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E m p i r i c a l S t u d i e s i n t h e S o c i o l o g y o fR e l i g i o n : A n A s s e s s m e n t o f t h e

P a s t T e n Y e a rs ~J e f f r e y K . H a d d e n

a n dE d w a r d F . H e e n a n

Tulane Univers i tyThe empir ical s tudy of religion has made progress in the past decade;nevertheless , there are reasons w hy this progress was not greater an d wh ythe prognosis for the next decade is not as optim as the assessm ent ofpas t accompl ishments . A review o f empir ica l s tudies over the pas t tenyears asses ses w ha t they have a ccom plished in investigating: ( l ) thestructure or dimensionality of religion, (2) religious belie[s, (3) religiousbehavior , (4) the nature and dyn am ics of religious belie[s , an d (5) re-l igious ins t as comp Iex organizations . Ho wev er , in spite of ad-vancing understanding of these aspects of religion, sociologis ts who havedevoted themselves to empir ica l s tudy have frequenthr been impededby resistance [rom religionists, suspicion from their fellow sociologists,and l i t tIe support [rom [unding agencies . The att i tudes of these three im-por tant re ference groups toward empir ica l s tudy o f re l are examined,and the possibil i t ies of their coming to regard s tudy of religion more [a-vorably are assessed. Finally, i t is sugges ted th at a shi[ t of em phasis fromthe s tudy of religion to the broader s tudy of values wouId bring sociol-ogis ts closer to the cr i t ical problems of a society and world in t ,rmoil .

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A s w e c l o s e o u t a d e c a d e o f t u m u l -t u o u s d e v e l o p m e n t s , a d e c a d e t h e m e d i ah a s c a l l e d t h e " u n b e l i c v a b l e " d e c a d e(Look , 1969) , f ew d i sc ip l ines wi l l by-p a s s t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o c h e c k w h e r et h e y a r e a n d f r o m w h e n c e t h e y c a m ea n d t o v e n t u r e a t l e a s t a t i m i d g l a n c e* Rev i s ion o f a paper p resen ted a t t he jo in t

sess ion o f the Amer ican As~oe ia t ion fo r the Ad-v a n c e m e n t o f S c i e n c e a n d t h e S o c i e t y f o r t h eSc ien t if i c S tudy o f Re l ig ion , Decem ber 28 , 1969 ,Bos ton .

i n t o t h e f u t u r e a n d w h e r e t h e y a r e g o in g .L e a v i n g a s i d e t h e i n c r e d i b l e d e v e ] o p -m e n t s o f t h i s d e c a d e , i t s h o u l d b e r e c o g -n i z e d t h a t t h e r e i s p e r h a p s a n i n h e r e n tt e n d e n c y f o r h o m o sa p i e n s t o r i t u a l i z ei n v e n t o r y i n g w i t h t h e c a l e n d a r .B u t t h e r e a r e r e a s o n s o t h e r t h a n t h ee n d o f a y e a r, a d e c a d e , o r a c e n t u r yt o s e n d u s t o t h e w a r e h o u s e t o t a k es to c k . G a z i n g a t t h e i n v e n t o r y s e e m s l es sl i k e l y t o o c c u r b o t h w h e n b u s i n e s s i sb r i sk a n d w h e n i t i s so s l o w t h a t w ek n o w t h i n g s r e m a i n i n t h e s a m e o r d e r

153

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154 S O C / O L O G I C A L A N A L Y S l S

a s t h e y w e r e y e s t e r d a y . F r e q u e n t i n .v e n t o r i e s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , s e e m m o r el ik e l y t o o c c u r a t t h o s e ti m e s w h e n t h e r eh a s b e e n a n i n v e s t m e n t i n t h e e n t e r p r i s ea n d w e a r e a n x i o u s t o k n o w f f t h e m e r -e h a n d i s e h a s y e t b e g u n t o m o r e . S i m -i l a r l y , i n c r e a s e d a e t i v i t y i n t h e s t o r ea e r o s s t h e s t r e e t m a y t e n d t o s e n d u sn e r v o u s l y t o t h e b a c k r o o m t o a s s e s s o u ro w n a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s .T h i s l a t t e r f a c t o r s e e m s t o h a v e p l a y e da m a j o r r o l e i n p r o d u c i n g s e v e r a l a s s e s s -m e n t s o f t h e s o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n d u r -i n g t h e p a s t d e e a d e . A l l o f th e r e v i e w e r sl a v e c o n v e y e d a h i g h l y e o n s i s t e n tt h e m e : t h e s o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n i s s t i l la m i n o r l e a g u e o p e r a t i o n . F o r e x a m p l e ,i n 1 9 6 1 , Y i n g e r e o n e l u d e d t h a t " t h eb r e a d - a n d - b u t t e r o f a n y s e i e n e e - - t h et e s t i n g o f t h e o r e t s i g n i f i e a n t p r o p o -s i t i o n s b y t h e u s e o f e o n t r o l l e d o b s e r v a -t i o n - - h a s b e e n i n s h o r t s u p p l y " ( p . 7 ) .I n 1 9 6 5 , G l o c k a n d S t a r k n o t e d " t h a tn e n e o f th e w o r k d o n e t o a ss e ss t h e s t a t eo f r e l i g i o n i n A m e r i c a e u r r e n t l y o r h i s -t o r i e a l l y m e e t s e v e n t h e m i n i m u m o fs e i e n t i f i e i n q u i r y " ( p . 8 4 ) . I n 1 9 6 8 , H i l la n d R y m p h c o n c lu d e d i t is p r e m a t u r e t ob e o p t i m i s t i e a b o u t t h e f u t u r e o f t h es o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n . T h e y c a r n e c l o s e s tt o b e i n g k i n d t o th e e n t e r p r is e w h e n t h e yp o i n t e d o u t " t h a t m o r e o r l e s s t h e s a m ed i s m a l d e s c r i p t i o n c o u l d b e a p p l i e d t om o s t , i r n o t a l l , o f t h e g e n e r a l p h e -n o m e n a l i n t e r e s t s o f s o c i o l o g i s t s . " B u tt h e n t h e y h a s t e n t o p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e r ea r e a n u m b e r o f s u b s t a n ti v e is s u es a b o u tw h i c h s o c i o l o g i s t s k n o w a g o o d d e a lm o r e t h a n t h e y d o r e l ig i on .I n a 1 9 6 9 i s s u e o f Soc io logical Inqu B e l l a h u n l e a s h e d a b l i s t e r i n g i n d i c t m e n ta g a i n s t t h e s o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n : " A t at i m e w h e n t h e r e i s m o r e v i t a l i t y a n de x c i t e m e n t i n t h e a r e a o f r e l i g i o n t h a nt h e r e h a s b e e n i n s e v e r a l g e n e r a t i o n s ,w h y i s " s o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n ' s o d u l l ? "( p . 9 3 ) H e g o e s o n t o s a y t h a t " . . .s o c i o l o g i s t s h a v e e o n e e r n e d t h e m s e / v e s

