## **Current Studies in the Sociology of Religion**

Edited by Kent R. Kerley

Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in *Religions*

www.mdpi.com/journal/religions

Kent R. Kerley (Ed.)

## **Current Studies in the Sociology of Religion**

This book is a reprint of the special issue that appeared in the online open access journal *Religions* (ISSN 2077-1444) in 2014 (available at: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special\_issues/sociology\_religion).

*Guest Editor* Kent R. Kerley Department of Justice Sciences University of Alabama at Birmingham 1201 University Blvd., Suite 210, Birmingham AL 35294-4562 USA

*Editorial Office* MDPI AG Klybeckstrasse 64 Basel, Switzerland

*Publisher* Shu-Kun Lin

*Managing Editor* Jeremiah R. Zhang

### **1. Edition 2015**

MDPI • Basel • Beijing

ISBN 978-3-03842-018-7

© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. All articles in this volume are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. However, the dissemination and distribution of copies of this book as a whole is restricted to MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

## Table of Contents


### **Stephen M. Merino**


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## List of Contributors

**John Bartkowski**, Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, focuses on the linkages between religion, gender, and family. His forthcoming book, Faith and Lucre (Oxford University Press), examines how religion and public funding influence social service provision among nonprofits.

**Paul Froese** is a Sociology Professor at Baylor University who specializes in comparative historical and cultural sociology. His first book *The Plot to Kill God* explored the effects of religious repression in the Soviet Union and won the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion's best book award. With *America's Four Gods*, he analyzed of how images of God predict moral, social, and political attitudes. He has just completed *On Purpose: A Sociology of Life's Meaning*, an exploration of how people imagine the purpose of life.

**Troy C. Blanchard** is an Associate Dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor in the Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University (LSU). He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from LSU in 2001. He is a demographer with research interests in the areas of migration, health, socioeconomic inequality, demographic methods, and social impact assessment.

**Casey Borch** obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in Quantitative Methods from the University of Connecticut and Masters in Sociology from the University of South Carolina. He has published research articles in the fields of social psychology, political and economic sociology, and demography. He is currently a statistical consultant with the Pequot Consulting Group and involved in several community-based outreach programs as well as in the analysis of internal migration trends and patterns in Alabama and the U.S.

**R. Khari Brown** is an Associate Professor in the department of sociology at Wayne State University and an adjunct research scientist at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He is currently working on a series of articles on the relationship between race, religion, and social-political attitudes. As a research scientist at ISR, he is working on a grant to collect data on religion, social justice attitudes, and political partisanship in the U.S.

**Roberto Cipriani** is Full Professor of Sociology at the University of Rome 3, where he has been Chairman of the Department of Education. He is Past President of the Italian Sociological Association. He has been Professor of Qualitative Methodology at the University of Buenos Aires, of Sao Paulo (Brazil), and of Recife (UFPE). He is also former Past President of the ISA Research Committee for the Sociology of Religion. He is member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion. His Handbook of Sociology Religion has been translated into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Chinese.

**Heith Copes** is a Professor in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Tennessee. His primary interests lie in understanding the decision making process and identity construction of offenders. He is the author of the monograph, Identity Thieves: Motives and Methods (2012, Northeastern University Press).

**Jessica Deitzer** is a graduate student in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Penn State University. In 2012 she was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at UAB.

**Melinda Lundquist Denton** is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Her research examines the intersection of religion and family life in the United States, with a focus on the religious lives of adolescents and emerging adults. Dr. Denton's publications include two books, A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America's Adolescents with Lisa D. Pearce and Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers with Christian Smith. She currently serves as Book Review Editor of Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

**Kevin D. Dougherty** is Associate Professor of Sociology at Baylor University. He studies religious life in the United States. The topics of his research include religious affiliation patterns, racial/ethnic diversity in congregations, religious participation, and congregational growth and decline. His publications appear in leading academic journals and have been featured in news media such as CNN, National Public Radio, and USA Today.

**Lauren Eason** completed an undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Georgia in 2010 and a Master of Science degree in International Studies from Texas A&M University in 2013. In 2010 she was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at UAB.

**Todd W. Ferguson** is a Ph.D. candidate and Presidential Scholar in the sociology department at Baylor University. His research interests are religion, quantitative methodology, and gender. He principally focuses on religious congregations and their clergy.

**Ginny E. Garcia** received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas A&M University in 2008 and is an assistant professor of Sociology at Portland State University. Her research interests include social demography, health disparities, the study of religion's effects on health, and quantitative methods. Her research agenda focuses on the examination of health disparities in various racial and ethnic populations, religion's role in producing variations in health outcomes including infant mortality and risky behavior, and the study of severe obesity and bariatric surgical outcomes.

