Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The beginning of the Wesleyan Studies Group (WSG) lie in a roundtable discussion of a paper by Ted Runyon at the AAR/SBL Annual Meeting in 1982. The response to this roundtable led to an approval by the AAR Program Committee for a Consultation on Wesleyan Studies at the 1983 meeting. The quality and quantity of participation by AAR members in this Consultation session led to a proposal for the establishment of the WSG as a regular working group to be renewed in five year segments
WSG's purpose is to seek and promote the critical understanding and appropriation of Wesleyan traditions by understanding the term in the broader Methodist family. The group is to embrace and encourage not only historical and sociological studies but also theological reflection, critique, and extension. As an ecumenically focused group, it is not the property of a single denominational group but serves as a place for Wesleyan scholars to pursue academic concerns and interests.