m a i n l y w i t h t h e m i n u t i a e . . . n o t h i n gh a s r e a l l y g a l v a n i z e d t h e f i e l d i n r e c e n ty e a r s o r m a d e i t s e e m w o r t h t h e t r o u b l ot o m o s t o f t h e b r i g h t e r s t u d e n t s a n dr e s e a r c h e r s i n s o c i o l o g y " ( p . 9 4 ) .T h e a n a l y s i s p r e s e n t e d ( i n t h i s i s s u e )b y B o u m a i s no m o r e o p t im i s t ie t h a n t h eo t h e r c r i t i c s o f t h e f ie ld . 1 I t i s u n d e r -s t a n d a b l e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t w h e n a p a i ro f y e o m a n l a b o r e r s i n t h i s e n t e r p r i s eh a v e a f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t c o n e e p -t i o n o f t h e s t a t u s o f t h e f i e l d , t h e y m a k et h e i r v i e w s k n o w n w i t h a c e r t a i n s e n s eo f f e a r a n d t r e p i d a t i o n . W e r e c o g n i z et h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f b l i n d n e s s t o t h e o b -v io u s , e t h n o e e n t o b s e r v a t i o n a l b i a s,a n d d e l u s i o n s o f g r a n d e u r r e g a r d i n g a c -e o m p l i s h m e n t s i n a f i e l d o f w h i e h w ea r e a p a r t . Y e t , r e c o g n i z i n g t h e s e ~ p o s -s i b i l i t i e s , i t s t i l l s e c t a s t o u s t h a t t h e r eh a s b e e n a r a t h e r s u b s t a n t i a l r e i n v e s t -m e n t i n t h e f i e l d a n d t h a t w e m a y b ea b o u t t o r e a p s o m e o f t h e f r u i t o f t h el a b o r .I n a t t e m p t i n g t o r e v i e w t h e e m p i r l i t e r a t u r e o f t h e p a s t d e c a d e , w e q u i e k l yd i s c o v e r e d t h r e e t h i n g s . F i r s t , t h e r e i sn o s i m p l e o f s i n g l e f r a m e w o r k a r o u n dw h i e h o n e c a n e a s i l y o r g a n i z e t h e l i t -e r a t u r e t h a t e m e r g e d d u r i n g t h e 6 0 ' s .S e c o n d , t h e a m o u n t o f l i t e r a t u r e i s s ov a s t a s t o m a k e a s y s t e m a t i e a n d c o m -p r e h e n s i v e r e v i e w t h e t o p i c f o r a b o o kr a t h e r t h a n a p a p e r . T h i r d , w e d i s e o v -e r e d t h a t t h e m i l i e u i n w h i c h e m p i s t u d i e s o f r e l i g i o n e m e r g e d i s e q u a l l y a sf a s c i n a t i n g a s t h e l i t e r a t u r e i t s e l f .G i v e n t h e s e r e a l i t i e s , i t b e c a m e n e c e s -s a r y f o r u s t o r a d i e a l l y r e o r i e n t o u r i n i -t i a l i n t e n t i o n s o f e o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s .A c c o rd w e h a v e n a r r o w e d o u rs c o p e t o t w o t a s k s . T h e f i r s t i s t o d e m a r -c a t e f i v e a r e a s o f r e s e a r c h i n t h e s o c i -o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n w h i c h , w e b e l i e v e , g i v e

1 Fo r another perspeetive on the develop-m ent of an emp irical soeiology of religion, seeRodney Stark ( unpublished m anuscript) .

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ASSESSING TH E EM IPIRICA L STUDIES 15~eviden ce of s igni ficant dev e lop me nt dur -ing the pas t decade . The second i s toexam ine the m i l i eu f r om which em -pi r ica l s tudies of re l ig ion have emerged- - i f you wi l l , a k ind of soc iology of thesoc iology of re l ig ion. We hope tha t th isappr oach wiU pr ov ide a pe r spec t ive f o runde r s t and ing som e of t he weaknessesof the f ie ld as wel l as point the way tosome l ike ly deve lopments for the future .LITERATURE REVIEW

While the soc iology of re l ig ion has ar ich and respec table her i tage , empir ica ls tudies of re l ig ion p to the 50"s weref ew and l a r be tween . Em pi r i ca l soc io logyi t se l f i s only a few decades old , butear ly empir ica l soc iology tended to by-pass rel igion. The reasons for this areon the su r f ace unde r s t andab le . On theone hand, sc ience and par t icular ly thesoc sciences were couc hed in assump-t ions and theor ies tha t tended to see re -l i g ion a s a dec l in ing in f luence in m ode r osociety. In fact , many social scientiststhought i t on ly a m a t t e r o f t im e be f or ere l ig ion would die out . As the la te Gor-d o n A l l p o rt p u t i t, " . . . t h e p e r s is t e n teof re l ig ion in the m ode r n w or ld appea r sas an embar rassment to the scholars oftoday" ( 1950 : 1 ) . On the o the r hand ,soe iology was s t ruggl ing to obta in legi t -im acy a sa sc i ence , and r e l ig ion loom edtoo com plex and load ed w i th nuances o fm ean ing to be taekled. S t iU another fac-tor cont r ibut ing to a neglec t of re l ig ionwas the r e luc t ance o f t he gove r nm ent tof un d r e sea r ch dea l ing wi th r e lig ion o f t oask any ques t ions about re l ig ion in thec e n s u s .But re l ig ion did not go away. In fac t ,t he dom inan t cu l tu r a l m ood of t he 50"sperce ived our soc ic ty as exper ienc ing aphen om ena l r el ig ious rev iva l. W ha t k indof re l ig ious aw akening, f f any, we expe-r i enced in tha t decade wi l l p r obab lyneve r be known because the ava i l ab leda ta a r e spa r se and thor oughly susp i -

c ious (See Demera th , 1968) . However ,th i s w idespr ead m ood of r e l ig ious r e -viva l d id play a c r i t ica l ro le in a rous ingth e cu of social scientists to ex-p lo r e an a r ea they h ad p r ev ious ly l a r ge lyneglec ted.The 50 ' s wi tnessed severa l deve lop-m ent s t ha t can be seen a s im por t an tp r ecur sor s t o the em er gen te o f ah em -pir ical sociology of rel igion in the 60's .I n 1953 , Lensk i pub l i shed a p ape r onthe social correlates of rel igious interestsu t i l i z ing da ta co l l ec ted in 1941 by theCo m m i t t ee on the Soc ial and Psycho log i -ca l Fac tors Affec t ing Fer t i l i ty . In 1955,Her be r g a t t em pted to p r ov ide a the -ore t ica l explana t ion of the " re l ig ious re -r iva l . " In 1957, the tM reau of the C ensusconduc ted a su r vey o f r e l ig ious a~ l i a -t- ion, a l though poli t ical pressures for thesepa r a t ion o f chur ch and s t a t e r e su l t edin censor ing pub l i ca t ion o f t he da t a be -yo nd a p r e l im ina r y r epor t . 2 Schne ide rand Dor nbusch ' s con ten t ana lys i s o f i n -spi ra t iona l books (1958 ) con t r ibutedm u c h t o o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h i s i m -por t an t f unc t ion o f re l ig ion . And Cam p-be l l and Pe t ti g rew ' s s tudy ( 1959) o f t heresponse of L i t t le Rock c le rgy to theschool desegregation cr isis was a sig-n i f i can t f o r e r unne r to a l a r ge body o fl i te ra ture on re l ig ion and c ivi l r ights inthe 60's .La te in the 50 ' s , L ipse t pub l i shed askept ica l paper ent i t led , "W hat R el igiousReviva l" in w hich he essent ia l ly ra isedthe ques t ions o f wha t i s r e l ig ion andhow do you m easur e it . G lock r a i sed thesam e po in t ( 1959) bu t wen t on to con-

z These da ta w ere eom pared wi th thosega the red by the Survey Resea rch Cen te r (La-zarwitz , 1961: 567-79) . A s imilar report u t i l iz-ing Na t iona l Op in ion Resea rch Cen te r su rveyda ta appeared in Dona ld J . Bogue (1959 :688-709) . Whi le the Bureau o f the Census su r -vey did not add s ignif icantly to our knowledge,i r does s tand as a s ign~ean t ind ica to r o f theemerg ing in te res t in ga in ing empir ica l knowl-edge about re l ig ion.

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156 SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

e e p t ua l i z e r e l i g i on i n t e rms o f f i ve d i -m e n s i o n s. B o t h o f t h e se p a p e r s d i d m u c ht o s ha t t e r s i mp l e r no t i ons o f r e l i g i on a sa d i c h o t o m o u s o f t r i c h o t o m o u s c o n e e p t( re l ig ious vs non-re l ig ious , or P ro tes tant ,Ca tho l ic a nd Jew, e tc . ) .The s e s e ve ra l de ve l opme n t s bo t h fo r e -t o l d a n d , i n a p r o f o u n d w a y , d o m i n a t e dt he na t u re a nd s c ope o f t he i s s ue s e x -~

