Annual Submission information, including deadlines and selection committee members, can be found on the Announcements page.
Ted Jelen Best Journal Article Award
This annual award goes to the best paper in the Politics & Religion journal.
Committee Members:
Jacob Neihiesel, Chair
Karrie Koesel
Matthew H Young
Hubert Morken Best Book 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 the preceding year.
Committee Members:
John Compton
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
625 W PALM AVE
ORANGE, CA 92868-2224
Nandini Deo/ Qatar Office
3700 O Street, N.W
LEAVEY CENTER, SUITE 1202
Washington DC 20057
Ph: 2026875246
Güneş Murat Tezcür
Professor and Director School of Politics and Global Studies,
Arizona State University, P.O. Box 873902,
Tempe, AZ 85287-3902
**Please note that all three members request hard copy delivered by April 1**
Aaron Wildavsky Best Dissertation 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 and should make a distinctive contribution to the study of religion and politics, broadly understood.
Committee Members:
Levi Allen, Chair
Rajeshwari Majumdar
Laura Olson (TCU)
Kenneth D. Wald Best Graduate Student Paper Award
The Kenneth D. Wald Best Graduate Student Paper Award is 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 and presented in 2022 or 2023. Papers written with faculty will not be considered. Papers presented at poster sessions are welcome.
Committee Members:
Vineeta Yadav, Chair
Aala Abdelgadir
Michele Margolis
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 (2023). The paper should address a timely and relevant topic, within the discipline and beyond, in a theoretically innovative and methodologically thorough manner. All papers presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting are eligible, regardless of modality of presentation (ie. in person, virtual/synchronous, and pre-recorded paper presentations are all eligible).
Committee Members:
Anirvan Chowdhury, Chair
Guadalupe Tunon
Mohammad Isaqzadeh
Susanne Hoeber Rudolph Outstanding Scholar 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.
Committee Member:
Angelia Wilson, Chair
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement Award of the Religion & Politics Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA) recognizes outstanding scholars of religion and politics at the point of retirement (or shortly thereafter) who have made enduring contributions to the field through their scholarship, service, and mentorship. The award is intended to honor recipients who were regular and active Religion & Politics Section members during the periods of their primary contributions to the field. Anticipating that such scholars are exceptional, the call for nominations will remain open, the nominations will be confidential, and the award is not expected to be given every year. The Award committee will be composed of the Executive Committee of the Religion & Politics Section, chaired by the section chair, to whom nominations shall be addressed.
Committee Members:
Religion & Politics Board
Nandini Deo
**All nominations due April 1, 2026**
**All decisions are due May 25, 2026**