**Gordon Gauchat** is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He completed his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Connecticut.

**Michael Hallett** is Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of North Florida. Dr. Hallett's work has appeared in numerous books and journals including Punishment & Society, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Contemporary Justice Review, Critical Criminology and others. Dr. Hallett has served as principal investigator on grants from the US Department of Justice, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Jesse Ball DuPont Foundation, and several other organizations.

**Michael Howell-Moroney** is the Director of the Division of Public and Nonprofit Administration. His areas of specialization include urban affairs, leadership, public economics and research methodology. His work has been published in numerous scholarly journals in the fields of public administration and urban affairs. In addition, he has had numerous extramurally funded research projects, totaling over \$3.1 million, including two grants from the National Science Foundation. He also has a sustained record of engaged scholarship, both at the local and national levels. He has served on numerous boards and contributed on many reports and local community based research projects.

**Melanie A. Hulbert**, M.A., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Western State Colorado University. She has been teaching for eleven years and has done research on work, family, gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity. Her current research examines millennial attitudes on race and ethnicity in the Post-Obama era. Dr. Hulbert is also a frequent speaker at colleges and universities on racial identity, the millennial generation, and gendered communication.

**Catherine A. Jenks**, Ph.D., is the Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment and an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of West Georgia (UWG). She received her Ph.D. in criminology from Florida State University in 2006. Her teaching and research interests include survey research, law and society, and civility. Dr. Jenks co-founded and served as the Director of the Survey Research Center at UWG from 2007-2013. She was the recipient of UWG's College of Arts and Sciences' Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009. Prior to UWG, she worked as a survey coordinator for the RAND Corporation.

**Byron Johnson** is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University. He is the founding director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) as well as director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior. He is currently working on a longitudinal study of courtreferred adolescents and 12-Step recovery (www.helpingotherslivesober.org).

**Lee "Mike" Johnson** is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of West Georgia. He conducts research in the areas of juvenile delinquency, criminal victimization, and juvenile offender treatment. He has published articles on these subjects as well as corrections and policing. He is also author of a monograph, *Professional Misconduct against Juveniles in Correctional Treatment Settings* (Anderson/Elsevier), and editor of a book, *Experiencing Corrections: From Practitioner to Professor* (Sage).

**Kent R. Kerley** is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Tennessee. His primary research interests include corrections and religiosity. He is the author of the monograph, *Religious Faith in Correctional Contexts* (2014, First Forum Press/Lynne Rienner Publishers). His research has also appeared in top journals such as *Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion*, *Justice Quarterly, Social Forces*, and *Social Problems*. He has received funding for his research from the National Science Foundation and the Religious Research Association.

**Lindsay Leban** is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida. She received her bachelor's degree in sociology from Florida Gulf Coast University. In 2012 she was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at UAB. She is the 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Student for the Southern Criminal Justice Association.

**Alana J. Linn** completed an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Davidson College in 2011. In 2010 she was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at UAB.

**Todd Matthews** is an Associate Professor of Social Sciences and Coordinator of the Organizational Leadership Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland. His doctorate is in Sociology from Mississippi State University. Todd is a broadly trained social scientist and scholar who teaches and conducts research on research methodology, environmental inequalities, poverty and health, civic involvement, trust, and religion (among other topics). His research has appeared in numerous book chapters, as well as the journals *Social Forces*, *Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion*, *Review of Religious Research, Religions, Sociological Inquiry*, *Sociological Spectrum*, and others.

**Stephen Merino** is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the The University of Texas-Pan American. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from The Pennsylvania State University in 2012. His primary academic interests are sociology of religion, race/ethnicity, social psychology, social networks, and intergroup relations.

**Ariana Mishay** Stone completed an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Xavier University of New Orleans in 2010. She is currently employed with Teach for America in San Antonio, Texas, where she teaches 7th grade science. In 2010 she was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at UAB.

**Minh H. Nguyen** completed an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Louisiana State University in 2010 and a Master of Social Work degree from Southern University of New Orleans in 2014. In 2010 he was selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

**Tom O'Connor** has degrees in law, philosophy, theology and counseling, and a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America that focused on Religion and Culture in the US Penal System. Tom was the head chaplain and a research manager with the Oregon Department of Corrections. Tom is an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice at Western Oregon University, and CEO of Transforming Corrections whose mission is to create a more compassionate, less costly, and more effective criminal justice system. Tom's work on system change has taken him across the US and internationally to New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and France.