l o r e d i n t he 60 ' s . O ur r e v i e w c ove r sve i mp or t a n t i ss ue s: ( 1 ) t he s t ruc t u reo r d i me ns i ona l i t y o f r e l i g i on , ( 2 ) r e l i -g ious be l i e fs , (3) re l ig ious behavior ,( 4 ) t h e n a t u r e a n d d y n a m i c s o f r e li g io u sbe l i e fs , a nd (5 ) r e l ig i ous i n s t a se o m p l e x o r g a n 1 . The Dimens iona l i ty o f Re l ig ion . Asw e h a v e m e n t i o n e d , a m a ] o r t ot h e e m e r g e n c e o f a n e m p i r ic a l s o c io l o g yo f r e l ig i o n w a s c u r r e g a r d i n g t h ec o n t r a d i c t o r y e v i d e n ce o f th e p o s t - W o r l dW a r I I r e l i g i ous r e v i va l . G l oc k f e l t t ha ta c l e a r c onc e p t ua l i z a t i on o f t he d i f f e r e n tw a ys t ha t r e l i g i os i t y c a n be ma nf f e s tw ou l d l e a d t o a c l a r i f i e a t i on o f t he f a e -t o r s f o r a n d a g a i n s t s u c h a r e n e w e d i n -t e r e s t , a nd t hus he p ropos e d a f i ved i me ns i ona l s t ruc t u re : e xpe r i e nc e , r i t ua l ,i d e o l o g y , k n o w l e d g e , a n d c o n s e q u e n e e , aP r i o r t o G l oc k ' s c one e p t ua l i z a t i on ,e mpi r i e a l s t ud i e s l a rge l y r e l i e d on a s i n -g l e i t e m s u c h a s m e m b e r s h i p o r f r e -q u e n e y o f e h u r e h a t t e n d a n c e a s a hi nd i c a t o r o f r e l i g i on . Th i s w a s no t , how -e ve r , t he f i r s t t i me t ha t a mu l t i - d i me n-s i ona l a pp roa c h t o r e l i g i os i t y ha d be e ns ugge s t e d i n t he l i t e r a t u r e . I n T h eN ature o Pre]ud ice ( 1 9 5 4 ) , A l l p o r td i s t i ngu i s he s be t w e e n " i n s t i t u t i ona l i z e d"a nd " i n t e r e l ig i ous ou t looks . 4

a Glock's first formulation included on ly fourdimensions. The knowledge or inteUectualdimension was ad de d later at the suggestion ofYoshio Fuk uyam a. In a pa pe r that appearedtwo years l a te r , Fukuyam a ca l l ed th i s thecognitive dimension.4 Allp ort later used the concepts "extrinsie"and "'intrinsic' v alue to describe this distinetion(1960).

F i c h t e r , i n h i s s t udy o f a S ou t he rn u rba npa r i s h (1951 ) , de ve l op e d a fou r - fo l d c on -c e p t u a ! f r a m e w o r k t h a t c a n a l s o b ev i e w e d a s a p r e c u r s o r t o t he G l oc kfo rmul a t i on . 5 P a ra l l e l i ng G l oc k ' s w o rki s L e n s k i ' s s t u d y ( 1 9 6 1 ) w h i c h t r e a t e dt r a d i t i ona l o r t hodoxy , de vo t iona l i s m, a ndc o m m u n a l a n d a s s o c ia ti o n al in v o l v e m e n tas d i s t inc t face t s of re l ig ios i ty .I t s h o u l d b e r e c o g n t h a t t h e r e isn o t h i n g s a c r e d a b o u t t h e s e f i v e d i m e n -s i ons o f r e l i g i os i t y . K i ng found e l e ve nd i m e n s i o n s s u g g e s t e d i n a r e v i e w o f t h el i t e r a t u r e . H e c ons t ruc t e d i t e ms t o me a -s u r e t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s a n d w i t h t h e u s eo f fa c t o r a na l ys i s f oun d n i ne f a e t o r s w i t hs u t ~ c i e n t v a r i a n t e t o w a r r a n t f u r t h e re x a m ( 1 9 6 7 : 1 7 3 - 1 8 5 ) . 6 N e i t h e rh a s G l o c k s t a y e d w i t h t h e t i r e d i m e n -sions. In A mer i ca n P ie t y ( 1 9 6 8 ) , h e a n dS t a r k u t i li z e n i n e ( d i m e n s i o n s )o f r e l ig i ous c omm i t me n t . O n l y one i nde x ,"o r t hodoxy , " e o r r e l a t e s a t . 5 o r g r e a t e rw i t h a ny o f t he o t he r ( s e e a ls oS ta rk , 1970) .A t t h e p r e s e n t t im e , o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n gof the s t rue ture of re l ig ios i ty i s fa r f romb e i n g c o m p l e t e. B u t w e h a v e m o v e d c o n -e e p t u a l l y b e y o n d a u n i d i m e n s i o n a l f o r -mul a t i on a nd a l l o f t he e x i s t i ng r e s e a rc hs uppor t s t he e x i s t e nc e o f a mu l t i - d i me n-s i ona l s t ruc t u re . W e ha ve a l s o l e a rne dt h a t r e s e a r c h e r s c a n n o t s i m p l y " t h r o wa n y o l d ( e o n v e n i e n t ) " i n d i e a t o r o f r e -l i g i os i t y i n t o a r e s e a rc h p ro j e c t a ndu t i l i z e i t a s e i t h e r a h i n d e p e n d e n t o rd e p e n d e n t v a r ia b l e . 7

His formu lation did not inclu de the "ex-periential" or "consequential" dimension ofGlock. (For a discussion of how Fichter viewshis own ea rlier work in relationship to theGlock formulation, see 196 9: 169-177. )6 King presents a bibliography of literaturedealing w ith the measurem ent of religiosity inthe sam e issue, pp. 186-190.7 In addition to the studies me ntioned inthis d iscussion of the dimen sionality of religion,see Putney (1961:285-290); Faulkner (1966:246-254 ); Davidson (1966); Clay ton (1968);Weigert (1969 : 260-263).

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T h r e e i m p o r t a n t r e s e a r c h t a s k s o f t h en e x t d e c a d e s e e m a p p a r e n t : ( 1 ) t o d e -v e lo p a c l ea r em p i r i ca l fo rm u la t i o n o fth e u n d e r ly in g s t ru c tu re o f r e l i g io s i t y ;(2 ) t o d i s co v e r h o w th es e d im en s io n sa re em p i r i ca l l y r e l a t ed t o each o th e r ;an d (3 ) t o ex p lo re t h e em p i r i ca l r e l a -t i o n s h ip s b e tw een t h es e d im en s an do th e r im p o r t an t d im en s io n s o f s o c i a l a t -t i t u d es an d b eh av io r .2. Rel ig ious Bel iefs . I n 1 9 6 1 L e n s k ipub l i shed b i s c lass ic s tudy , Th e R e l i g io u sFactor , w h i c h n o t o n l y c h a l l e n g e d t h eimagina t ion and v i s ion o f the d i sc ip l ine ,b u t a l s o e s t ab l i s h ed n ew s t an d a rd sin s co p e , m e th o d o lo g i ea l s o p h i s t i ca t i o n ,an d i n t eg ra t i o n o f em p i r i ea l r e s ea rchwi th t h eo ry . In a v e ry p ro fo u n d way t h i ss t u d y p a v e d t h e w a y f o r a n d s t i m u l a t e dm u ch em p i r i ca l r e s ea rch i n t h i s d ecad e .L en s k i ' s wo rk r em a in s im p o r t an t fo r a tleas t four reasons : (1 ) Lensk i , l ikeGlo ck , t r ea t ed r e l i g io s i t y a s a m u l t i -d im en s io n a l co n cep t ; (2 ) Th e R e l i g io u sF a c to r was t h e m o s t am b i t i o t t s an ds o p h i s t i ea t ed s t u d y o f r e l i g io n u t i l i z i n gs u r v e y r e s ea r c h ; ( 3 ) L e n s k i a t t e m p t e dto u t i l i ze s u rv ey r e s ea rch t o em p i t e s t two im p o r t an t t h eo re t i ca l i d eas i nt h e l i t e r a t u r e ( W e b e r ' s P r o t e s t a n t E t h i cth es i s an d Herb e rg ' s t h ree g en e ra t i o n a lh y p o th es i s ) ; an d f i n a l l y , (4 ) h e ex p lo redth e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e tween r e l i g io u s a t t i -t u d es an d b e l i e f s an d a w id e r an g e o fs ecu l a r v a lu es in c lu d in g a t t it u d es t o w ardwo rk , p o l i t i ca l p re fe ren ce , s o c i a l m o b i l -i ty , f reedom of speech , fami ly s ize ,an d i n t e l l ec tu a l au to n o m y . T h a t s o m eo f L en s k i ' s f i n d in g s h av e b een p u t t oth e t e s t o f m o re em p i r i ca l s c ru t i n y an df o u n d l a c k i n g i s n o t a c r i t i c i s m b u t at r i b u t e t o t h i s p io n ee r in g wo rk t ak ens e r io u s ly b y o th e r s ch o l a r s (B ab b ie ,1965 ; Gre e ley , 1964 ; 1969) .

