1. What distinguishes the Memorial Fund from other charities
organized over the years to support the cause of Christian Science?
The Memorial Fund finances serious scholarly studies on Christian Science and
the Church of Christ, Scientist, for the purpose of
helping advance the understanding of those subjects in a manner fit for the
introductory decades of the 21st century. Significant scholarly work of a
historical, sociological, religious, or other nature can provide a public
service in presenting the facts on this important, but still unduly
misunderstood, religious body. It can also serve this Church and its members in
reminding them of the stature and scope of the mission under the Church
Manual and of their significant responsibilities to that mission. More generally,
scholarly works of integrity can demonstrate that Christian Science prospers
from scholarly standards, indeed champions them because of the high premium
that it places on respect for truth.
2. In what ways might the Fund aid scholars?
The Fund provides scholars with grants, awards, and contracts not unlike those
that industry, foundations, and government bestow on university faculty. As an
independent source of support for scholars, the Fund's assistance is similar to
that offered to scholars in other religious traditions by, for example, the Pew
Charitable Trust, which supports the Pew Evangelical Scholars program, and the
Lilly Foundation, which has broadly supported scholarly work in American
religious history and denominational culture for many years. Hopefully
the Fund's support will not only enable scholars to undertake serious projects
on Christian Science but also enhance the appreciation of those projects among
academic peers, administrators, and publishers, and the knowledgeable public.
3. Are grants limited to adherents of Christian Science?
No, an applicant does not need to have any connection with Christian Science
for a proposal to be reviewed and potentially
accepted. The Fund officers, while encouraging consultation of a natural sort,
fully respect authorial rights and do not look upon their role as requiring
constraints beyond those that the law places upon the Fund as a non-profit
charity, and that a contract negotiated with a grantee requires, such as the
scope of research and the fulfilling of time allotments. Regarding a completed
work, the officers assume the possibility of debatable conclusions and even on
occasion strong scholarly disagreement on particular issues. Grantees, whatever
their backgrounds, are expected to approach their work with the same degree of
respect both for the subject and for the values of humane scholarship that is
normally shown by scholars who produce the more useful studies on religion,
from Perry Miller's work on Puritanism in an earlier generation to Stephen
Stein's more recent study on the Shakers.
4. What criteria might a scholar consider before applying for a
grant?
4a. Scholarly credential.
In reviewing proposals the Fund officers naturally
consider the applicant's background and whether it appears adequate for the
successful completion of a study. While lack of an advanced degree does not
preclude support, academic training and a track-record
in serious writing and publication are advantageous. So are less obvious
criteria, such as vigor and readability of writing style. The Fund seeks to
support works that simultaneously meet high standards of scholarly rigor and
appeal to the thoughtful lay reader.
4b. Obligation to simple truth.
Fund officers look for evidence of scholarly integrity, freedom from prejudiced
premises, and openness to pursuing honestly balanced purposes. As a study in
the New England Quarterly pointed out in regard to
Christian Science, meaningful scholarly work on the subject begins with a
commitment to look beyond the "distorting myths" and stereotypes
"underlying conventional scholarly assessments." A grant would be ruled out for a scholar whose advocacy on moral or
social issues relating to the subject may unduly prejudice his perspective.
4c. Usefulness of a work.
The Fund officers look for studies that could add to, or deepen, the readers'
understanding of the Church's mission, history, government, and current status. The assumption is that the scholarship on
this religious body is yet very young and much work remains to make that
scholarship adequate for the new century. The officers examine a proposal for
its significance, its timeliness, its feasibility, its publication prospects,
and, as already noted, its potential interest to lay readers as well as to
scholars. The goal is truth, not self-serving apologia, denominational
"PR," or indications of a comfortable bureaucratic agenda. The
officers may support specialized studies if significant—but not the
exposition of denominational minutiae or arcane academicism that often
characterizes doctoral dissertations. A proposal is not
funded if it is about a subject that has no, or only a marginal,
relation to Christian Science or that has a focus essentially foreign to its
character or its high moral standard.
4d. Scholar's financial need.
The officers may take into account the assistance that a scholar requires to
complete a project. A fair question is, would the project get
done without financial help from the Fund?
5. What is the context in which the Fund officers make their
decisions?
The Fund is established to foster a climate of honest scholarship in regard to the Church and its mission. The officers find
the discipline for this in the deeply moral teaching of the Bible and also in the writings of the Church's founder. The Manual
sets forth the essence of the mission in the words, "To organize a
church designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should
reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing" (p. 17).
Some of the most significant scholarly writing on the denomination illustrates
that when intellect and talent are prayerfully subordinated
to the spirit of Christ, there is gain, not loss, in scholarly value and
integrity, and a reaffirmation of the essential power of truth.
6. What led to the establishment of the Fund?
The Fund is the outcome of an observation made by the Fund's initiator across
his nearly thirty years as Archivist of The Mother Church—the challenge
of producing works responsible in scholarly terms and yet also spiritually
incisive and helpful. In writing on the denomination, scholars may find
daunting the sheer volume of exacting work needed even now in the sorting out
of basic but complex and often controversial issues of fact. But more
formidable may be the spiritual aspect, coming to grips with a religious
teaching, "with truths so counter to the common convictions of mankind, . . ." as the Church's founder, Mary Baker
Eddy, candidly observed (Message to The Mother Church for 1902, p.14).
The Fund is established to help resolve this
challenge, the expectation being that, like a number of earlier attempts, the
Fund's effort will sometimes be experimental. The Fund reflects the deep love
for The Mother Church felt by the Fund's initiator—and also the love of the
Church by his late wife, who served as a Christian Science practitioner and
lecturer, and in whose name the fund goes forward.
7. What might be an example of the scholarly achievement to
which the Fund aspires?