**Ashley Palmer** earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Baylor University where her research specialized in the qualitative study of religion, marriage, and family. She is currently an M.F.A. candidate in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington with concentrations in creative nonfiction and poetry.

**Joshua Rendon** received his Masters from the University of Texas at San Antonio. His research examines trends in religion and its impact on marriage and family.

**Gabriella Pusztai**, (PhD 2002, DSc 2013 in Sociology of Education), is a Professor at the University of Debrecen and director of CHERD (Center for Higher Education research and Development). Her main research areas include the roles of the NGO's in educational provisions, church-run sector of educational system, as well as the influence of student networks on the academic career of students. Most important publications: School and Community (2004, Hungarian), Education and Church in Central- and Eastern-Europe at First Glance (2008, with contributors), Church Related Higher Education in Eastern and Central Europe (2009, with contributors, Hungarian).

**Samuel Stroope** is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Louisiana State University. His primary interests are health, stratification, and religion. His work has appeared in Social Science Research, The Sociological Quarterly, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Sociology of Religion, and other social science journals.

**Charles M. Tolbert**, **II**, Ph.D., obtained his doctorate from the University of Georgia in 1980. He is presently Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Baylor University. He is also a research scientist at Baylor's Center for Community Research and Development and a Research Associate with Special Sworn Status at the Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. His research has appeared in social science journals such as the *American Sociological Review*, *American Journal of Sociology*, *Rural Sociology*, *Social Forces*, *Social Science Quarterly*,

*Environment and Planning A*, *Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy, and Society* and in policy outlets such as *Rural Perspectives* and *American Demographics*. Tolbert's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and Labor.

**Matthew West** completed an undergraduate degree in Sociology from The University of Tennessee in 2009 and a Master of Science degree in Sociology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011.

**Xiaohe Xu** is Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan. His research explores the changing trends in marriage and family relationships in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. His research has appeared in such journals as Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Family Violence, Journal for Scientific Study of Religion, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Youth & Society.

## Editor's Introduction to "Current Studies in the Sociology of Religion"

The study of religion as an academic discipline is a rather recent development in colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Although French sociologist Émile Durkheim wrote extensively about the role of religion in public life in the early 1900s, it was not until the 1960s that researchers from social science backgrounds, predominately sociology, began the formal, empirical study of religion as a social force that may impact a wide range of individual and societal outcomes.

This special issue of *Religions* brings together scholars from around the world who use diverse methodologies to study the impact of religion on a broad range of outcomes. The issue thus provides a unique snapshot of current work being done in the sociology of religion. In these 18 articles, readers will find a great mix of data-driven studies (both quantitative and qualitative) and conceptual/review papers. The articles also reflect a diversity of authors, locations, topics, and faith traditions. I am pleased that many of the papers include undergraduate and graduate students as co-authors. These collaborations are important for maintaining the continuity of high-quality research over time.

One final feature is that I asked authors to include a section at or near the end of each article on how their work fits into the sociology of religion literature and how others may contribute. It is not uncommon for authors to conclude their studies with only a passing reference to overall significance for the field, future directions in research, or policy implications. Given the deeply personal and public aspects of faith, it is crucial that we think carefully about the implications of our work.

Section I is entitled *Empirical Research on Congregations and Denominational Variations.* The eight papers in this section address important sociological topics such as infant mortality, religious participation, fertility, racial segregation, marital naming, congregational strictness, housing preferences, and marriage timing. These topics are analyzed within the context of faith congregations and denominational differences on the topics. In all of these studies, the authors used well-respected data sources, such as the Baylor Religion Survey, General Social Survey, Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, and the World Values Survey.

Section II is entitled *Empirical Research on Social Institutions and Deviance*. The five papers in this section focus less on specific denominational variations in particular outcomes, and more on how religion impacts the lives of adherents. The authors address how religiosity – an attitudinal and behavioral commitment to a faith tradition – may impact foster care and adoption decisions, crime desistance, recovery from drug addiction, fear of crime, and faith-based schooling.

Section III is entitled *Conceptual and Review Papers*. Rather than data-driven papers as in the previous sections, this section contains in-depth reviews of these five religionoriented topics: prayer, politics, faith-based prison programs, varieties of religious and spiritual practice in prison, and Hinduism in India. The review papers include cogent summaries of academic and, where applicable, popular literature.

I hope that readers will be pleased with the breadth, depth, and diversity of these 18 papers. I thank the authors for these important works, as well as editors and staff members from *Religions* and MDPI. May we all be proud of this project.

Kent R. Kerley *Guest Editor*