G i v e n i m p e t u s b y The ReI ig ious Fac-tor, a n u m b e r o f s u rv e y s w e r e d e v e l o p e dto m eas u re t h e ex t en t o f r e l i g io u s b e -l an d t h e e f f ec t o f r e l b e l i e fs

an d a t t i tu d es o n s ecu l a r is su es . T h e m o s tco m p reh en s iv e o f t h e s e s u rv ey s weret h o s e c o n d u c t e d b y G l o c k a n d S t a r k( 1 9 6 8 ) f o r t h e l a i ty a n d H a d d e n ( 1 96 9 )fo r the c le rgy . F i rs t o f a l l , these su rveysaecu m u la t ed a p l e th o ra o f b as i c s y s -t e m a t i c d a t a w h i c h w a s b e y o n d t h em e th o d o lo g i ca l t ech n iq u es o f ea r l ie r g en -erat ions of sociologis ts of rel ig ion. Sec-o n d ly , t h e s e s t u d i e s r ev ea l ed t h a t r e -l i g io u s b e l i e f s were n o t a m a t t e r o fco n s en s u s wi th in t h e ch u rch es ; i n f ac t ,a h i m p o r t a n t d i s c o v e r y w a s t h e g r e a td iv e rg en c e o f b e l ie f w i th in P ro t e s t an t i smb o t h a m o n g t h e c l e r g y a n d t h e l a i t y .F in a l l y , t h ey d em o n s t r a t ed t h a t i n t en s i t yo f b e l i e f w i th in P ro t e s t an t i s m was r e -l a t ed s y s t em a t i ea l l y t o d en o m in a t i o n a lafl~l iat ion and to certain social issues .Un l ik e ea r l i e r s t u d i e s , wh ich l a rg e lyu t i l i ze d s ing le ind ica to rs o f re l i -g io s i t y , t h e s e s u rv ey s fo u n d t h a t t h e rew ere m a io r d i f fe ren ces w i th in P ro t e s t an t -i sm i t se l f as wel l as d i f fe rences be tweenPro tes tan t i sm, Catho l ic i sm, and Judaism.Oth e r s h av e co n t r i b u t ed t o t h i s em erg -in g l i t e r a tu re . Fo r ex am p le , Ke r s t en ( i np re s s ) d raws co n c lu s io n s s im i l a r t o t h es tu d i e s m en t io n ed ab o v e i n h i s in v es t ig a -t i o n o f c l e rg y an d l ay m en in t h e fo u rm a jo r b ran ch es o f L u th e ran i s m in M ich -i g a n . D e m e r a t h a n d L u t t e r m a n ( 1 9 6 9 )h av e r ep l i ca t ed t h es e f i n d in g s i n a s t u d yo f W is co n s in co l l eg e s t u d en t s an d a t t h es a m e t i m e a d d e d t o o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e co n t ex t an d m i l i eu o f r e l i g io u sex p res s io n o n cam p u s ( a l s o Fe ld m an ,1969; 1970). Similar f indings also appearin Qu s tu d y (1 9 7 0 ) o f c l e rg ya t t it u d e s t o w a r d t h e V i e t n a m w a r ( m o r eex tens ive ly , 1969) . In ad d i t ion , num erousu n p u b l i s h ed r ep o r t s o f r e s ea rch co n -d u c t e d b y d e n o m i n a t r e s ea r c h d e -p a r tm en t s fu r t h e r s u b s t an t i a t e t h e f i n d -in g s o f t h e r e s ea rch we h av e m en t io n ed .3. ReIig Beha vior. In ad d i t i o n t os tud ies o f re l ig ious a t t i tudes , soc io log is t sh av e b eg u n t o s ep a ra t e ly i n v es t i g a t e r e -

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l ig ious behavior as i t i s manifes ted inrel igious experience, devotional prae-t ices, and r i tualism. The work of Starkis ou ts tanding in th is regard . He has a t -t emp ted to concep tua l i ze one type o frel igious behavior , namely rel igious ex-perience (1965: a, b; Glock, 1965). Starknot on ly f inds tha t re l ig ious exper iencei s more common than p rev ious ly ex -pected , he a lso demonst ra tes the pres-ence of a t leas t four g radat ions ofrel igious experience capable of consti-tu t ing a Gut tman- l ike sca le .

The re a r e two fu r the r r easons whyStark ' s work on the behaviora l d imen-sion of rel igiosi ty is i rnportant . First , herecognizes a conceptua l d i f ferenee be-tween be l ie f and behavior . Second , hef inds tha t the na ture and ex ten t o f re -l ig ious expe ah ind iv idua l unde r -goes is int im ately relate d to bis par t icipa-t ion in rel igious si tuaf ions. Religiousexper ienee i s re la ted no t on ly to thedenom ina t ion in wh ich an ind iv idua lf inds h imsel f , bu t a lso to the broadermatr ix of social interaetion. This socio-log ica l in terpre ta t ion of re l ig ious ex-per ienee contras ts sharp ly wi th the psy-eholog ieal explanations of ear l ier scholarssuch a s Lueba (1925 ) , S ta rbuck (1899 ) ,a n d J a m e s ( 1 9 5 8 ) , a n d a s s u c h r e p r e -sen ts a m a jo r b r eak th rough in ou r unde r -s tan ding of re lig ious exper ience .L0flan d 's stud y (1966) of a rel igioussec t has adde d s ign i fican tly to o ur un-de r s t and ing o f the impor tanee o f ongo -ing g roup r e in fo rcemen t to su s ta ineom mi tm en t to a "dev ian t " re l ig iousperspective (see also Festinger , 1964).Hadden and Rymph (1966 ) a l so demon-s t ra te the impor tanee of g roup in terae-t ion and soc ia l s t ruc ture for p red ie t ingbehav io r . They found the behav io r o f ac le rgyman ' s roomm ate in a t r a in ing p ro -gram and the typ e of posi t ion the e lergy-man occup ied were be t t e r p r ed ie to r s o fsubmiss ion to ar res t than a t t i tudes aboutcivil r ights issues. Similar behavioral

d imensions are found in Quin ley ' s s tudy(1969) of "hawks" and "doves" amongthe c lergy .The sepa ra t ion o f a t t i tudes and be -hav io r i s an impor tan t deve lopmen t inthe s tudy of re l ig ion wbich para l le ls s i ta -f iar emphasis in other areas of sociology( see Johm an , 195 4 ; W ar r ine r , 1958 ;Fend r ich , 196 7 ; Dean , 195 8 ; Ku tne r ,1952) . By looking d i rec t ly a t behavior ,r a the r than a t ti tudes , we have been ab leto see more clear ly the effeets of socials t ruc ture on behavior . The research re-su l t s have chaUenged the sup remacy o fpsychologiea l concepts to expla in be-hav io r . W e a re a lso beg inn ing to unde r -s t and tha t the p rocess o f commi tmen tto any wor ld v iew or ideo logy para l le lsour ear l ie r eoneeptua l iza t ions of how onebecomes co mm i t t ed to dev ian t ideo log iesan d roles. 84 . N a ture and Dynamics o f Re l i g iousBeliefs. Anothe r ach ievemen t o f the so -e io logy of re l ig ion in th is decade is aconcern for the coneeptua l iza t ion of re -l ig ious be l ie fs . Under the insp i ra t ion ofthe w ork of Brown (1962 , 1964 , 1966)and Rokeach (1960; 1968) researehershave begun to eoneep tua l i ze r e l ig iousbeliefs systematieally , asking questionssuch a s the fo l lowing : wha t s t ruc tu ra lqual i t ies d o re l ig ious be l ie f sys tems ha vein common; a r e the re subsys tems o fbel ie f and how do they d i f fer ; how dore l ig ious be l ie f sys tems re la te to secu larbehavior ; and , what eondi t ions fae i l i ta teor h inder changes in re l ig ious be l ie fsystems?Rokeaeh began to research th is ve inwithout spec i f ie emphasis on re l ig iousbeliefs. He conceptualizes beliefs by f irstind ica t ing tha t they are sys tern ic . Hethen p laces them on a een t ra l -per iphera l

8 F or a further discussion of thi s point, seeHadden (1 96 9: 190 -2). Also, corn~.are themodel suggested here w ith Beckers discussion(1968) of the process of becom ing a marijuanaUSel'.

