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Sociological Association Section on Sociology of Religion |
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Volume VII, Number 1
Fall 2000 Contents: From the Chair Officers of the Section Chair: Council: Nancy T. Ammerman With the 2000 meetings in Washington barely
behind us, it seems much too early to be thinking about next year’s program
– but that’s exactly what many of us are already doing. Meeting in Anaheim,
the ASA program theme in 2001 will be "Cities of the Future." I want
to urge Section members to submit papers for sessions in various segments of the
ASA program. Much of our work bears on the ways in which cities of the future
cannot be understood without attention to the religious organizations, ideas,
and movements that are located in them and seek to shape them. In addition to regular ASA sessions, of
course, the Section will sponsor three sessions and an hour of roundtable
discussions. Descriptions of these sessions and information on submission are
included in this newsletter. Plan now to participate. As we enter our seventh year as a Section, I
think we have much to celebrate. I was especially struck this year by the extent
to which the analysis of religion was present in a growing variety of sessions
throughout the ASA program. Sessions on voluntary organizations, on social
capital, networks, race, global civil society, symbolic interaction, and more,
highlighted the extent to which the study of religion is making its way into
many corners of the field. When I attended a meeting of the AJS editorial board
with my section officer badge on, several other editors commented on how
religion is becoming a "hot topic" in the field. That growing
recognition is something to applaud and nurture. Still, I also noted that students presenting
new work in this field do not always seem to have the benefit of deep faculty
resources. Papers well-informed by general social theories sometimes lacked
attention to theoretical and substantive distinctions common among sociologists
of religion. Presenters of such papers were often students in departments
lacking any faculty support in the field. Among the active students who replied
to our Section survey of student members, for instance, half have no more than
one faculty member who can actively support their work on religion. My suspicion
is that the 18% who report that they have no faculty support are but the
tip of the iceberg. (We’ll report in more detail on the survey in the winter
newsletter.) While we can be gratified by the growing interest in sociology of
religion, we still have work to do in establishing our field as an essential
part of every department’s faculty roster. Finally, I want to say a warm word of thanks
to Pat McNamara for the wonderfully productive year he gave us as Section Chair.
We have much to celebrate and much still to do. Thanks, Pat, for bringing us so
far along the way! Nancy Tatom Ammerman is Professor of Sociology
of Religion at Hartford Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Having received the Ph.D. degree from Yale University, she previously taught on
the faculty at Emory University and has held visiting appointments at Princeton,
Yale, Notre Dame, and Columbia Universities. She has written extensively on
congregational life in the United States, including Congregation and
Community (Rutgers University Press, 1997), and took up issues of religious
commitment in late twentieth century society in her presidential address to the
Association for the Sociology of Religion ("Organized Religion in a
Voluntaristic Society"). Earlier, she examined life in a conservative
Christian congregation in Bible Believers: Fundamentalists in the Modern
World (Rutgers University Press, 1987) and contributed essays to "The
Fundamentalism Project." Her 1990 book Baptist Battles: Social Change
and Religious Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention won the
Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
In 1993, she was called on by the Justice and Treasury Departments to assess the
lessons to be learned from the Branch Davidian disaster, and she has continued
to take a lively interest in issues of religion and public life. Thanks to Those
Who Have Served Our Section Patrick McNamara, who served as Chair, and
Christian Smith and Patricia Wittberg, who served on Council. Congratulations to Those Who Won This Year’s
Election Rhys Williams, Chair-Elect,
and Penny Edgell Becker and Michael Emerson, our
new Council members. Call
for Papers 2001 Section Sessions The Sociology of Religion Section will sponsor
three regular sessions as part of the 2001 ASA Program. Papers may be submitted
by any ASA member, and the deadline is January 10, 2001. Watch for further
details in the ASA Call for Papers. Themes and organizers for the Section
