Constitution

The name of the Society shall be the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion/La Société Canadienne pour l’Étude de la Religion (CSSR/SCÉR).

1. The Society provides a meeting place for all who are involved in the academic study of religion, for example, anthropologists, historians, phenomenologists, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, theologians.
2. The Society fosters an interdisciplinary discourse in order to arrive at a better, integrated understanding of religious phenomena.
3. The Society encourages research in the development of the study of religion with particular reference to the Canadian scene.
4. The Society promotes a critical examination of the goals, methods, and styles of teaching demanded by the discipline.

English and French shall be the official languages of the Society. Members are free to participate in the proceedings in either language.

Membership is open to all who share the objectives of the Society.

1. The Executive shall be composed of the following members:
   1. a President who shall be elected for a two-year term at the Annual General Meeting of the Society;
   2. a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Membership Secretary, each of whom shall be elected for a three-year term at the Annual General Meeting of the Society;
   3. a Past-President whose term shall be for two years;
   4. three members-at-large elected to a three-year term of office at the Annual General Meeting of the Society, one position will be dedicated to a Graduate Student Member-At-Large. Election of members-at-large will follow a pattern in which one member will be elected each year and one will retire.
   5. two Conference Program Co-Chairs, each for a three-year term.
2. Non-voting members of the Executive may be added by the Executive as is deemed necessary for conducting the business of the Society.

To be eligible for Executive Positions elected members of the Society must not also be serving as Executive Members of the parent society, Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, concurrent to their position with the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion.

The Executive of the Society is empowered to:

1. transact the business of the Society;
2. appoint and define responsibilities of committees;
3. appoint replacements for Executive members whose absence will be for a year or less;
4. appoint non-voting members of the Executive;
5. appoint representatives for the Society when they cannot be elected at the Annual General Meeting;
6. plan the Annual Conference.

1. Elections shall take place at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
2. Only members of the Society may hold office and vote in elections.
3. Every effort must be made to establish and maintain regional distribution of members on the Executive. At least one member of the Executive should be from the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, Ontario, and the Western Provinces (including British Columbia).
4. A Nominating Committee, composed of the Membership Secretary and two other Executive members, shall prepare a slate of nominees for the Executive and such other positions as are required by Article IX, section 4 of the Constitution. After approval by the Executive, the slate shall be presented to the membership of the Society at its Annual General Meeting where additional nominations may be proposed. All additional nominations must be seconded and the nomination be agreeable to the nominee.

1. Amendments to the Constitution and By-laws of the Society shall be approved by a simple majority of those members present at the Annual General meeting.
2. Proposed amendments should be presented to the Meeting of the Executive of the Society at least one meeting prior to the Annual General Meeting.

1. An Annual General Meeting shall be held each year at a place and time designated by the Executive.
2. The President, Membership Secretary and the Treasurer shall present reports and accounts of the Society since the previous Annual General Meeting.
3.  The Annual General Meeting shall establish the dues required for Society membership.
4. The Annual General Meeting shall elect an Executive as defined in Articles V and VII of the Constitution and, wherever necessary and possible, elect members to represent the Society on the Humanities Research Council, the Corporation for Studies in Religion, the International Association for the History of Religions, and others as the need arises.
5. The Annual General Meeting shall approve all matters of policy and principle affecting the Society.