Isomorphism,Institutional Parochialism,and the Study of Social Movements

This study investigates whether the field of social movements is occupied by parochial concerns. Using a content analysis of two prominent journals that study social movements – Mobilization: An International Journal and Social Movement Studies: Journal of Social and Political Protest – it was found that the field is dominated by the study of Western movements, but is also relatively ‘worldly’ when compared to other academic sub-disciplines. Much work on the ‘global south’ is conducted by scholars who maintain personal associations and connections to regions of the world outside of the West. In addition, it was found that social movement scholars focus predominantly on the study of liberal movements as compared to conservative movements. The types of movements most commonly studied are also examined.     

Religion and Comparative Political Sociology

In the last decade, religious politics seemed to sweep the world. Calls have been issued for religion to regain its rightful place in the study of politics. We contend that the influence of religion on politics is hardly novel and that religious beliefs and organizations have had a profound effect on polities both in the developed democracies and in developing societies. Drawing widely on the comparative sociology of politics, we trace the role of religion in the generation of political attitudes and preferences, in the process of democratization, in the formation of interest organizations and confessional parties, and consider the contemporary debate concerning religious violence. We will demonstrate the importance of religion in inspiring political behavior, including both electoral and non-electoral politics, and in the shaping of political institutions and the regulatory framework surrounding the religious sphere. Our survey indicates that neither arguments concerning the secularization of polity and society nor for the recent return of religious fervor to politics is persuasive. Religion is, and has been, fundamental to modern politics.     

The New Theology and the Sociology of Religion*

La nouvelle theologie represente une forme contemporaine d'expression religieuse qui est d'un interet tout particulier pour la sociologie des religions. Non seulement pouvons-nous decouvrir quelques-uns des facteurs sociaux qui ont suscité ces changements dans la theologie, mais aussi certaines des consequences sociologiques de la nouvelle theologie suggerent une revision theorique de la perspective traditionnelle (centree sur l'Eglise) de la sociologie des religions. Nous pretendons que cette nouvelle theologie peut fournir des donnees objectives dans noire recherche d'une comprehension sociologique plus exhaustive et universelle de la religion. The New Theology represents a contemporary form of religious expression that is of specific interest to the sociology of religion. Not only can we uncover some of the social sources of this change in theology, but there are also sociological implications of the new theology that encourage a theoretical review of the previously restricted church-oriented perspective of the sociology of religion. It is our contention that the new theology can provide objective data in the quest for a more comprehensive and universal sociological understanding of religion.     

Sociology Dismissing Religion? The Presentation of Religious Change in Introductory Sociology Textbooks

This paper explores whether the field of sociology harbors a dismissive attitude towards religion. Specifically it examines whether introductory sociology textbooks present the classic secularization theory over the more recent religious economies explanation of religious change. The classical secularization thesis suggests that religion is declining in importance in modern societies and may disappear completely. The religious economies perspective proposes that religion has actually become more influential and dynamic over time. While both theories are well represented in the sociology of religion literature, we explore whether generalist sociology textbooks reflect this reality. This article provides a content analysis of 31 introductory sociology textbooks published between 2003 and 2006. We assess the presence and promotion of the above theories in these textbooks. Our analysis reveals that 20 (65%) of the 31 textbooks in our study present only secularization theory, while seven (23%) of the textbooks cover both secularization theory and religious economies theory. We assess the ramifications of such a lopsided arrangement and conclude by encouraging a more open dialogue on this issue.     

Institutional Religion and Gay/Lesbian Oppression

While gay men and lesbians have been consistently involved in the institutional forms of Judaeo-Christianity throughout history, those institutions have themselves failed to accept or support openly gay individuals or couples, either professionally, liturgically/pastorally, or doctrinally. Judaeo-Christianity has instead encouraged homophobia in society thereby fostering antigay oppression which dehumanizes gay individuals, undermines gay couplings, and exacerbates familial tensions between gay and nongay relatives. The United Methodist Church's struggle over the ordination of gays/ lesbians and Catholicism's most recent antigay promulgation provide two case studies for examining the dilemmas which institutional religion poses for gay/lesbian people.     

Religion and Multiculturalism: A Web of Legal,Institutional, and Cultural Connections

The relationship between religion and multiculturalism is complex, depending on definitions of the key concepts and the societal contexts in which it occurs. Unlike Western Europe and the United Kingdom, where discussions of multiculturalism usually involve religion, such discussions in the United States are more likely to focus on race, ethnicity, and immigration. Nonetheless, issues of religious diversity, pluralism, and multiculturalism are deeply intertwined in U.S. history, culture, and legal arrangements. From the protections for religious freedom in the U.S. Constitution to the current conservative politics that emphasize the nation's Protestant heritage, how to accommodate religious diversity in the polity and civil society is an ongoing, evolving, but contentious, process.     

Comments on Sociology of Religion in America: a History of Secular Fascination with Religion

Anthony J. Blasi’s concise history in Sociology of Religion in America: A History of Secular Fascination with Religion provides a valuable journey through the evolution of the sociology of religion. He used self-created databases (1859–1959) of early American dissertations in the sociology of religion or religion more generally as well as journal indices (1959–1984) for sociology of religion articles to trace this history. Blasi did not merely create a timeline dotted with accolades alone. He detailed the early location of the sociology of religion in the “backwaters of sociology” and documented the struggles for scientific credibility and public as well as professional recognition. I centered my comments on three highlighted issues: the tension between empiricism and religion as reform (e.g., science versus sympathy), intersectionality of race and religion, and Blasi’s lived experiences in the sociology of religion.     

