Current Studies in the Sociology of Religion
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The Influence of Terrorism on Discriminatory Attitudes and Behaviors
Shades of Intolerance: The Influence of Terrorism on Discriminatory Attitudes and Behaviors in the United Kingdom and Canada. by Chuck Baker A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Global Affairs Written under the direction of Dr. Gregg Van Ryzin and approved by ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Newark, New Jersey May, 2015 Copyright page: © 2015 Chuck Baker All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The Influence of Terrorism on Discriminatory Attitudes and Behaviors in the United Kingdom and Canada by Chuck Baker Dissertation Director: Dr. Gregg Van Ryzin, Ph.D. Terrorism has been shown to have a destabilizing impact upon the citizens of the nation- state in which it occurs, causing social distress, fear, and the desire for retribution (Cesari, 2010; Chebel d’Appollonia, 2012). Much of the recent work on 21st century terrorism carried out in the global north has placed the focus on terrorism being perpetuated by Middle East Muslims. In addition, recent migration trends show that the global north is becoming much more diverse as the highly populated global south migrates upward. Population growth in the global north is primarily due to increases in the minority presence, and these post-1960 changes have increased the diversity of historically more homogeneous nations like the United Kingdom and Canada. This research examines the influence of terrorism on discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, with a focus on the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London. -
Theory in the Study of Religion
Chapter 3 Theory in the Study of Religion Donald Wiebe My aim in this paper is to assess the role of theory in ‘religious studies.’1 The task is a general one and will not concern itself with evaluating any specific theory or theories of religion but rather with the appropriateness of the very notion of ‘a theory of religion.’ It will not, however, be an easy undertaking, not only because of its generality but also because of its paradoxical character. To admit of the existence of theories of religion and yet raise the question of the ‘possibility’ of such theories is somewhat odd to say the least. The history of the study of religion, I suggest however, forces us both to the admission and to the question. 1 The Place of ‘Theory’ in Religious Studies The place of theory in ‘religious studies’ has had a rather chequered history. Theory, it seems, lies at the centre of the formation of this so-called ‘new sci- ence’ in the form of what Eric Sharpe in his history of the ‘discipline’ refers to as the ‘Darwinian-Spencerian theory of evolution.’ In concluding a survey of the antecedents of ‘comparative religion’ (i.e. the ‘new science of religion’ of Max Müller) he writes: … with Comte, Darwin and Spencer we have come to the threshold of the hundred years of comparative religion which we are to survey. We have seen something of the variety of approaches to the religions of mankind which could be held before the coming of evolutionism: the Christian 1 My attention in this paper will be focused primarily on the emergence of the study of religion as an academic discipline (i.e., a ‘university subject’) with the rise of the ‘phenomenologists.’ The ‘phenomenologists,’ I would argue, constitute a dominant tradition in the history of the scholarly study of religion. -
The Protestant Movement
Christianity The Protestant Movement The Protestant Movement Summary: Martin Luther, a 16th century German monk with great frustration over the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and an insistence on the gift of salvation through God’s grace, began a process of Christian reform that eventually moved beyond Catholicism. Anabaptists, English reformers, and evangelical Christians have all continued to change Christian doctrine and the ways that Christians churches are internally organized. The 16th century Protestant Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther, a German monk whose studies of the Bible led him to attack the leadership of the Catholic Church. First, Luther insisted that religious authority lay not primarily in church traditions, nor in the hierarchy of bishops and popes, but in the Bible alone. The teaching of the church and its leaders must be judged by the standard and teaching of the Bible, which is the sole authoritative source of the Christian faith. Further, Luther insisted that the Bible and the worship life of the church be translated from Latin into the language of the people, so that all might hear and understand it. From his reading of the New Testament, Luther also concluded that salvation is by God’s grace alone, not by virtue of anything one might do to merit it. And salvation is by faith alone, by the disposition of the heart, not by any penance a priest may prescribe. Luther especially objected to what were known as “indulgences” sold by the church to assure one’s own well-being in the afterlife or the well-being of those who had already died. -
Race, Risk, and Real Estate in the Development of the Home Ownership State
Risky Business: Race, Risk, and Real Estate in the Development of the Home Ownership State by Amanda R. Tillotson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work and Political Science) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor John E. Tropman, Co-Chair Associate Professor Robert W. Mickey, Co-Chair Professor Nancy E. Burns Associate Professor Karen M. Staller DEDICATION To my children and their families ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The process of completing this dissertation has been fraught, and it ultimately was possible only because I received a great deal of assistance. I would like to thank John Tropman, Laura Lein, Rob Mickey, and Berit Ingersoll Dayton for convincing me that it might be possible to accomplish this, after all. I am grateful to John Tropman, Karen Staller, Rob Mickey, and Nancy Burns for insightful comments along the way. Mariah Zeisberg, Hanes Walton Jr. and Mary Corcoran also provided excellent comments and encouragement at various stages. Fellow participants on panels at the American Political Science Association, the Midwestern Political Science Association, the Political Theory workshop and the American History Workshop at the University of Michigan, and the Race, Law and History Seminar at the University of Michigan Law School made helpful comments on various iterations of this work, as did referees for the DePaul Journal for Social Justice. I first became interested in the idea of risk as a result of reading Freaks of Fortune by Jonathan Levy, and this book has continued to inform my thinking. My interest in issues of race and property was spurred by discussions in Thomas Green’s seminar on inequality at the University of Michigan Law School. -
Fair Housing Choice Report
Regional Section February 2012 BALTIMORE METRO AREA ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE 2. REGIONAL PROFILE ...................................................................... 4 I. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4 II. Regional Overview .................................................................................................... 6 III. Demographic Profile ................................................................................................. 6 a. Population Trends ....................................................................................................... 6 b. Areas of Racial and Ethnic Minority Concentration ..................................................... 8 c. Residential Segregation Patterns ............................................................................... 9 d. Persons with Limited English Proficiency .................................................................. 10 IV. Economic Profile ..................................................................................................... 12 a. Race/Ethnicity and Income ....................................................................................... 12 b. Concentrations of LMI Persons ................................................................................. 14 c. Disability and Income ................................................................................................ 14 d. Familial Status and Income ...................................................................................... -
Lending in the Modern Era: Does Racial Composition of Neighborhoods Matter When Individuals Seek Home Financing? a Pilot Study in New England
Lending in the Modern Era: Does Racial Composition of Neighborhoods Matter When Individuals Seek Home Financing? A Pilot Study in New England Meghan Kuebler* Department of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York This article explores the relationship between racial composition of neighborhoods and approval and origination of mortgages. It measures independent neighborhood effects, above and beyond applicant race effects preceding the recent housing mar- ket crisis for rental and owner-occupied homes. Mortgage applications are selected from the dozen most populated metropolitan areas in New England. Applications are linked to corresponding neighborhood data and generalized linear mixed mod- eling is applied. Data include prehousing market crash Housing Mortgage Disclo- sure Act data matched to American Community Survey 5-year data for over one mil- lion applications. Findings indicate, although controlling for income, gender, and race of the applicant, poverty and tenure, and additional socioeconomic variables, neighborhood racial composition has a statistically significant effect on whether mort- gages are approved and originated. Minority presence is correlated with a negative effect on mortgage origination regardless of race of the individual loan applicant. More specifically, whites’ applications are also turned down in minority neighbor- hoods, especially black neighborhoods. INTRODUCTION The recent housing foreclosure crisis warrants further investigation into lending practices and the criteria by which mortgage credit is issued (Rugh and Massey, 2010). Research is lacking on the mortgage crisis at the neighborhood level (Vesselinov and Beveridge, 2011). Minority neighborhoods were disproportionately affected by the housing market crash, meriting inquiry into lending patterns leading up to this tumultuous economic pe- riod (Spader and Quercia, 2008; Vesselinov and Beveridge, 2011). -
Innovation and the Resilience of Religion1
1 Innovation and the Resilience of Religion Sriya Iyer2 Chander Velu3 Jun Xue4 Tirthankar Chakravarty5 21 December 2010 1 This work has been funded by the Spiritual Capital Research Program, sponsored by the Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science, with the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation. Iyer is also grateful for research grant support to the Isaac Newton Trust, University of Cambridge. We are especially indebted to Indicus Analytics, Laveesh Bhandari, Siddartha Dutta, Shaheen Ansari, Gaurav Munjal, Suryakant Yadav, and the Indicus team who assisted us in helping collect the data for the India religion survey. For excellent research assistance we thank Rachana Shanbhogue, Abdul Mumit, Paul Sweeny and Nitika Khaitan. For helpful discussions we thank Robert Barro, Eli Berman, Partha Dasgupta, Sanjeev Goyal, Larry Iannaccone, Ben Jann, Timur Kuran, Rachel McCleary, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Melvyn Weeks, and the other participants of the Spiritual Capital Research Program. For helpful comments we thank lecture series participants at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. 2 Corresponding author: Faculty of Economics and St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DD, United Kingdom. Tel: 44 1223 335257. Email: [email protected] 3 Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. [email protected] 4 [email protected] 5 University of California, San Diego. [email protected] 1 Abstract This paper examines innovations to religious and non-religious service provision by religious organizations in India. We present a stylized Hotelling-style model in which two religious organizations position themselves at opposite locations to differentiate themselves on the religious spectrum in order to compete to attract adherents. -
Religious Studies A.A
Religious Studies A.A. Curriculum Code: 0751 Effective: Fall 2021 – Summer 2026 Description This degree is designed for students who intend to transfer to a four-year college or university to pursue a baccalaureate degree in this subject area. Students completing this curriculum will also satisfy the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) between two-year and four-year institutions in Michigan and qualify for an LCC Transfer Studies Certificate of Achievement (1482). Additional Information A student must earn a minimum grade of 2.0 in all courses. Contact Information Contact the Social Science and Humanities Department, Arts and Sciences Building, Room 2203, telephone number 517-483-1018, or the Academic Advising Department, Gannon Building – StarZone, telephone number 517-483-1904. General Education – Transfer Degrees (MTA), Recommended Courses (For the full list of options, see General Education) English Composition – Select one ENGL 121, Composition I, 4 credits / 4 billing hours ENGL 131, Honors Composition I, 4 credits / 4 billing hours English Composition (second course)/Communications – Select one ENGL 122, Composition II, 4 credits / 4 billing hours ENGL 132, Honors Composition II, 4 credits / 4 billing hours Humanities and Fine Arts Program of Study Required courses will meet this requirement Mathematics – Select one MATH 119, Math Applications for Living, 4 credits / 4 billing hours MATH 120, College Algebra, 4 credits / 4 billing hours STAT 170, Introduction to Statistics, 4 credits / 4 billing hours STAT 215, Intro to Probability -
Statement on Diversity: As a Subfield of Religious Studies, the Study of Comparative Mysticism Has Been Dominated by Male White Western Scholars Since Its Inception
California Institute of Integral Studies EWP9566: ADVANCED Ph.D. SEMINAR: COMPARATIVE MYSTICISM Spring 2014 (3 units) Thursdays 3:00pm-6:00pm (Jan 30-Mar 13; Mar 27-May 1); Saturday 10-5pm (May 10) Instructor: Jorge N. Ferrer, PhD. Tel. (415) 575-6262; email: [[email protected]]. Course Description: In the spirit of dialogue and inquiry, this advanced seminar provides an in-depth exploration of the field of comparative mysticism. After discussing the various meanings of the term “mysticism,” an overview of the field of comparative mysticism and its methodological foundations will be offered. We will discuss the major horizons of the field, as well as the main families of interpretive models in the field: typological, perennialist, constructivist, feminist, neo-perennialist, evolutionary, contextualist, postmodern, pluralist, and participatory. Topical sessions will address five contemporary areas of inquiry in the study of mysticism: (1) the intermonastic dialogue, (2) mysticism and gender, (3) embodiment and erotic mysticism, (4) the ethics of mysticism, and (5) psychedelic research and mystical experience. Students select two mystical traditions, authors, notions or phenomena and compare them applying one of the models studied or their own comparative approach. Students are encouraged to approach the study of mystics and mystical texts from an empathic, participatory, and contemplative perspective. Summary of Educational Purpose: The main purpose of this course is to deepen students’ knowledge of classic and contemporary approaches to the study of mystical phenomena and comparative mysticism. An additional objective is to guide students in the selection of the most appropriate comparative approach for their research interests. Learning Objectives: After completing this course, students will be able to: 1. -
