WELCOME TO
INSTITUTE FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Research (IIR), a “university without walls,” is a growing worldwide network of scholars-believers who take both scholarship and faith seriously. An independent nonprofit research and education think-tank, IIR encourages innovative, interdisciplinary, faith-informed scholarship integrating knowledge, ethics and faith.  IIR teaches via individual and team research, correspondence, mentoring, consultation, peer-review, editing, conferences, personal contacts, and publications. Its flagship Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies: An International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Interfaith Dialogue combines the strengths of a refereed academic journal with the thematic focus of a book series, offering constructive peer-review and mentoring akin to a global interdisciplinary honors program, and student and faculty development seminar.

IIR members are kept current on matters of interdisciplinary scholarship and its intersection with transcendent norms and beliefs through the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. In addition, members are especially encouraged to attend the annual interdisciplinary conference, a symposium in Pasadena, California, that draws presenters and attendees from around the globe.

The central aim of IIR is to increase understanding among academics, students, and the public of the interrelatedness of all areas of knowledge—social sciences, natural sciences, humanities,  the arts, and theology—and reconnect once more knowledge with ethics and faith via dialogue across the disciplines. St. Thomas Aquinas fashioned a grand synthesis of knowledge and faith in his day. However, in our time, this endeavor is necessarily a collegial enterprise.

It is becoming increasingly clear that neither man nor the world can be fully understood from the standpoint of any single discipline. Yet, a curious parochialization of understanding has attended the departmental compartmentalization of knowledge along disciplines, fields, and subfields, greatly impoverishing the social sciences and humanities. There is a need for a holistic understanding of the human condition that encompasses transcendental values and faith rather than reductionism, positivism, or arid secularism. Undoubtedly, specialization is necessary to advance knowledge. However, there is an equally urgent need for an integrative vision of reality via dialogue across geographical, disciplinary, and denominational boundaries. IIR is dedicated to rekindling the spirit of free inquiry and academic excellence through research, publications, conferences, and public discussion.

We pray for and appreciate your regular or gift subscriptions and IIR-ICSA memberships. Students, faculty, educators at all levels, and the public will benefit if you recommend the entire interconnected thematic series of JIS I-XXXV 1989-2023+ to your college, institute, seminary, and major public libraries.

A Great Opportunity: Partner with us to reach 3,000 subscribers by 2030, renewing academe and thus the culture. IIR-ICSA membership is open to all persons and institutions sharing these aims. By becoming a regular reader and supporter of JIS, you, too, may share in this exciting calling to reclaim God’s gifts of intellect for His glory.  JIS’ quest is for eternal truths in a secular era that brackets God. We are ecumenical in the best sense of C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity and John Paul II’s Fides et Ratio, sharing in the new evangelization of culture. This journal aspires to a transcendent grounding of values, affirming the moral “ought” attested to in Scripture, reflected in the Tao or the “Golden Rule,” a universal moral imperative found in all cultures across time and space, known intuitively by all men and women of good will. Ultimately, as Christians, we put our trust in God’s saving grace.

As an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, research and educational organization, IIR welcomes new members and invites your support (tax-deductible).

IIR Membership Categories and Annual Dues:

• Associate: $25.
  
• Institutional: $50.
  
• Fellow: $100.
  
• Donor: $500.
  
• Patron: $1,000.
  
• President’s Circle: $3,000.
  
• Foundation: $5,000.
  

IIR Membership Benefits Include:
Subscription to the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Subscription to ICSA Newsletter (Annual Report).
Reviewing Books for Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.

All are welcome to share in the Institute’s pioneering interdisciplinary research and publishing endeavors!