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c o n t i n u u m i n r e g a r d t o i m p o r t a n t e ; i m -p o r t a n t e b e in g d e f in e d in t e r ms o f e o n -n e e te d n e ss . R o k e a ch s ay s t h a t " . . . t h emo r e a g iv e n b e l i e f i s f u n c t io n a l ly e o n -n e e t e d o r i n c o m m u n i e a t i o n w i t h o t h e rb e l i e f s , t h e mo r e imp l i c a t i o n s a n d e o n -se q u e n c e s i t h a s f o r t h e o th e r b e l i e f sa n d , t h e r e f o r e , t h e mo r e c e n t r a l t h e b e -l ie f~ ( 1 9 6 8 : 5 ) . H e m a k e s a h i m p o r t a n td i s t i n c t i o n : b e l i e f s mig h t b e h e ld a t t h es a m e d e g r e e o f i n t e n s i t y ( s o m e t h i n gw h ic h r e c e n t s t u d i e s h a v e e x p lo r e d inth e i r s t r o n g ly - a g r e e t o s t r o n g ly - d i s a g r e ef o r m a t ) , b u t t h e y m i g h t n o t b e a t t h esa me p o s i t i o n r e g a r d in g c e n t r a l i t y ( a j aa r e a w h i c h h a s b e e n u n e x p l o r e d ) .Ro keach (1969) spec if ies f ive f ac to ra l lyd is t inc t type s o f be l ie f in b is sys tem, eachty p e b e in g l e s s c e n t r a l a n d , t h e r e f o r e ,mo r e su sc e p t ib l e t o c h a n g e . H e th e nsh o w s sy s t e mic r e l a ti o n sb ip s b e tw e e n b e -l ie f s and the r e l ig ious va lue sys temsw b ic h u n d e r l i e t h e m ( s e e a I so Ro k e a c h ,1 9 7 0 ) . T h e v a lu e s o f s a lv a t io n a n d f o r -g iv e n e ss a r e c e n t r a l t o t h e C h r i s t ia n w h oi s a f r e q u e n t c h u r c h a t t e n d e r a n d d e f in e sh imse l f a s r e l ig ious . These same ind i -v id u a l s r a n k e d th e v a lu e s o f p l e a su r e ,i n d e p e n d e n c e , i n t e l l e c tu a l i t y , a n d lo g i elo w e r t h a n th o se w h o d e f in e d th e mse lv e sas non-re l igious.Ro k e a c h g o e s o n to fi n d t h a t t h o se w h op la c e a h ig h v a lu e o n s a lv a t io n a r e c o n -se rva t ive , anx ious to ma in ta in the s ta tusq u o , a n d u n s y m p a t h e t i c w i t h t h e p l i g h to f t h e s tu d e n t , t h e b l a c k , a n d th e p o o r .In shor t , he f inds tha t the r e l ig ious pe r -son has a d is t inc t sys tem o f be l ie f s andv a lu e s ( i d e o lo g y ) , a n d th a t t h e se sy s te msa r e r e l a t e d t o o th e r a t t i t u d in a l sy s t e ms .T h e c o n c e p tu a l i z a t i o n o f r e l i g io u s b e -l ie f s and va lues i s an impor tan t aeh ieve -m e n t n o t o n l y b e ca u s e i t p r o v i d es m o r ep r e c i s io n in t h e s e a r c h f o r t h e d y n a mic sof r e l ig ious be l ie f , bu t a l so because i tp r o mise s t o h e lp u s b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n dth e n a tu r e o f i d e o lo g ic a l c o n f l i c t w i th inth e c h u r c h e s a n d i t s r e l a t i o n sb ip t o b o th

re l ig ious be l ie f s and the ins t i tu t iona l a r -r a n g e m e n t s o f t h e c h u r c h e s .5 . T h e R e l i g i o u s I n s t i t u t i o n a s a C o m -p l e x O r g a n i z a ti o n . Re l ig io n in t h e U n i t e dS ta t e s h a s u n d e r g o n e a n o r g a n iz a t io n a lr e v o lu t io n i n t h i s c e n tu r y a s a r e su l t o ft h e t r e m e n d o u s i n c re a s e i n c h u r c h m e m -ber sh ip . Never the le ss , the r e l ig ious o rga -n iza t ions a s ins t i tu t ions o r complex bu-r e a u c r a c i e s h a v e , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t , b e e nn e g le c t e d b y so c io lo g i s t s . T h e r e s e e m tobe th ree poss ib le r easons fo r th i s ove r -s igh t . F i r s t , soc io log is t s , on the bas is o f

the i r cur ren t f ind ings , have no t e s tab-l i sh e d a g r e a t d e a l o f r a p p o r t w i thth o se w h o c o n t r o l a c c e s s t o c h u r c h r e e -ords , impera t ive fo r th i s type o f ana lys is .Secondly , soc io log is t s who a re in te re s tedin r e l i g io n s e e m to b e d i sp o se d b o th b yt r a i n i n g a n d b y t e m p e r a m e n t t o p s y c h o -so c io lo g ic a l r a th e r t h a n o r g a r re sea rch . Th i rd ly , the r ecords o f churchesh a v e l e f t so me th in g to b e d e s i r e d i nte rms of the i r ava i lab i l i ty , r e l iab i l i ty , andscope ( see Knuckman, 1968: Southa rd ,1969) .I n sp i t e o f t h e r e l a t i v e p a u c i ty o f r e -s e a r c h o n th e o r g a n iz a t io n a l d ime n s io nof r e l ig ion , a sma l l bu t inc reas ing ly s ig -n i f i c a n t b o d y o f r e s e a r c h h a s b e g u n toe m e r g e d u r i n g t h e p a s t d e c a d e.D e m e r a t h ( 1 9 6 8 ) h a s d o c u m e n t e dtw o b r o a d o r g a n iz a t io n a l t r e n d s w b ic hh a v e e me r g e d in A me r i c a n c h u r c h e s .T h e se t r e n d s a r e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n a n d b u -reauc ra t iza t ion . Moreover , a g rea t dea lo f r e s e a r c h o th e r t h a n D e me r a th ' s su p -por t s the ex is tence o f these t r ends .D i f f e r e n t ia t i o n i s t h e t e n d e n c y f o r l ey -e l s o f c h u r c h o r g a n iz a t io n s t o b e c o med i s t i n c t a n d to b e o c c u p ie d w i th d i f fe r e n ta t t i t u d e s a n d g o a l s . T h i s t e n d e n c y h a sb e e n d o c u m e n t e d b e t w e e n t h e c l e r g yand th e la i ty by H ad de n ( 1969: 101-159)a n d b e t w e e n p a r i s h d e r g y a n d c h u r c hs p e c i a l i s t s b y H a m m o n d a n d M i t c h e l l(1965) . In -add i t ion , a secondary ana lys iso f d a t a g a th e r e d b y T r im b le ( 1 9 6 9 ) h a s

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shown tha t a t t i tudes d i f fer a t a l l th reelevels of the organization. On specif ieissues , a t t i tudes become increas ing lym ore l ibera l as one moves f rom the la ity ,to the parish clergy, to the level ofehurch executives.The second t rend , bureauera t iza t ion ,i s a eomplemen ta ry t r end wh ich seemsto have developed as ah organiza t ionalprerequis i te fo r coord ina t ing the d ispa-ra te o rgans of the church organiza t ion .Bureauc ra t i za tion was a phe nom eno n l a -ten t in th e ear l ie r work of Bl izzard (1956)wh ich ind ica te s tha t min i s t e r s spendmore o f the i r t ime on bu reauc ra t i c - ad -min is t ra t ive tasks tha n the i r t ra in ing]ustifies an d the ir pa desire. Ithas been fur ther explored in Harr ison ' simpress ive s tudy of the burea uera t iza t iono f the Bap t i s t Church (1959 ) , and hasbeen suppo r ted by da ta on the Presby -te r i an Church (1967 ) . How ever , the mos ttho rough documen ta t ion o f bu reauc ra t i -za t ion in the churches has been d~ne byWin te r (1967 ) . Hi s work i s un ique fo rtwo reasons: f irst , unlike most researchin th is a rea Winter d id no t res t r ic t h im-se l f to an analys is o f a s ing le denom ina-t ion and , seeond , he uses d i f feren t andvar ied sources of da ta to su ppo r t h is hy-pothesis . Unt i l th is deeade , the churcheswere se ldom s tud ied as o rganiza t ions .Previously sociologists simply rel ied onthe g lobal conceptua l iza t ion of thechurch-sec t d ichotomy to s tudy the re-ciprocal effects of organization and ide-ology (see Johnson, 1963, Parsons, 1965).However , during this decade sociologistshave grown skept ica l o f the empir ica lu t i l i ty o f th is typology (see Gustafson ,1967; Goode, 1 96 7; De m era th , 1967;Eis ter , 1967) and have begun to applya broader range of o rganiza t ional con-cep ts an d theor ies to the ch urch .Two examples of th is t rend can bec i ted . Whi te (1969) appl ies a mathemat-lea l model to p red ic t the evolu t ion of]obs and personnel in severa l Pro tes tan t