Institutional Isomorphism in Religious Entities of Post‐Soviet Tajikistan

Grounded in institutional isomorphism theory, the paper analyzes the extent to which the process of homogenization (isomorphism) can be useful in our understanding of changes within religious entities. Examining the emergence and development of religious entities in post‐Soviet Tajikistan, I find that three isomorphic mechanisms are less dependent on the impact of religious institutional environments and interaction among religious organizations. Rather, isomorphic changes are manifested as the result of interaction with the state. Mimetic and normative processes are observed in a weak state, whereas coercive isomorphism is exerted under the influence of a strong state. A relative heterogeneity of the religious field is observed in the first two stages of the development of religious entities. Once the state expands its regulation and control, religious entities become more homogeneous in structure and administration due to coercive isomorphism. Implications for extending the concept of institutional isomorphism beyond traditional organizational fields are discussed.     

Du Bois and the Sociology of Religion: Rediscovering a Founding Figure*

In his popular introductory sociology text, Stark identifies W. E. B. Du Bois and Albion Small as important cornerstones of the U.S. sociological tradition. While the work of the “Chicago School” is well known in sociological circles, Du Bois’ sociological legacy is not. The Philadelphia Negro ([1899] 1996) is a classic empirical sociological study that is rarely included in discussions of the development of scientific sociology. Likewise, The Negro Church ([1903b] 2003) represents one of the first empirically based sociological studies of a religious institution. Sociologists of religion routinely discuss the contributions of Durkheim, Weber, and Simmel while virtually ignoring Du Bois. This is ironic because Du Bois’ work on religion was based on ethnographic data, field interviews, surveys, and census data. This article provides an overview of Du Bois’ sociological study of the Black Church in the United States by identifying some of the main themes developed in The Philadelphia Negro ([1899] 1996), The Souls of Black Folk ([1903a] 1994), and The Negro Church ([1903b] 2003). These studies reveal that Du Bois was a pioneer in the areas of evaluation research, public sociology, service learning, and congregational studies.     

Comments on Sociology of Religion in America: A History of a Secular Fascination with Religion

Anthony J. Blasi’s book, Sociology of Religion in America: A History of a Secular Fascination with Religion, is a valuable contribution to the history of the sociology of religion. In this comment paper, I assert that this text is a fine addition to any graduate-level course on the sociology of religion, and I discuss three different threads of discussion that masters and doctoral students could explore in class. These discussion threads include: 1) Can sociologists maintain objectivity when studying faith-based phenomena? 2) How can sociologists best study religion today? 3) How does the current study of religion today compare to the subfield a century ago? Educators can use this text as a springboard for their students to think, discuss, and write critically.     

Institutional Barriers to Doing Public Sociology: Experiences of Feminists in the Academy

In recent years, the discipline of sociology has seen an increased discussion of public sociology, but the discussion has focused on whether or not it is a good idea for sociologists to become more engaged with their various publics. A different question motivates this research: What are the institutional arrangements that make doing public sociology difficult, and thus less likely? Following Dorothy Smith, we start from the perspective of frontline actors and ask them about their experiences. We combine data from two sources: individual interviews with a sample of 50 academic feminists, a group that has theoretical motivation to be interested in public sociology and group interviews with 15 feminists engaged in some form of public sociology. These informants tell us about two related institutional barriers to doing public sociology: the culture of professional sociology and the standards we use for evaluating scholarship. The impact of these disciplinary barriers probably varies by institution type and career stage but there is reason to suspect they generate costs not just for individuals but for the discipline. Taking steps to break down these barriers would ameliorate concerns some have raised about public sociology.     

The Summer-Porter Controversy at Yale: Pre-Paradigmatic Sociology and Institutional Crisis*

This reappraisal of the dispute between William Graham Sumner and Noah Porter at Yale (1879-1881) emphasizes the conjunction of disciplinary unxieties (over the academic establishment of sociology) and institutional crisis (over Yale's classical curriculum). Theoretical implications are developed through further explication of Thomas Kuhn's notion of “pre-paradigmatic” science.     

Academic Hiring Networks and Institutional Prestige: A Case Study of Canadian Sociology

This article examines the academic job market for Canadian sociology through its PhD exchange network. Using an original data set of employed faculty members in 2015 (N = 1,157), I map the hiring relationships between institutions and analyze the observed network structure. My findings show that institutional prestige is a likely organizing force within this network, reflective of a disproportionate number of faculty coming from a few centralized high‐status institutions, as well as predominantly downward flows in hiring patterns. However, further investigation is needed to understand the role of prestige in Canadian higher education, which has been previously characterized as having a flat social structure. This requires attention toward the interrelationships between institutional prestige, scholarly competence, and department size situated within a segmented academic field in Canada. Overall, this study aims to encourage collective self‐reflection and motivate discourse about status‐based inequalities in our own discipline.     

Teaching Sociology in Community College: Balancing Ideals with Institutional Constraints

Many professionals experience conflict between personal ideals about the meaning and importance of their work, and the structural limitations of the workplace. This conflict presents professionals with the challenge of how to hold true to their ideals within a non-supportive or even hostile environment. In this paper, I describe my experiences balancing my ideals about teaching, learning, and the purpose of a college education with the institutional constraints of a community college. There are three main sections in this paper. First is a discussion of the reasons I chose a career in community college teaching. The second section focuses on the institutional constraints I have encountered over the first 5 years of my career. In the third section, I explain how I have attempted to balance my ideals with the structural limitations of the college where I teach. Throughout the paper, I blend personal narrative with the relevant literature. In doing so, I intend to use my personal experience as a lens for discussing the challenges and possibilities that characterize community college teaching in general.