sessions include: Organizer: Patricia M. Y. Chang "Futures for Urban Religion: New
Forms, New Faiths, New Seekers" Organizer: Michael Emerson "African American Religious
Experience: New Models and Changing Spaces" Organizer: Cheryl Townsend Gilkes Organizer: James Cavendish Call For Papers 2001
Joint Section/ASR Sessions Please send completed paper by January 10,
2001 for consideration in these sessions to: "Mainstream Participants, Marginal
Religions: The New Age, Witchcraft, and Neo-Paganism" "The Centering, Decentering, and
Recentering of Religion in Urban Contexts" "Generational Cohort Differences in
Religiosity/Spirituality" From the meeting on AUGUST 13,
2000, 8:40 a.m., at WASHINGTON DC. Thirty members attended the sixth annual
business meeting of the Sociology of Religion Section of the American
Sociological Association. Patrick McNamara, Chair, opened the meeting, greeting
those present. After the 1999 business meeting minutes,
published in the Section newsletter, were approved unanimously, McNamara asked
for the Treasurer's report. Adair Lummis, Secretary-Treasurer, handed out sheets
giving the 1999 final income and expenditures, the income and expenditures to
date for the 2000 budget, and the proposed 2001 budget. She explained that at
the end of 1999, the Section had a carry-over of $1,625.41. By mail votes in the
winter and spring of 2000, Council members approved two expenses not in the 2000
budget to be taken out of carry-over funds if necessary: $222.90 for the
purchase of address lists of faculty who teach sociology of religion; and $500
to pay half the cost of a survey of graduate student members of the Section (Rod
Stark paid the remaining $500 directly to those collating the survey results).
The Treasurer then presented the draft of the 2001 budget. She explained that
the current and incoming Section Chairs asked that there be a special line in
the 2001 budget of $500 for "Section Development", so that the
research on faculty and graduate students interested in the sociology of
religion which was begun in 2000 could be continued into 2001. Adding this cost
for "Section Development" to the proposed 2001 Section budget will
raise the anticipated expenses $500 over the expected income for the Section.
She pointed out to Council, however, that there will be at least $1,000
carry-over of funds expected at the end of 2000, which would leave a safe margin
of $500 for carry-over into 2002. The budget was approved without dissent. McNamara then turned to Madeleine Cousineau,
chair of the web site committee, to give a report. She said that the web site
has improved immensely, in large part due to the efforts of her committee, Nancy
Ammerman, Lynn Clark, and Scott Thumma. The web site, generally maintained by
ASA, is updated regularly by Cousineau and her committee. She asked for
suggestions from Section members as to what they would most like to see on the
web site, and especially requested that those chairing committees let her know
who they are and what they are doing for the web. The submission deadlines and
committee chairs of the award committees for best book, article, and student
paper will be on the web site. Nancy Ammerman added that the Section web site
will also include information about organizations that provide funding for
research, including links to their web sites. Ammerman further mentioned that
the Section has a listserve of e-mail addresses of members, which is maintained
and updated by ASA once a month. The listserve can be used to alert people to
new things posted on the web site, and serve as a channel of disseminating
time-sensitive critical material in addition to print. McNamara thanked those
who had worked on the web site. Mary Jo Neitz, chair of the nominations
committee which included Helen Rose Ebaugh, Nancy Eiesland, and Chris Smith,
announced that two new members of Council have been elected: Penny Becker and
Michael Emerson. The new newsletter editor is Joe Tamney. For 2000-2001 the
graduate student representative appointed to Council is Robert Woodberry. In
2001-2002, the by-laws change will have gone into effect and therefore in the
next election the graduate student representative will be elected. Neitz
reminded Section members that Pat McNamara will be the next chair of the
nominations committee, and suggestions for names should be forwarded to him. The
other members of the nominations committee for 2000-2001 will be Robert Beckley,
Loretta Morris, and Milagros Pena. The following awards were made in August,
2000: Penny Edgell Becker won the book award for Congregations in Conflict:
Cultural Models of Local Religious Life, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
(The book award committee was chaired by Larry Greil and included Mansoor
Moadell and John Wilson.) The winner of the best article award is Rhys H.