The research and writing of Robert Peel (1909-1992) is the clearest example of
the kind of careful scholarship that the Fund seeks to support. He informed his
readers honestly about historical events and led them to the deeper meanings of
these even while consciously correcting widely-circulated
half-truths, not to mention outright fabrications. Reviewers of his
three-volume biography of Mrs. Eddy recognized his "meticulous
scholarship" (Library Journal), his "masterful grasp of the
cultural and intellectual forces of the era" (American Historical
Review), and his crucial role in breaking "the barriers between
apologists and critics" (Martin Marty, New York Times). Historian
Gillian Gill observes that "without his
monumental study, none of the recent work . . . would have been possible"
(Mary Baker Eddy, p. 582). His writings have won readers from walks of life other than academia, the great majority
representing a wide variety of other educational levels and backgrounds. From
the perspective of many students of Christian Science, his work was the
outgrowth, not only of his thorough grounding in scholarly disciplines, but
also of his own profound acceptance of practical Biblical spirituality,
represented by the Golden Rule, the Mosaic Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount,
and Biblical works of healing.
8. Does the Fund look to earlier precedents within the
denomination?
Yes, of course. Mrs. Eddy, though often a target of the academic establishment,
had a lifelong respect for the legitimate work of "cultured
scholars." Alfred Farlow, whom she appointed under the Manual as
the first Christian Science Committee on Publication (1899-1913), wrote
extensively on historical, religious, medical, and ethical issues relating to
Christian Science, both for professional publications and the
popular press. Judge Clifford Smith, a later successor in that position
(1914-1930) and the first head of The Mother Church archives (1932-1944), did
more than anyone to make the rules of evidence for
decades common to Church scholarship. Their scholarly work increased in a natural
way the Church's prospects for evenhanded treatment of Christian Science in the
media and at law. Also the Study Group on Scholarly
Relations (1963-1964) might be mentioned. Convened by The Christian Science
Board of Directors, this committee examined broadly the question of how the
Church might be more thoughtfully engaged with the
scholarly community. Comprised of Church members who had distinguished
themselves in scholarly disciplines, it included
professors at Harvard,
9. In what way does the Study Group's work relate to the
purposes of the Fund?
The Study Group made a number of recommendations that began to bear fruit in
later years. The committee addressed a particular concern of the Fund's
initiator, for instance, in pointing out the need for a more credible archival
policy. It also called for a higher caliber of research and documentation in
writing on the Church's founder. But the most
important contribution of the Study Group lay in the basic premise of its work,
that genuine spiritual devotion and commitment are not incompatible with the
standards of serious scholarship. The issue with which the committee
grappled—the relation of reason and understanding to healing Christianity
and the "life of the Spirit"—is more vital than ever today in a
cultural climate that tends to dismiss religious values and practices that do
not conform to secular norms.
10. In view of the cultural climate—and in view of the
denomination's own widely-reported internal troubles—can even insightful
scholarly studies in line with the Fund's purposes make a meaningful
contribution today?
Responding to a famous savaging from the pen of Mark Twain in 1903, Mrs. Eddy,
then over eighty years of age, wrote, "What I am remains to be proved by
the good I do" (reprinted in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and
Miscellany, p. 303). Something similar could be said
of the Fund's effort to support scholarly endeavor. The Fund officers as
committed members of the Church that Mrs. Eddy founded look to the power of
grace and spiritual light, and not merely to intellectual construction, to give
meaning to this effort. The driving spirit in this endeavor is one of healing,
both in relation to the Church and in relation to the larger culture.
Regarding divisions and other difficulties within
the denomination, the hope is that the Fund's modest support of scholarly work
may help in resolving these, thereby benefiting all who care about the Church
and its institutions. Historically viewed, religious bodies have tended over
time to lose their original ardor and purpose, and founders have come to be
revered more than followed. Principled works of scholarship, while no panacea,
can remind a religious group of the impulse present at its historical
origin—the element that one historian of religion has called "the
dynamite in tradition"—as well as help it in coming to grips with
complexity and change.
Regarding secular biases in the academic world,
scholarly works that contribute to genuine understanding of a religious group
surely hold the potential for challenging the conventional mind-set. The rich
meanings to be found in the spiritual lives of
churches as well as individuals are too often missed in the pale negations of
postmodernist presuppositions. On the other hand, secular criticisms of
religion can sometimes help religious groups see themselves more clearly and
test their moral honesty and the depth of their ideals. (Mrs. Eddy acknowledged
as much when she noted, "Mark Twain's wit was not wasted in certain
directions.") The Fund is rooted in the conviction, deeply embedded in
Christian Science teaching, that these ideals are ultimately not minor
denominational peculiarities but wellsprings of renewal for the wider society;
not delicate relics to be preserved from a bygone age,
but the very foundations of the reality which scholars from all backgrounds
seek to understand.
11. How may I apply for a Fund grant?
As noted above, the Fund receives proposals for high-level scholarly works that
produce honest information and probing insights, and reflect the Fund's
purposes and values. The Fund provides a small number of grants annually up to
a maximum of $40,000 for a full-time writing project. Grants are limited to a
year but are renewable. The submission period for grant applications is from
January 1 to March 31 each year. The Fund normally responds to applications by
mid-May. The Fund officers give no reason for declining a grant request. An
interested applicant should submit the following papers to the Fund for review:
12. How can I obtain further information about the Fund?
Applications and questions are not to be sent
electronically but instead should be mailed to:
Marlène F. Johnson Memorial Fund
for Scholarly Research on Christian Science, Inc.
22 Concord Avenue, Suite 100
Cambridge, MA 02138
The Fund is an IRS designated private, non-profit, 501(c)(3),
non-operating foundation. Inquiries about arranging for bequests to go to the
Fund may be directed to the Fund's attorneys: