VOLUME XI, NUMBER 3, SPRING 2005, www.asanet.org/section34/ SociologySociology ofof ReligionReligion ASASASNewsletter of the SociologyAAA of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association Kevin D. Dougherty, Editor From the Chair Our section was formed in 1995 to give the sociology of religion a visible presence in the ASA. Ten years later the section boasts 529 members (18th of 44 sections) and, with approximately one third of the members being students, the future looks bright indeed. But holding a visible presence in the ASA requires more than a large membership. Our research and teaching should inform the larger discipline and the annual meeting provides an ideal forum for having this impact. Below I highlight a few of the areas where our presence should be felt. ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS First, we need to continue establishing professional networks outside the sociology of Monday, August 15th ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ religion. The importance of networks is obvious Joint ASA/ASR sessions for sociologists, but we often ignore it. As a card- One section paper session carrying introvert, I am frequently guilty of Final day of sessions at ASR leaving this task to others. But for both the Section reception visibility of the section and for the benefit of our own research and teaching, we need to move th ○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○○ Tuesday, August 16 beyond our comfort zone. Every annual meeting Three section paper sessions Inside presents these opportunities, but this year’s joint Section roundtables reception with the Comparative and Historical Section and the Rationality and Society Section Section business meeting PAGE 2 offers us an additional chance to interact with From the ASR Program Chair sociologists outside our section. Make an effort to meet scholars outside your area of interest. Second, attend sessions without religion in the title. Some of the most exciting insights PAGE 3 can be found by attending sessions that explore similar research questions but hold a Section Paper Sessions different substantive interest. How can our work benefit from the research and theory of other sections, and how can our research inform the work of others? In recent years there PAGE 4 has been a rich melding of ideas in the areas of health, life course, and religion. The melding ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Section Roundtables has improved the research of all involved. Our work should overlap and influence research and teaching in all areas of sociology. PAGE 5 The most important way we can increase the visibility and impact of our section, Other Papers and Sessions however, is to have interesting and stimulating sessions. Thanks to the program committee of Darren Sherkat, Penny Edgell, John Bartkowski, and Lisa Pearce, this meeting will have an PAGE 6 abundance of interesting sessions. Our section will host four paper sessions and a diverse New Colleagues array of roundtables, ASA will sponsor additional sessions on religion, the Aging and the Life Course Section will devote a session to religion and aging, and the Association for the PAGE 7 Sociology of Religion will again host two joint sessions with ASA. But even the best sessions Member News and Notes and roundtables can fall flat without an engaging discussion of the research. Join the Call for Papers sessions and engage in the discussions. Finally, our visibility is also increased by our partnership with the Association for the PAGE 8 Sociology of Religion (ASR). I want to thank the ASR for moving their meeting dates to better From the Editor complement our own. After the ASR/ASA joint sessions and a section paper session are held Employment Announcement on Monday, August 15th, our section will host a joint reception in the evening. Three Submission Information additional section paper sessions, the roundtables, and the business meeting will follow on Correction Tuesday the 16th. Let’s make our presence felt. See you in Philly. ROGER FINKE, Pennsylvania State University 2 Spring 2005 ASA Sociology of Religion Section Newsletter From the ASR Program Chair Section Officers 2004-2005 For the first time ever, the annual meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion will Chair overlap for three days with the ASA meetings, Roger Finke, [email protected] from August 13-15. Without having to arrive in Philadelphia early, you can attend the entire ASR Chair-elect meeting as a prelude to ASA Religion Section day Christopher Ellison, [email protected] on Tuesday, August 16. This year’s program theme is “Religion, Politics, Past-chair and the State at Home and Abroad.” Of the 49 R. Stephen Warner, [email protected] sessions planned, 17 of them are thematic. In 22 of the panels, at least