denom inat ions . In sp i te o f the i rmovat ivequal i ty o f b is research on the problemof the f low of men and ]obs in churchbureaucrac ies , th e resu l ts o f the researchare sparse . H e f inds tha t the evolu t ion ofsuela bureauerac ies i s e r ra tie a nd tha tthey do no t lend themselves to ra t ionalcontrol . In faet , b is eonelusion is thatla rge sys tems of men and jobs evolve ineomplex pa ths responsive main ly to in -pu ts o f new ]obs and the dea ths of men.Wood and Za ld (1966 ) app roach theo rgan iza t iona l chu rch f rom ano the r pe r -spect ive . Thei r p rob lem is how a vo lun-tary organiza t ion , in th is case the Meth-odis t Church , in t roduces po l ic ies wi thlow consensus ( in tegra t ion of thechurches , especia l ly in the South) whennat iona l and local leaders have fe w sane-t ions re la t ive to the membersh ip . Theyfound tha t in the Sou th chu rches havedeveloped a counter -po l icy of res is tanceto in tegra t ion , and tha t the ex ten t o f theres is tance eor re la tes wi th the percen t o fnon-whi tes in a par t icu lar d is t r ic t . Thisresistance is ref lected in a deerease ofcontr ibutions to race relat ions pro]eetsand the accommoda t ion o f the loca lleadersh ip to the forces in the ehurchwho resist national policy.The charaeter of this researeh differss ign i f iean t ly f rom the research done onorganiza t ional aspects o f the churches inthe past . First , i t rel ies much less onglobal theore t ica l eoncepts , and second ,i t i s a g rea t dea l more empir ica l in thesense that i t u t i l izes sources of data inthe chu rches to t e s t midd le r ange o rga -nizational theories.C O N C L U S l O N

In the in t roduc t ion to th i s pape r wenoted tha t most scholars who have a t -tem pte d to assess the s ta tus o f the so-c io logy of re l ig ion have reached ra therpessimist ic , some even cynical , conclu-sions regarding the f ield 's development.W hi le a comprehens ive r ev iew o f the

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A S S E S S IN G ~ E M Z P I R I C A L S T U D I E S 1 6 1

e m e r g i n g l i t e r a t u r e i s i m p o s s i b l e i n as in g l e p a p e r , o u r e x a m in a t i o n o f f i v ei s s u e s o r a r e a s i n t h e f i e l d s u g g e s t s m o r er o o m f o r o p t i m i s m t h a n o t h e r s h a v e s e en .T h e p a s t d e c a d e h a s s e e n m o r e s y s -t e m a t i e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f sa n d r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a n a n y p r e -v i o u s p e r i o d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f s o c i a l p h i -lo sophy o r soc ia l se ienee . Soe io log is t s o fr e l i g i o n , a r m e d w i t h s u r v e y t e c h n i q u e s ,h a v e g a t h e r e d s o m e b a s ic a n d s y s te m a t i cd a t a p r e v i o u s l y u n a v a i l a b l e . I t h a s a l s ob e e n a t i m e i n w h i e h w e h a v e b e c o m es k e p t i c a l o f t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l b e q u e s t s o fe a r l i e r s o c io lo g i s t s . W e h a v e m o r e p r e -c i s e l y c o n c e p t u a l i z e d r e l i g i o s i t y a n d r e -l i g i o u s i n v o l v e m e n t , a n d h a v e b e g u n t of o l l o w s u i t w i t h r e g a r d t o s y s t e m s o fr e l i g i o u s b e l i e f . W e h a v e m a d e a c r i t i e a ld i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n r e l i g i o u s a t t i t u d e sa n d r e l ig i o u s b e h a v i o r , a n d w e h a v e s e e nd i f f e r e n c e s w i th in r e l i g io u s t r a d i t i o n s a sw e l l a s a m o n g t h e m . A l s o, w e h a v e m a d es o m e s ig n i f i c a n t f i r s t s t e p s t o a n a ly z er e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h i n a b r o a d e rt h e o r e t i c a l f r a m e w o r k o f c o m p l e x o r g a -n i z a t i o n s .O u r r e v i e w h a s n o t c h o s e n t o e m p h a -s i z e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l is s ue s . P e r h a p s s u c ha n a p p r o a c h w o u l d h a v e l e d u s t o m o r es o b e r c o n c l u si o n s. T h e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l i n -a d e q u a c i e s o f t h e l a s t d e c a d e a r e o b v io u sa n d o f t e n g l a r i n g . S o c io lo g y o f r e l i g io nh a s n o t b e e n t h e b i r t h p l a c e o f i n n o v a -t i v e m e th o d o lo g i e s i n s o c i a l s c i e n c e . A tt h e s a m e t i m e , t h e l e v e l o f m e t h o d o l o g -i c a l s o p h i s t i c a t i o n i s n o w s u f l~ c i e n t l ys t r o n g t o e s c a p e t h e l a b e l o f a w e a ks t e p - s i s t e r i n t h e s o c i a l s c i e n t i f i c e n t e r -p r i s e . Bo u m a ' s p a p e r ( i n t h i s i s s u e ) i se n o r m o u s l y i m p o r t a n t b c c a u s e i t u n d e r -s c o r e s a b a s i c w e a k n e s s i n t h e f i e l d a n dp o i n t s t h e w a y t o o n e k i n d o f r e s e a r c ht h a t i s i m p e r a t i v e i n t h e f u t u r e . W ew o u l d o n l y p o i n t o u t t h a t B o u m a m i g h th a v e i n v e s t i g a t e d a n y n u m b e r o f a r e a sw i t h i n t h e d i s c i p l i n e o f s o c i o l o g y a n da r r i v e d a t s im i l a r c o n c lu s io n s , b u t t h i s ,

o f c o u r s e , i s o n ly a r e f l e c t i o n o n t h ed e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e d i s c i p l i n e a n d n o t ad e f e n s e o f t h o s e w o r k i n g i n t h e a r e a o fr e l i g io n .O u r g e n e r a l f e e l i n g o f o p t i m i s m o v e rt h e d e v e l o p m e n t s d u r i n g t h is p a s t d e e a d ei s n o t u n t e m p e r e d . I n f a c t , w e s e e s o m ec o m p e l l i n g r e a s o n s t o q u e s t i o n w h e t h e rt h e d e v e l o p m e n t s o f t h e 7 0 ' s w i l l m a t c ht h e p r o g r e s s o f t h e d e c a d e w e h a v e j u s tc o n c l u d e d . I n o u r m o r e p e s s i m i s t i e m o -m e n t s , w e s e e t h e p o s s ib i l i t y o f a l l f o r -w a r d m o v e m e n t g r i n d i n g to a s il e nt ha lt .T h e r e a s o n s f o r t h i s g r i t o v i e w o f t h ef u t u r e d o n o t g r o w o u t o f a n y t h i n g f u n -d a m e n t a l l y w r o n g w i t h w h a t s o ci ol og is tsa r e d o i n g , b u t r a t h e r e m e r g e , a c c o r d i n gt o a s o c i ol o g y o f k n o w l e d g e p e r s p e c ti v e ,f r o m e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e c u l t u r a l m i l i e uw h e r e i n t h e s c i e n t i s t s l a b o r . T h e n e x ts e c t i o n o f t h e p a p e r a d d r e s s e s i t s e l f t oth i s i s sue .M I L I E U A N D T H E S O C 'I O LO G Y O F R E L I G I O N

