Sociology Commons^™

Attitudes Toward Science And Stem Cell Research Based On Religious Worldview: Comparing The Views Of Theists, Naturalists, Skeptics, And Dualists Toward Science As An Institution, Method, And Application Of Knowledge, Jon Van Wieren

Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of attitudes toward science and stem cell research based on religious worldview. This study examines the relationship through General Social Survey data (2006).

Religious worldview is measured here through some of the most common measures of religiosity. This study differs from many other sociological studies of religiosity in that it includes the view of naturalism alongside other religious worldviews, including theism, dualism, and skepticism. Science is understood and measured here as multidimensional. Comparisons are made between attitudes toward science as a social institution, a research method, and as an application of knowledge - where attitudes …

The Embodiment Of Tolerance In Discourses And Practices Addressing Cultural Diversity In Schools, The Case Of Cyprus, Nicos Trimikliniotis, Corina Demetriou, Elena Papamichael

Nicos Trimikliniotis

The report examines the processes, methods and Practices of the Cypriot educational system as the

embodiment of tolerance in discourses and practices addressing cultural diversity in schools. These are

mediated by the perceptions of policy makers, the convictions of stakeholders involved in the processes and abilities of and tools made available to educationalists. In examining the nature of the educational system and particularly the way in which the system treats its minoritised individuals and groups, the philosophy which emerges is that of viewing diversity as a disadvantage and a deficiency that needs to be ‘treated’, against a backdrop of essentialising …

A Call To Integrate Religious Communities Into Practice: The Case Of Sikhs, Muninder Kaur Ahluwalia, Anjali Alimchandani

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

Sikhs, an ethnic and religious minority group in the United States, have seen a significant shift in their social location since 9/11. They have experienced harassment and violence beyond race and ethnicity to the visible markers of the religion (e.g., turbans). In this article, we address how counseling psychology is uniquely positioned to work with Sikhs given these circumstances. We provide an overview of Sikh Americans, including specific experiences that may affect treatment such as race-based traumatic injury, identification as a part of a visible religious minority group, and the impact of historic community-level trauma. We discuss recommendations for practitioners …

Household Allocation Of Time And Church Attendance, Corry Azzi, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

This paper presents the first systematic attempt by economists to analyze the determinants of individuals' participation in religious activities. A multiperiod utility-maximizing model of household behavior is developed which includes among its implications the shape of a house-hold's life-cycle religious-participation profile and the division of religious participation between husband and wife. The theory is empirically tested using statewide church-membership data and survey data on individuals' frequency of church attendance. The paper concludes by discussing several extensions of the model which lead to additional potentially testable hypotheses.

Household Allocation Of Time And Religiosity: Replication And Extension, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Stephen Long and Russell Settle's (1977) empirical tests of the economic theory of religiosity presented by Corry Azzi and myself (1975) in this Journal tend to be less supportive of our theory than were our original results. As such, I welcome the opportunity to trot out some further replications and extensions that I have conducted and I leave it to the reader to judge the relative merits of the two new contributions.

Short-Term Missions: Reinforcing Beliefs And Legitimating Poverty, William Vaughan Taylor

Masters Theses

Every year more than a million short-term missionaries travel abroad. Many encounter intense poverty. Popular discourse suggests short-term missionaries return home radically changed. Social movement theory shows collective experiences can transform participants. In this thesis I explore the narratives of short-term missionaries to understand how they understand the poverty they encounter abroad. I have found short-term mission participants think about encounters with the poor in ways that produce contradictory beliefs and legitimate poverty. Interviewees consistently employed deficiency and fatalistic theories of poverty that provide little moral or practical justification for helping the poor. However, these beliefs conflicted with religious convictions. …

Integral Review Vol 8 No 1 July 2012 Full Issue, Bahman Shirazi

Founders Symposium

The articles in this special issue of INTEGRAL REVIEW highlight selected contributions to the 2011 Symposium on Integral Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) (www.ciis.edu ). This annual symposium provides a forum for CIIS community members and friends to exchange and deepen their understanding of integral consciousness, its evolution, and its relationship to the current planetary challenges and transformational processes. Each year there are several themes covered in a variety of presentation formats: keynote and standard presentations, as well as a number of interactive sessions and workshops.

Interracial, Yet Intrafaith: Does A Common Religion Predict Higher Relationship Quality In Interracial Romantic Relationships?, Danielle Fenn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between relationship quality and religious discrepancy of interracial couples who are either married or cohabiting. Two variables of religious discrepancy (religious affiliation discrepancy and religiosity discrepancy) were studied. The sample included three groups of interracial couples: Hispanic-white, Asian-white, and Black-white. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model and regression estimates of the three groups were compared. Results showed a significant relationship in only three of the 12 relationships between the two variables of religious discrepancy and relationship quality. Significant negative relationships were found between religious denomination discrepancy and …

Faith, Race-Ethnicity, And Public Policy Preferences: Religious Schemas And Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Latinos, John P. Bartowski, Aida Ramos, Chris G. Ellison, Gabriel A. Acevedo