one paper includes Secretary/Treasurer consideration of international or global issues. Richard Wood, [email protected] Meeting highlights will include Jay Demerath’s Presidential Address, the Furfey Lecture by one of Council India’s leading public intellectuals, Dipankar John T. Bartkowski, [email protected] Gupta, a session on the 20th anniversary of Kraig Beyerlein, [email protected] Habits of the Heart, six author-meets-critics Michael O. Emerson, [email protected] sessions, and three “didactic” sessions aimed at Sally Gallagher, [email protected] younger scholars (two on publishing and one on Cheryl Townsend Gilke, [email protected] research). The didactic sessions will include the Jerry Park, [email protected] editor of the American Sociological Review, book Mark Regnerus, [email protected] editors from Rutgers University Press, AltaMira David Yamane, [email protected] and Rowman & Littlefield, and prominent scholars like Christian Smith. Newsletter Editor We hope you’ll join us at the Radisson Warwick Kevin D. Dougherty, [email protected] Hotel in downtown Philadelphia. For more information, see the ASR website at www.sociologyofreligion.com, or email me at The Sociology of Religion Section of the American Sociological Association encourages and enhances research, teaching, and [email protected]. other professional concerns in the study of religion and society. DAVID YAMANE, Wake Forest University ASA Sociology of Religion Section Newsletter Spring 2005 3 Sociology of Religion Section Paper Sessions Sociology of Religion Session I (August 16, 8:30-10:10 am) • Are Religiously Informed Gender Role Attitudes Related to Support for Homosexuals’ Civil Liberties? Kristin Kenneavy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Church Attendance, Religious Affiliation, and Extramarital Sex, Kurt Gore, University of Texas; Sara Yeatman, University of Texas • Drawing the Line: Views of Atheists and Moral Boundaries in America, Penny Edgell, University of Minnesota; Joseph Gerteis, University of Minnesota; Douglas Hartmann, University of Minnesota • Group Position, Collective Threat, and Anti-Semitism In the U.S., Ryan King, University of Minnesota; Melissa Weiner, University of Minnesota Sociology of Religion Session II (August 15, 4:30-6:10 pm) • Gender and Religion in the United States, 1970 and 1995, Marie Cornwall, Brigham Young University; Catherine Meyers, Brigham Young University • The Impact of Childhood Religious Conservatism on Men’s Work and Family Involvement, Nicole Wolensky, University of Iowa; Jennifer Glass, University of Iowa • Why Biology is not (Religious) Destiny: A Second Look at Gender Differences in Religiosity, Omar Lizardo, University of Arizona; Jessica Collett, University of Arizona • Risky Business: Assessing Risk Preference Explanations for Gender Differences in Religiosity, Jeffrey Kroll, University of Arizona; Louise Roth, University of Arizona Sociology of Religion Session III (August 16, 10:30-12:10 pm) • Reproducing Inequality? Female Education in Christian and Muslim Arab American Families, Jen’nan Read, University of California, Irvine; Sharon Oselin, University of California, Irvine • Unwed Fathers’ Involvement and the Role of Religion, Shawna Anderson, University of Arizona • Can Religion Encourage Homicide? Religious Cosmologies and the Structure of Lethal Violence, Gary Jensen, Vanderbilt University • Religious Giving, Group Identification, and the Boundedness of Rationality, John Hoffmann, Brigham Young University; Catherine Meyers, Brigham Young University; Bruce Lott, Brigham Young University Sociology of Religion Session IV (August 16, 2:30-4:10 pm) • Faith Communities and the British State, James Beckford, University of Warwick • International Institutions and Religious NGO Stratification, Evelyn Bush, Fordham University • Macro and Micro Determinants of Democratic Support in Cross-National Contexts, Daniel Tope, Ohio State University; Katherine Meyer, Ohio State University; Cheryl Sowash, Ohio State University • Redefining Americanness by Reformulating Hinduism: Indian Americans Challenge American Academia, Prema Kurien, Syracuse University 4 Spring 2005 ASA Sociology of Religion Section Newsletter Religion Section Roundtables (August 16, 12:30-1:30 pm) Table 1: Religion, Politics, and Activism Table 5: Religion and Other Institutions Presider: Darren Sherkat, Southern Illinois University Presider: Melissa J. Wilde, Indiana University • Paper 11: Magic Happens: Emotions and Religion at a • Paper 1: Fundamentalism and Globalization of Social Recruiting and Training Event, Elizabeth Education, Zack Kertcher, University of Chicago Williamson, Rutgers University • Paper 2: Much Ado About Nothing: The Myth and • Paper 22: Being Pious under a Theocracy: Religiosity in Ceremony of Faith-Related NGOs, Paul Peters, University