S o c io lo g i s t s h a v e w r i t t e n a g r e a t d e a lt h p a s t d e c a d e a b o u t s t a t u s a n d r o l ea m b ig u i t y . I n a v e r y r e a l s c n s e , t h e s o -c i o l o g i s t h i m s e l f o c c u p i e s a h a m b i g u o u ss t a t u s i n a h i g h l y p s y c h o l o g i z e d c u l t u r e( s e e H a d d e n , 1 9 6 9 : x x - x x iv ) . T h i s i se s p e c i a l l y t r u e o f t h e s o c io lo g i s t o f r e -l i g i o n . H e h a s t h r e e i m p o r t a n t r e f e r e n c eg r o u p s w h o s ig n i f ic a n t l y a f f e c t t h e n a tu r eo f b i s w o r k : t h e r e l i g i o u s c o m m u n i t y ,t h e a c a d e m i c c o m m u n i t y , a n d v a r i o u sf u n d in g a g e n c i e s . I f h e i d e n t i f i e s t o oc lo s e ] y w i th t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e r e l i g io u sw o r l d , b i s a c a d e m i c c o l l e a g u e s s u s p e c tb i m , a n d s o m e t i m e s q u i t e a p p r o p r i a t e l ys o , o f n o t b e in g o b j e c t i v e . I f , o n t h eo t h e r h a n d , h e d o e s n o t m a n i f e s t s y m -p a t h y a n d g e n u i n e r e s p e c t f o r t h e r e -l i g i o u s c o m m u n i t y , h e r i s k s r a p p o r t a n da c c e s s t o b i s s u b j e c t m a t t e r . F in a l l y ,f u n d s f o r r e s e a r c h i n t h e a r e a o f r e l i g io na r e e x t r e m e ly l im i t e d , a n d s o c io lo g i s t sh a v e a t b e s t h a d o n l y m o d e s t s u c c e s s i nc o n v i n c i n g f u n d i n g a g e n c i e s t h a t r e ] ig i o n

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1~9. $OCIOLOC1CAL AN'ALYSIS

m e r s y s te m a t i e s t u d y ( s e e S m e ls e r,1969: 101-11/7) .Ag a in , a s t h e ea .s e w i th o u r r ev i ew o fl i t e ra tu re , our d i scuss ion i s neeessar i lyl e s s t h an eo m p reh en s iv e o f t h e i s s u es .W e h o p e , h o wev e r , t h a t t h i s diseussionwfl l p ro v id e s o m e in s ig h t an d l ead o th e r sto ex p lo re m o re s y s t em a t i ea l l y t h e m i l ieuwh ere in t h e s o e io lo g y o f r e l i g io n h ase m e r g e d a s w e l l a s h o w t h is m i l ie u m a ys h ap e t h e d i s e ip l i n e i n t h e fu tu re .Th e Soc and the Religious Com-muni t y . The h i s to ry o f eo n f l i e t b e tweenre l i g io n an d s c ien ce is r a th e r w e l l k n o w n(s ee W h i t e , 1 9 6 5 ) . W h i l e t h e b a t t l e h asl a rg e ly s u b s id ed , co m p eUin g ev id en eeex i s t s t o i n d i ca t e t h a t t h e re h as n o t b eent o t a l ra p p r o e h e m e n t ( G l o c k & S t ar k ,1 9 6 5 ) . W h i l e r e li g io n i s fo u n d ed i n m y s -t ie i sm and fa i th , se ienee has i t s o r ig insin l o g i e , r ea s o n , an d em p i r i ca l o b s e rv a -t - i o n . Gran t ed t h a t n e i t h e r s c i en ee n o rre l i g io n can b e v i ewed a s m o n o l i t h i es t ruc tu res , i t is d i t /i cu l t to f ind a eom m ong r o u n d w h e r e t h e t w o a p p r o a c h e s h a v ec o m p l e t e l y c o m p a t i b l e a s s u m p t i o n s a n di m a g e s o f m a n ( S e e C l o e k , 1 9 6 9 ) . W h a th a s e m e r g e d i s a t r u e e g r o u n d e d i nto l e ran t e fo r d i f f e ren t v a lu es i n a p lu ra l -i s t i e wor ld . Many re l ig ion is t s and sc i -en t i s t s a l i k e h av e co m p ar tm en ta l i zed t h et w o s y s t e m s o f t h o u g h t a n d h e n c e h a v ech o s en n o t t o ex p lo re u n d e r ly in g a s s u m p -t So m e s ch o o ls o f t h eo lo g y h av es h f f t ed t h e i r t h in k in g r a th e r d ram a t i ca l l yi n a n a t t e m p t t o r e e o n c i l e o r a c c o m m o -d a t e i n co m p a t ib fl it i es . So m e b e l i ev e t h a ta s s e i en ee an d r e l i g io n a re b o th b e t t e ru n d e r s to o d t h e d i f f e ren ces w i l l t en d t od i s ap p ea r . B u t o n b o th s i d es t h e re a t et h o se w h o h o l d v a l ue s t h a t b a s i c a l ly d e n yt h e l e g i ti m a c y o f t h e o t h e r a n d w h o t e n dto b e s u s p i e io u s o f t h o s e o n t h e o th e rs id e . Fo r t h e m o s t p a r t , h o wev e r , t h eco rt fl ie t b e tw een r e l an d s c i en ce i sl a t en t , f f fo r n o o th e r r ea s o n t h an t h a teo n t ae t i s m in im a l .A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e r e a r e m a n y

w i t h i n t h e r e l i g i o u s e s t a b l i s h m e n t w h ob e l i e v e t h a t t h e i m p a c t o f se i e n e e p la e e sa b u r d e n o n r e l i g i o n t o e a r e f u l l y a n de r i t i ea l l y r e - ex am in e ev e ry a s p ee t o f t h eC h r i s t i an f a i t h . M o reo v e r , t h ey t en d t ob e l i e v e t h a t t h e C h r i s t i a n f a i t h s h o u l dn o t l im i t i t s e l f t o t h eo lo g i ea l r e t t ee t i o nt o g a i n k n o w l e d g e , b u t t h a t i t s h o u l de m p l o y a l l t h e r e s o u r e e s o f t h e n a t u r a lan d b eh av io ra l s e i en ees a s we l l .T h i s a t t i t u d e f i n d s a s y m p a th e t i c ea rf ro m s o c io lo g i s t s wh o f ee l t h a t r e l i g io u sin s t i t u t i o n s h av e p l ay ed a e r i t i ca l ro l e i nth e c rea t i o n , s u s t en an ce , t r an s m i s s io n ,an d l eg i t im iza t i o n o f h u m an v a lu es , an da s s u c h n e e d t o b e b e t t e r t m d e r s t o o d .T h u s , m u t u a l i n t e r e s t h a s t e n d e d t oo p e n u p a d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n r e li g io n i st san d s o c io lo g i s t s i n ah e f fo r t t o b e t t e ru n d e r s t a n d t h e n a t u r e a n d m e a n i n g o fre l ig ious va lues and ins t i tu t ions . Bu t ind o i n g s o , b o t h h a v e e x p e r i e n e e d s o m ee s t r a n g e m e n t f r o m t h e i r o w n k i n d .T o m an y ch u rch s eh o la r s , t h e s c i en t if i eo r o b i ee t i v e s t u d y o f r e l i g io n i s a m i s -n o m er . T h e ) , h o ld t h a t r e l i g io n ( an d i t sv a r io u s a s p ee t s t h a t a r e m an i fe s t t h ro u g ht h e c h u r c h ) i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y a s p i r i t u a lq u a l i t y t h a t t r a n s c e n d s u n d e r s t a n d i n g i nt h e s a m e w a y t h a t o n e m a y u n d e r s t a n do th e r b e l i e f s y st em s an d i n s t it u t io n s (SeeWhi t ley , 1964) . Thus , the soc io log is t s 'w o r k i s a t b e s t i r r e l e v a n t a n d a t w o r s td an g e ro u s b eeau s e i t w i l l i n ev i t ab ly d i s -t o r t t h e s u b i ee t m a t t e r .O th e r r e li g io r h av e t ak en a "wa i t -a n d - s e e " a t t i t u d e b u t h a v e p r i v a t e l yfea red t h a t s o c io lo g i ca l i n v es t i g a t i o n swo u ld rn is s t h e m o s t s ig n i f ican t p h en o m -en o lo g i ea l d im en s io n s an d h en ce d i s t o r twhat re l ig ion i s a l l abou t . S t i l l o thersh a v e r e s p o n d e d w i t h e n th u s ia s m b e c a u s eth ey f e l t t h a t t h e r e s u l t s o f s o c io lo g i ca li n q u i ry c o t d d b e u s e d t o e n c o u r a g e w h a tt h e ) , c o n s i d e r e d t o b e m u c h n e e d e d r e -fo rm s i n t h e ch u reh .Whi le the f ind ings o f soc io log is t s int h i s d e c a d e h a v e b e e n s o m e t h i n g s h o r t