Religious Fundamentalism in Eight Muslim‐
JOURNAL for the SCIENTIFIC STUDY of RELIGION Religious Fundamentalism in Eight Muslim-Majority Countries: Reconceptualization and Assessment MANSOOR MOADDEL STUART A. KARABENICK Department of Sociology Combined Program in Education and Psychology University of Maryland University of Michigan To capture the common features of diverse fundamentalist movements, overcome etymological variability, and assess predictors, religious fundamentalism is conceptualized as a set of beliefs about and attitudes toward religion, expressed in a disciplinarian deity, literalism, exclusivity, and intolerance. Evidence from representative samples of over 23,000 adults in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey supports the conclusion that fundamentalism is stronger in countries where religious liberty is lower, religion less fractionalized, state structure less fragmented, regulation of religion greater, and the national context less globalized. Among individuals within countries, fundamentalism is linked to religiosity, confidence in religious institutions, belief in religious modernity, belief in conspiracies, xenophobia, fatalism, weaker liberal values, trust in family and friends, reliance on less diverse information sources, lower socioeconomic status, and membership in an ethnic majority or dominant religion/sect. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding fundamentalism and the need for further research. Keywords: fundamentalism, Islam, Christianity, Sunni, Shia, Muslim-majority countries. INTRODUCTION -
Martin Luther’S New Doctrine of Salvation That Resulted in a Break from the Catholic Church and the Establishment of Lutheranism
DO NOW WHAT DOES THE WORD REFORM MEAN? WHAT DO YOU THINK IT MEANS REGARDING THE CHURCH? Learning Targets and Intentions of the Lesson I Want Students To: 1. KNOW the significance of Martin Luther’s new doctrine of salvation that resulted in a break from the Catholic church and the establishment of Lutheranism. 2. UNDERSTAND the way humanism and Erasmus forged the Reformation. 3. Analyze (SKILL) how Calvinism replaced Lutheranism as the most dynamic form of Protestantism. Essential Question. What caused the Protestant Reformation? REFORMATION RE FORM TO DO TO MAKE AGAIN BUT DO OVER/MAKE WHAT AGAIN?THE CHURCH! Definitions Protest Reform To express strong To improve by objection correcting errors The Protestant Reformation 5 Problems in the Church • Corruption • Political Conflicts Calls for Reform • John Wycliffe (1330-1384) – Questioned the authority of the pope • Jan Hus (1370-1415) – Criticized the vast wealth of the Church • Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536) – Attacked corruption in the Church Corruption • The Church raised money through practices like simony and selling indulgences. Advantages of Buying Indulgences Go Directly to Heaven! • Do not go to Hell! • Do not go to Purgatory! • Get through Purgatory faster! • Do not pass Go! Martin Luther Who was Martin Luther? • Born in Germany in 1483. • After surviving a violent storm, he vowed to become a monk. • Lived in the city of Wittenberg. • Died in 1546. Luther Looks for Reforms • Luther criticized Church practices, like selling indulgences. • He wanted to begin a discussion within the Church about the true path to salvation. • Stresses faith over He nailed his Ninety- works, rejected church Five Theses, or as intermediary. -
Religious Inequality in America
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Departmental Papers (Sociology) Penn Sociology 6-2018 Religious Inequality in America Melissa J. Wilde University of Pennsylvania Patricia Tevington University of Pennsylvania Wensong Shen University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/sociology_papers Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Wilde, Melissa, Patricia Tevington, and Wensong Shen. 2018. "Religious Inequality in America." Social Inclusion 6 (2): 107-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/si.v6i2.1447 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/sociology_papers/53 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Religious Inequality in America Abstract Sociology has largely ignored class differences between American religious groups under the assumption that those differences “are smaller than they used to be and are getting smaller all of the time” (Pyle & Davidson, 2014, p. 195). This article demonstrates that profound class differences remain amongst American religious groups. These differences are as large as—or larger than—commonly examined forms of inequality such as the gender pay gap and the race achievement gap. Using the most popular categorization of American religious groups, we find that egarr dless of the particular measure examined (years of education, income, socioeconomic index score, and proportion of members with at least a bachelor’s degree) Jews and Mainline Protestants are at the top of the socioeconomic ladder and Evangelical Protestants, both black and white, are at the bottom. Furthermore, religious group significantly predicts both years of education and the overall socioeconomic standing of respondents by itself with basic controls. Likewise, both socioeconomic indicators and education significantly predict the likelihood of being in a specific eligiousr tradition on their own with basic controls.