Faculty Publications - Department of World Languages, Sociology & Cultural Studies

Research has demonstrated that white conservative Protestants are more opposed to abortion than their Catholic counterparts. At the same time, conservative Protestantism has made significant inroads among U.S. Latinos. This study augments existing research on religion and racial-ethnic variations in abortion attitudes by comparing levels of support for legalized abortion among Catholic and conservative Protestant Latinos. Data are drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S. Latinos. Significantly greater opposition to abortion is found among religiously devout conservative Protestant Latinos when compared with their Catholic counterparts. Latino Catholicism, which functions as a near-monopolistic, highly institutionalized faith tradition among Hispanics, produces …

End Of Life Decisions In The Nicu: The Value Of New Life And The Degree To Which Religion Plays A Role In These Ethical Decisions, Maria Battaglia

Honors Theses

This thesis explored the role of religion as a social variable affecting end of life decisions in the NICU. The existing literature has studied many factors that are a part of the tough ethical decisions made in the NICU with some reference to religion. However, there is not adequate attention given to religion specifically. In order to further expand upon religion, various members composing the medical teams of two hospitals were interviewed. The interviewees included neonatologists, nurses, chaplains, and a social worker. This thesis found that religion is a variable that matters more than the existing literature has claimed. Often, …

Interactive Effects Of Church Attendance And Religious Tradition On Depressive Symptoms And Positive Affect, Philip Schwadel, Christina D. Falci

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Using a survey of adults in Nebraska, we find that the association between church attendance and mental health varies across religious traditions and across two distinct dimensions of mental health—depressive symptoms and positive affect. Specifically, the association between church attendance and depressive symptoms differs for mainline Protestants, evangelical Protestants, and Catholics. Of these three religious traditions, only mainline Protestants report significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms when they attend church more often. Comparing across religious traditions, we find that among high attendees, evangelical Protestants report considerably more depressive symptoms than do Catholics; among low attendees, evangelicals report fewer depressive symptoms …

The Sociology Of Harriet Martineau In Eastern Life, Present And Past: The Foundations Of The Islamic Sociology Of Religion, Deborah A. Ruigh

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper is a critical analysis of Harriet Martineau’s philosophical stance and epistemological modes, her systematic sociological methodology, her use of this methodology, and her sociology of religion. How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), and other relevant works will be used to examine Martineau’s evolving epistemological modes as well as her sociology of religion. How to Observe, Martineau’s treatise on systematic sociological methodology and cultural relativism, will serve as an exemplar for analysis of Martineau’s methodological practice as evidenced in Eastern Life. The research problem herein is three-fold: (1) to examine …

Attitudes Toward Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation, And Casual Sex Among Working-Age Latinos: Does Religion Matter?, Christopher G. Ellison, Nicholas H. Wolfinger, Aida I. Ramos-Wada

Faculty Publications - Department of World Languages, Sociology & Cultural Studies

The rapid growth of the Latino population in the United States has renewed interest in Latino family research. It has often been assumed that Catholicism is a key factor influencing Latinos’ attitudes toward the family, despite the fact that nearly one third of Latinos are not Catholic. This article uses data from the 2006 National Survey of Religion and Family Life, a survey of working-age adults (aged 18-59 years) in the lower 48 states, to explore the relationship between multiple dimensions of religiosity—denomination, church attendance, prayer, and beliefs about the Bible—and Latinos’ attitudes regarding marriage, divorce, cohabitation, and casual sex. …

Gender, Religiosity, And The Telling Of Christian Conversion Narratives, Jenell Paris, Ines Jindra, Robert Woods, Diane Badzinski

Sociology Educator Scholarship

Conversion is one important element of religion, the ways in which people shift from one religion (or none) to another, or deepen their commitment within a religion. This study explores the way Christian conversion narratives are told by college students. It considers whether factors such as gender, age, religious denomination, time passed since conversion, and measures of religiosity and orthodoxy influence conversion testimonies. Fifty-nine subjects gave in-depth interviews and completed several surveys, and research was gathered and analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Deborah Tannen’s genderlect styles theory and a social constructivist perspective on Christianity’s overarching story line are …

Finding A Voice Of Challenge: The State Responds To Religious Women And Their Communities, Marie A. Failinger

Marie A. Failinger

The appropriate response of Western nation-states to the situation of religious women who are caught between democratic norms of gender equality and the demands of their religious community has been a source of tension in many Western nations, including the U.S. This article attempts to give voice to the complex nature of women’s religious conduct as tied to their identities, and to propose alternative ways that the state might further its norms of gender equality besides intrusive regulation of religious communities.

The Eternal Mother And The State: Circumventing Religion Management In Singapore, Francis Khek Gee Lim

Francis Khek Gee Lim

No abstract provided.

