Explaining U.S. civic action: dispositions, networks, religion, and September 11

This dissertation advances our understanding of the enduring theoretical question of why certain people participate in activism while others do not. Contrary to prior theoretical and empirical models of differential participation, it specifies and tests a synthetic model of activism, integrating dispositional and relational perspectives. Because these perspectives have generally been pursued in isolation, our knowledge of the processes that explain activist participation has been limited. Combining dispositional and relational perspectives offers a more comprehensive view of activism by showing how these perspectives work in concert to mobilize people to participate in volunteer efforts in communities. My synthetic model of activism has the additional strength of addressing the important issue of selection versus influence concerning social network and organization effects. This dissertation also examines the demobilizing character of social networks and organizations, which has generally gone unnoticed in scholarship on activist participation until recently. It does so for the case of religious-based activism, considering the hindering effects of integration into quiescent clergy-led congregations and embeddedness in "bonding" religious networks. In addition, this dissertation explicates the pathways through which congregations promote participation in civic engagement in communities, focusing on exposure to encouragement from activist clergy, location in activist religious peer networks, and cultivation of transposable skills. Last, this dissertation focuses on the nature of civic response after the September 11 terrorist attacks, investigating whether tragedy-related factors promoted involvement in efforts to help victims, families of victims, or rescue workers as well as others in communities. It also considers how prosocial dispositions shaped Americans' responses to 9/11 and how these responses in turn affected post-9/11 helping behavior as well as the precise dimensions of social networks and organization that were most important for mobilizing participation in helping behavior after the 9/11 tragedy

Social Capital, Too Much of a Good Thing? American Religious Traditions and Community Crime

Using American religious traditions as measures of bonding and bridging social capital in communities, we empirically test how these different forms of social capital affect crime rates in 3,157 U.S. counties in 2000. Our results suggest that the bonding networks evangelical Protestants promote in communities explain why counties with a greater percentage of residents affiliated with this tradition consistently have higher crime rates. Conversely, our results suggest that the bridging networks mainline Protestants and Catholics foster in communities explain why counties with a greater percentage of residents affiliated with these traditions generally have lower crime rates. This article provides empirical corroboration for recent theoretical discussions that focus on how the social capital groups cultivate in communities need not always benefit communities as a whole

Bridging Alone: Religious Conservatism, Marital Homogamy, and Voluntary Association Membership

This study characterizes social insularity of religiously conservative American married couples by examining patterns of voluntary associationmembership. Constructing a dataset of 3938 marital dyads from the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households, the author investigates whether conservative religious homogamy encourages membership in religious voluntary groups and discourages membership in secular voluntary groups. Results indicate that couples’ shared affiliation with conservative denominations, paired with beliefs in biblical authority and inerrancy, increases the likelihood of religious group membership for husbands and wives and reduces the likelihood of secular group membership for wives, but not for husbands. The social insularity of conservative religious groups appears to be reinforced by homogamy—particularly by wives who share faith with husbands

For Most Churchgoers, Controversy Between Religious Freedom and Public Health is Not Real

This opinion piece focuses on the apparent controversy and discrepancy between state policies around worship services, along with President Trump’s decision to declare houses of worship as essential. The article explores the Christian response to this discrepancy. Despite the view of some Christians that the public health policies made by States are controversial, the article discusses the fact that many Christians agree with the social distancing orders and policies

From Pews to Participation: The Effect of Congregation Activity and Context on Bridging Civic Engagement

"This article identifies two important conditions under which participation in religious congregations influences active involvement in civic organizations that provide charitable services to and establish other types of linkages with residents in the wider community. We find that while the frequently employed measure of religious service attendance has minimal effects on participation in bridging types of civic organizations, congregation activity beyond religious service attendance has a substantial positive effect on participation in charitable and linking types of civic organizations. In addition, our findings demonstrate that religious tradition significantly moderates the extent to which congregation activity channels bridging civic engagement. While active involvement in black Protestant, mainline Protestant, and Catholic congregations predicts participation in substantially more bridging civic organizations, active involvement in evangelical Protestant congregations has little effect on this participation.

Social Capital, Too Much of a Good Thing?  American Religious Traditions and Community Crime

"Using American religious traditions as measures of bonding and bridging social capital in communities, we empirically test how these different forms of social capital affect crime rates in 3,157 U.S. counties in 2000.  Our results suggest that the bonding networks evangelical Protestants promote in communities explain why counties with a greater percentage of residents affiliated with this tradition consistently have higher crime rates.  Conversely, our results suggest that the bridging networks mainline Protestants and Catholics foster in communities explain why counties with a greater percentage of residents affiliated with these traditions generally have lower crime rates.  This article provides empirical corroboration for recent theoretical discussions focused on how the social capital groups cultivate in communities need not always benefit communities as a whole."Reprinted in Contemporary Readings in Sociology.  (2008).  Kathleen Korgen (ed.).  Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press.  Chapter 9. http://www.pineforge.com/textbooksProdDesc.nav?level1=Course879&currTree=Courses&catLevel1=&prodId=Book23044