Williams, "Visions of the Good Society and the Religious Roots of American
Political Culture" pp. 1-34 in Sociology of Religion, 60, Spring
1999. (The article award committee was chaired by Helen Berger and included Pat
Wittberg and Harriet Hartman.) Bradford Wilcox won the best student paper award
(a paper which has been published): "Conservative Protestant Childbearing:
Authoritarian or Authoritative?" pp. 796-809 in the American
Sociological Review, 63, 1998. (The student paper committee was chaired by
David Yamane and included Nancy Eiesland and Roger Finke.) McNamara reported
that in the Council meeting they had worked on a codification of the procedures
for these award committees; particularly the terms of appointment of the three
committee chairs. Although a proposed amendment had been discussed in Council,
it was tabled for further work and later reformulation. McNamara next brought up the possibility of
one of the three Section newsletters being on the web site, reporting that the
Sociology of Education Section has done this, saving them about $600. He
summarized the discussion of this matter in Council, mentioning that several
voiced strong preferences on receiving all in print form, either because they do
not automatically check web sites for newsletters or anything else, or do not
want to take the trouble of printing out the newsletter, and are generally
unlikely to read the newsletter if it does not come as regular mail. Similar
comments were made in the business meeting. Madeleine Cousineau suggested the
possibility of "transitioning" into having one newsletter on the web,
allowing some to get hard copies of all newsletters for a while. Rhys Williams
asked for what purpose the Section was trying to save money, since it seemed to
be financially quite stable. McNamara responded such money could be used for
possible research agendas and gathering of resources for this use and the web.
Marie Cornwall suggested that the Section think more about what material needed
to go into the printed newsletter and what might be better disseminated over the
web or e-mail listserv, and consider the cost solution of SSSR which just has
two newsletters a year, both mailed. McNamara noted that the discussion
indicated that these decisions are complex and will take more thought over the
next year or so. The first results of the survey of graduate
student members of the Section were presented by Pat McNamara. Students and
others sent in suggestions for questions to include, and Nancy Ammerman and
Steve Warner edited the many submissions into a survey. This survey was mailed
in April, resulting in 63 out of 162 responding, or a 39% return rate. The April
mailing and the likelihood that not all graduate student members of the Section
have a primary interest in the sociology of religion, were suggested as probable
reasons for a lower than hoped-for response rate. Among students responding,
three-fourths are writing or intend to write a doctoral dissertation focusing on
religion. McNamara was glad to report that the majority of these graduate
students do not seem to feel isolated or indifferently treated in their
departments; rather most responding have good library resources for research in
the sociology of religion, and peers as well as faculty who are interested in
their work. Bob Woodberry will be doing further analysis of this survey. McNamara thanked all those he has worked with
over the year as Chair, and introduced the new Chair, Nancy Ammerman. She
announced that the 2001 ASA meeting in Anaheim would have the theme "Cities
of the Future." As Section program chair, she and her committee of Jim
Cavendish, Patty Chang, and Mike Emerson, will be planning sessions in this
area; she asked Section members to send them session ideas and papers. The
business meeting was adjourned at 9:30. Respectfully submitted, Adair T. Lummis Congratulations to the Graduate Student Paper
Award Winner W. Bradford Wilcox, "Conservative
Protestant Childrearing: Authoritarian or Authoritative?" American
Sociological Review 63 (1998), 796-809. Congratulations to the Author Receiving
Honorable Mention Mark Regnerus, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, "Moral Communities and Adolescent Delinquency: Subcultural
Aspects of Social Disorganization." Congratulations to the Winner of our
Distinguished Book Award Penny Edgell Becker, Congregations in
Conflict: Cultural Models of Local Religious Life. Cambridge University
Press, 1999. Congratulations to the Winner of our
Distinguished Article Award Rhys H. Williams, "Visions of the Good
Society and the Religious Roots of American Political Culture." Sociology
of Religion 60, 1 (Spring, 1999), 1-34. Fichter
Research Grant Competition 2001 Applications are invited from scholars
anticipating promising research on women and religion, gender issues, and
feminist perspectives on religion. For the 2001 competition, a total of $10,000
is available to be awarded. Dissertation research qualifies for funding.