Multiracial Churches: An Unusual Arrangement, David John Luke

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

It is commonly said that 11:00 A.M. Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The contact theory explains how interracial contact can help to ameliorate racism - and this type of interaction can easily be fostered in a church environment. Durkheim's idea of the "collective effervescence" felt in ritual experiences would be beneficial for crossing racial lines and improving race relations in the U.S. in multiracial churches. A great deal of recent sociological work has focused on the phenomenon of church segregation on a nationwide scale. This paper compares characteristics found in nationwide religious congregation surveys and case …

The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church In America: A Brief Overview Of Its History And Activity, P. S. Vig

The Bridge

“The United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America” is the name of an organization of congregations and pastors who are among those Danes who have immigrated to America, and who desire to hold firmly to the faith in which they were baptized, to remain in that church to which they have belonged since childhood, and who want to support the effort to preserve that faith in their adopted land and pass that heritage on to their children. This goal is not attainable except by mutual work, sacrifice and effort. “The United Church,” as we are now used to saying in …

Religion And Spirituality In Nevada, Ariane G. Mitchum, Michael Ian Borer

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Across the world, religion is integral to society insofar it shapes people’s thoughts, behaviors, and interactions. What exactly the term “religion” means, however, is far from clear-cut, as it continues to be a highly charged topic of discussion and debate, a subject that many hold dear and near to their hearts.

Clients’ Experiences Of Spirituality In Couple’S Therapy: A Phenomenological Approach, Jillian M. Puckett

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

While spirituality has been an increasingly researched topic within the field of marriage and family therapy, it has been largely overlooked within the context of couple’s therapy. The goal of the present study is to enhance the understanding of the role of spirituality in therapy by describing clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. The study utilized a phenomenological approach to come to a better understanding of the essence of clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. Semi-structured interviews with couples enrolled in couple’s therapy were conducted and analyzed. Four major themes emerged: spiritual experiences in couple’s therapy, perception of …

The ‘Friendship Dynamics Of Religion,’ Or The ‘Religious Dynamics Of Friendship’? A Social Network Analysis Of Adolescents Who Attend Small Schools, Jacob Cheadle, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Longitudinal social network data on adolescents in seven schools are analyzed to reach a new understanding about how the personal and interpersonal social dimensions of adolescent religion intertwine together in small school settings. We primarily address two issues relevant to the sociology of religion and sociology in general: (1) social selection as a source of religious homophily and (2) friend socialization of religion. Analysis results are consistent with Collins’ interaction ritual chain theory, which stresses the social dimensions of religion, since network–religion autocorrelations are relatively substantial in magnitude and both selection and socialization mechanisms play key roles in generating them. …

Social Class And Finding A Congregation: How Attendees Are Introduced To Their Congregations, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Despite the large numbers of Americans switching religious congregations each year, social scientists know relatively little about how people are introduced to new religious congregations. In this research note, I use multiple surveys of congregants—two surveys of Presbyterians in the 1990s and a survey of attendees from a random sample of congregations in 2001—to examine the effects of education and income on how attendees are introduced to their religious congregations. Results show that education and income are key predictors of how attendees find their congregations. In general, Americans with low levels of education and income are disproportionately likely to be …

Religion As Rehabilitation? Reflections On Islam In The Correctional Setting, Spearit

Articles

This essay is the keynote lecture from the Muslims in the United States and Beyond symposium at Whittier Law School. The work reflects on the state of research into Islam in prison, including the religion's historic role in supporting inmate rehabilitation and providing a means for coping with life as a prisoner and on the outside.

Positive Religious/Spiritual Coping Among African American Men Living With Hiv In Jails And/Or Prisons, E. James Baesler, Valerian J. Derlega, James Lolley

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Subtle And Overt Forms Of Islamophobia: Microaggressions Toward Muslim Americans, Kevin L. Nadal, Katie E. Griffin, Sahran Hamit, Jayleen Leon, Michael Tobio, David P. Rivera

Publications and Research

Previous research suggests that microaggressions, or subtle and covert manifestations of bias, are commonplace in the life experience of people of color, women, and sexual minorities. However, there is a dearth of research focusing on microaggressions toward people from religious minority groups. Using a qualitative approach and directed content analysis with Muslim American participants (N=10), six themes emerged: 1) Endorsing Religious Stereotypes of Muslims as Terrorists, 2) Pathology of the Muslim Religion, 3) Assumption of Religious Homogeneity, 4) Exoticization, 5) Islamophobic and Mocking Language, and 6) Alien in Own Land. Implications for Muslim mental health are discussed.

Sharia Law, Islamophobia And The U.S. Constitution: New Tectonic Plates Of The Culture Wars, Saeed A. Khan

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Religion And Nationalism: Four Approaches, Rogers Brubaker

Rogers Brubaker

Building on recent literature, this paper discusses four ways of studying the relation between religion and nationalism. The first is to treat religion and nationalism, along with ethnicity and race, as analogous phenomena. The second is to specify ways in which religion helps explain things about nationalism - its origin, its power, or its distinctive character in particular cases. The third is to treat religion as part of nationalism, and to specify modes of interpenetration and intertwining. The fourth is to posit a distinctively religious form of nationalism. The paper concludes by reconsidering the much-criticized understanding of nationalism as a …

Mediating Christianity In Asia, Francis Khek Gee Lim

Francis Khek Gee Lim

No abstract provided.