., annual editorial board meeting, travel, etc.). The incoming EIC would be compensated separately during the training period during Fall 2025.

To apply: Submit a letter of application and vita no later than June 30, 2025. Applicants should detail their qualifications, vision for the journal, and staffing plan. Forms of institutional support available through the host university also should be discussed.

Questions and application materials should be directed to the SSSR Publications Committee at editorsearch@sssreligion.org.