Scholars at the beginning of their careers are particularly encouraged to apply. Applicants must be members of the Association
for the Sociology of Religion at the time of submission. Membership information
is available from the ASR web page: http://www.sociologyofreligion.com A proposal of not more than five double-spaced
pages should outline the rationale and plan of research. Review briefly previous
research and theory that forms the background for the study, describe methods
and timetable, and summarize succinctly what the research aims to discover. A
detailed, one-page budget should be attached, indicating the amount being
applied for and the exact purposes for which it will be used. Include a brief
curriculum vitae. Simultaneous submissions to other grant
competitions are permissible if the applicant is explicit about which budget
items in the Fichter grant proposal do not overlap items in other submitted
proposals. All submissions must be postmarked by March 1,
2001. Awards will be announced by May 1, 2001. Send four copies of the proposal,
budget and c.v. to: Lori G. Beaman, Chair Reflections
on a Visit to Tehran, Iran For the past five years I have been involved
in an international comparative study of Muslim religiosity which involved
surveying about 4500 respondents in Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Kazakstan.
One of the key findings of this study is that integration of religion and
politics is strongly related to the decline in trust in religious institutions.(
These and other findings of the study will be published next year in: Faithlines:
Muslim Conceptions of Islam and Society, by the Oxford University Press). In
order to further test this finding I am seeking to extend my study to Iran. In
August this year I visited Tehran to explore the possibility of finding Iranian
colleagues who may be interested in joining me in this research. I was able to have extended discussions about
my research with around 12 people from all walks of life. The Islamic Republic
of Iran is perhaps the most visible and authentic model of an Islamic State in
the modern Muslim world in which religion and politics have been fused together.
One impression I gained from my discussions is that by and large there is
widespread disillusionment with the current political and institutional
configurations of the state. The religious institutions and religious elite do
not enjoy the level of public trust, which they did before the Islamic
Revolution, according to most of my respondents. At the public level the most dramatic evidence
of this is the popularity of the Alternative Thought Movement, led by
philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush, a former ideologue of the Islamic state. The
Alternative Thought Movement has gained widespread support in most sections of
Iranian society, including theology students. They are concerned about the
future of religion as an institution: they feel the basis of its legitimacy and
prerogatives are being eroded amid the growing anti-clericalism in Iranian
society. The Alternative Thought Movement is neither
anti-Islamic nor secular, but seeks to redefine the capacity of religion to
address complex human needs in the modern age. It calls for a hermeneutic
reading of the Quran, rejecting a "single reading" or an exclusive
"expert reading" by the Ulema. The movement seeks to end the
professionalisation of religious interpretation by clergy. It serves as an
implicit critique of the idea of Velayat-I-Faqih, the rule of the supreme
jurist, which is the political basis of Islamic Republic of Iran. It advocates
management of society not through religion but through scientific rationality
and calls for the establishment of a secular democratic state that accommodates
Islam as a faith. Socially the most visible symbol of the
Islamic Revolution is the dress code for women which requires them to dress in
long overalls or chador and a head scarf. However since the election of
President Khatami there has been some relaxation and women are now permitted to
wear clothes other than black, long overalls. They are also permitted to wear
make-up in public. I have no evidence but my general sense is that the dress
codes are by and large resented by women but not by men. Paradoxically, the Islamic Revolution appears
to have been very instrumental in increasing women's participation in higher
education and the labour force which has changed the economic status of Iranian
women. By making the chador compulsory, the Islamic Revolution has unexpectedly
given a powerful boost to the 'emancipation' of women. It has made possible the
mass enrolments in schools and universities of girls whose traditional families
had refused to send them to school in the days of the monarchy when wearing of
the chador was forbidden. Women now make up 50 per cent of the students,
compared with 25 per cent during the time of the Shah. Modestly dressed women
have also entered the labour market in large numbers. Both these developments
have led to the rise of several feminist movements seeking gender equality under
the law, regarding matters such as inheritance and divorce, and in general made
the improvements of women's position in Iran a key plank of the reform agenda. Riaz Hassan General
Social Survey Student Paper Competition The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at
the University of Chicago announces the latest annual General Social Survey
(GSS) Student Paper Competition. To be eligible papers must: 1) be based on
data from the 1972-1998 GSSs or from the GSS's cross-national component, the
International Social
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