Section awards are presented during the APSA annual meeting awards ceremony. To learn more about any award listed, contact the award committee chair for the award.

All section 11. Religion and Politics awards to-date »

Kenneth D. Wald Best Graduate Student Paper Award

Kenneth D. Wald Best Graduate Student Paper Award will be given annually to a conference paper studying any aspect of religion and politics presented by a Ph.D. student in political science. The conference can be affiliated with any of the US-based political science associations or a conference affiliated with another association, such as the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the American Academy of Religion, the Middle East Studies Association, or the International Studies Association, as long as the paper was written by a student or students enrolled in a graduate program in political science. Papers written with faculty will not be considered. Papers presented at poster sessions are welcome. The award will be announced and presented at the annual APSA conference during the business meeting. The award committee is under no obligation to make an award if no submissions merit such recognition.
Nomination Instructions: Please send nominations (self-nominations are welcome) including an electronic copy of the paper and an electronic copy of the conference program listing to the committee members.
Deadline for nominations: April 30, 2021

Award Committee

Ted Jelen Best Journal Article in Politics and Religion Award

This award is presented for the best article published in Politics and Religion in the 2020 calendar year. There are no nominations for this award; every article published in the journal in 2020 is a candidate.

Award Committee

Susanne Hoeber Rudolph Outstanding Scholar in Religion and Politics Award

The Susanne Hoeber Rudolph Outstanding Scholar Award recognizes a scholar who has made outstanding contributions to the field of religion and politics. These contributions should be through a combination of excellent and widely influential scholarship, policy input/impact, public engagement, service, teaching, and mentorship. Although the committee highly encourages nominations of APSA members and takes service to APSA seriously, nominees do not have to be current APSA members. The nominees are expected to attend the following year’s APSA Annual Meeting and participate in the roundtable organized in to celebrate their work. The award is presented annually, following a review of applications by the committee. The winner will be honored with a plaque, a monetary award of $500, and a roundtable symposium honoring their work at the APSA Annual Meeting of the next calendar year. (The 2021 Susanne Hoeber Rudolph Awardee will be honored at the 2022 APSA Annual Meeting both during the business meeting and the roundtable). The award is intended as an addition to, not replacement for, the practice of awarding special ‘lifetime achievement awards’ for scholars who have made substantial contributions to the Section on the event of their retirement. Instead, this is meant to reward political scientists (including those who are mid-career) who have made a substantial contribution to the field of religion and politics. Nomination letters and the CVs of the nominees are due to the Committee Members by email by April 15, 2021. The nomination letter should clearly describe how the nominee fulfills the criteria described above. Since this award is meant to reflect peer recognition, self-nominations will not be considered.
Deadline for nominations: April 15, 2021

Award Committee

Hubert Morken Best Book in Religion and Politics Award

The Hubert Morken Award is given for the best book dealing with religion and politics published within the previous year. The criteria for the award include the originality of the argument presented, quality of the research, innovative methods, readability of the text and the policy or practical implications of the scholarship. To be eligible for the award, books must have been published in 2020. The nomination should include a brief statement (250-750 words) summarizing the book’s contributions and why it is nominated for the award. This statement can be sent by email. As part of the nomination, publishers should send a copy of the nominated book to EACH member of the awards committee at the addresses below, making sure that the books arrive by the nomination deadline, March 15th, 2021. Self-nominations are welcome.
Deadline for nominations: March 15, 2021

Award Committee

Aaron Wildavsky Best Dissertation in Religion and Politics Award

The Aaron Wildavsky Award recognizes the best dissertation in the field of religion and politics. Eligible dissertations have been defended in the last two years (2019 or 2020),and should make a distinctive contribution to the study of religion and politics, broadly understood. Please submit nominations to the members of the committee – self-nominations are welcome! Nomination Instructions: Please send a letter of nomination (maximum 2 pages) and a copy of the dissertation to the committee chair. Deadline for nominations: April 15, 2021

Award Committee

Weber Best Conference Paper in Religion and Politics Award

Weber Best Paper in Religion and Politics Award recognizes the best paper dealing with religion and politics presented at the previous year’s APSA Annual Meeting (2020). The paper should address a timely and relevant topic, within the discipline and beyond, in a theoretically innovative and methodologically thorough manner. Deadline for nominations: April 15, 2021

Award Committee