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ASSESSlNG aX-IE EM PmlCAX, SaX/DIES 16 3o f f a i t h - s h a t t e r i n g , i t c an b e co n s e rv a -t i v e ly s t a t ed t h a t t h e r e s u l ts o f s y s t em a t i ei n q u i r y h a v e b e e n d i s a p p o i n t i n g a n dd is tu rb ing . For example , re l ig ios i ty , nom a t t e r h o w i t h a s b e e n m e a s u r e d , d o e sn o t s eem to b e a d e t e r r en t t o p re ju d i ee .A cer ta in type o f re l ig ios i ty i s , in fac t ,a s s o c i a t ed w i th an t i-Sem i t is m , an d Glo cka n d S t a r k h a v e p r e s e n t e d a t h e o r e t i e a la rg u m en t s u g g es t i n g t h a t t h e r e l i g io u sv i ew cau s es t h e an t i-Sem i t Al s o,wh i l e r e li g io u s s eh o l a r s h av e s u s p ec t ed i tfo r s o m e t im e , s o c io lo g i s ts h av e i n fo rm edt h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c t h a t l a r g e s e g m e n t s o ft h e C h r i s t i a n w o r l d ( l a i t y a n d e l e r g ya l i k e ) r e j ec t r e l i g io u s v i ews t h a t wereo n ce t h o u g h t e s s en t i a l t o t h e f a i th . M o re -o v e r , t h e r e i s c o n s i d e r a b l e e v i d e n t e t os u g g es t t h a t t h e r e j ec t i o n o f B ib l i ea ll i te r a l is m o r o r t h o d o x y i s a s s o c i a t ed wi thth e t o t a l d r i f t f ro m p u b l i e a s we l l a sp e r s o n a l r e l i g io u s i n v o lv em en t .F ro m th e r e l i g io n i s t s ' p e r s p ec t i v e ,t h es e a re n o t v e ry en co u rag in g f i n d in g s .In f ac t , t h e im p ac t o f m u ch o f t h e s o e io -lo g i ca l i n q u i ry o f th i s d ec ad e h as b een t og iv e r e l i g io n i s t s m u eh t o b e eo n ce rn edwi th , wh i l e u n co v e r in g l i t t l e wh ich g iv eseo m fo r t o r r ea s s u ran ce .So m e re l i g io n i s t s h av e r e s p o n d ed wi tha l a r m a n d h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o u s e t h eresu l t s o f soe io log iea l inqu i ry to encour-ag e r e fo rm s i n t h e eh u rch . O th e r s , p re -d h a v e r e s p o n d e d w i t h s k e p ti e is man d d o u b t a s t o t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h e f i n d -in g s . T h e p as t f ew y ea r s h av e s een t h ee m e r g e n t e o f a n u m b e r o f s e l f - s t y l e de r it ic s o f em p i s o e io lo g y an d i t s eem ss a l e t o p r e d i c t t h a t w e c a n a n t i e i p a t e as i g n i f i c a n t g r o w t h b o t h i n t h e n u m b e ran d t h e v o c f fe ro u s n es s o f t h e i r ch a rg es .S t a rk , wh o a lo n g wi th b i s co l l eag u eGlo ck , h as b een t h e m a jo r t a rg e t o f a t -t a c k, r e c e n t ly m a d e t w o p o i g n a n t o b s e r-v a t i o n s r eg a rd in g t h i s g ro u p . F i r s t , m o s to f the e r i t i cs f rom the re l ig ious es tab l i sh -m e n t d o n ' t r e a l l y k n o w m u c h a b o u tem p i r i ea l m e th o d s . Seco n d , " r e l a t i v e ly

l i tt l e a t t e n ( w o u l d h a v e b e e n ) p a i dto m e th o d o lo g i ca l q u es t i o n s i f t h e s ig n o fm o s t o f t h e co r re l a t i o n s r ecen t l y r ep o r t edw e r e r e v e r s e d m t h a t i s , i r t h e n e w s w e r egood" (1970 : 151) .T h e s eco n d p o in t , o f eo u rs e , is o p en t os o m e eo n j ec tu re , b u t i n o u r j u d g rn en t i rs eem s t o h av e co n s id e rab l e m er i t . W eb as e t h i s j u d g rn en t o n two o b s e rv a t i o n s .F i r s t , t h e m e th o d o lo g i ea l c r it ic i s m o f t h ere l ig io n i st s h as e s s en t i a l ly b ee n d i r ec t eda t s t u di e s t h a t h a v e p r o d u e e d f i nd in g se o n t r a r y t o w h a t t h e y w o u l d l i k e t o b e -l leve . Second , severa l obv ious method-o lo g i ea l e r it h av e b een m i s s ed i no t h e r s t u d i e s t h a t w e r e " n eu t r a l " ( s ee Hf l l , 1 9 6 8 ) .Thus , the soc io log is t o f re l ig ion has a tb es t b een r eee iv ed i n r e l i g io u s e i r c l e swi th m ix ed f ee l i n g s . T o a f ew , h e b r i n g sa m m u n i t i o n i n t h e s t r u g g l e f o r e h u r c hren ewa l . T o o th e r s h e i s cau t i o u s ly we l -c o m e d t h o u g h n o t t o t a l ly tr u s te d . T o y e to th e r s, h e is u n w e lco m e an d t h rea t en in g .T h e s o c io lo g i s t can n o t a f fo rd to i g n o rethe e r i t i es wi th in the re l ig ious es tab l i sh -m e n t . T o d o s o i s t a n t a m o u n t t o a d m i t -t i n g t h a t t h e i r c r i t i c i s m s a re j u s t i f i ed m a tl ea s t i n s o l a r a s t h e r e l i g io n i s t wh o i s n o tk n o w l e d g e a b l e a b o u t r e s e a r c h m e t h o d si s co n ce rn ed . T o a l i en a t e t h e r e l i g io u ses t ab l i s h m en t b y i g n o r in g t h e i r r e s p o n s ew o u ld t h u s c u t t h e s o c io lo g i s t o f f f ro m th eau d i en ce h e s eek s t o s t u d y . B u t an s wer -ing the c r i t i cs resu l t s in a d ra in ing o ft im e an d en e rg y f ro m th e s o c io lo g i s t s 't a s k o f eo n d u c t i n g r e s ea rch . Pe rh ap se v e n m o r e i m p o r t a n t , t h e v e r y f a c t t h a tt h e r e l i g io n i s t s co n s t i t u t e a r e f e ren ceg ro u p h e can i l l a f fo rd t o i g n o re h as im -p o r t an t im p l i ca t i o n s fo r t h e t a s k s h e s e -l ec t s a s we l l a s h o w h e g o es ab o u t h i swork . The in f luenee o f the re l ig ion is t sh as a l r ead y b een f e l t an d wi l l l i k e ly b eev en m o re i n f l u en t i a l d u r in g t h e eo m in gd e c a d e .The Soc io logis t and the AcademicEstabl i shment . T h e h i s t o r i ea l s t ru g g l e

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1 6 4 S O C IO L O G IC A L A N A L Y S I S

b e t w e e n r e l i g i o n a n d s c i e n c e a l s o l e f t i t sm a r k i n th e a c a d e m i c e s ta b l i sh m e n t . F o rm a n y s c i e n t i s t s , t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t t ot h e e m p i r o b s e r v a b l e l e a v e s l i tt l eo r n o r o o m f o r c o s m o l o g i e a l c o n s i d e r a -t i o n s . W h i l e t h e r e i s s t i l l n o d e f i n i t i v es t u d y , t h e r e i s c o n s i d e r a b l e e v i d e n c ew h i c h s u g g e s t s t h a t s c i e n t i s t s a r e m u c hl es s in c l i n e d t o w a r d r e l i g i o u s p e r s u a s i o n st h a n o t h e r g r o u p s i n s o c i e t y , a n d t h i so r i e n t a t i o n i s p r o b a b l y e v e n m o r e p r o -n o u n c e d a m o n g s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s ( H a j d a ,1961 ; S ta rk , 1963 ; Tha lhe imer , 1965 ;A n d e r s o n , 1 9 6 8 ) .S o c io l og y e m e r g e d i n t h e m i d s t o f a n dw a s p r o f o u n d l y i n f l u e n c e d b y S o c i a lD a r w i n i s m . T h e w o r l d w a s i n t r a n s i t i o nf r o m a s i m p l e a g r a r i a n t o a c o m p l e xu r b a n s o c i e t y . S o c i o l o g i s t s d e v e l o p e dc o m p l e x t h e o r i e s o f c h a n g e t h a t e m -b r a c e d a l m o s t e v e r y a t t r i b u t e o f s o c i e t y .W h i l e e a ch t he o ri st h a d a s o m e w h a td i f f e r e n t e m p h a s i s , m a n y o f t h e m s a wt h e w o r l d i n t r a n s i t i o n f r o m a r e l i g i o u s l yb a s e d t r a d i t i o n t o a n o r d e r b a s e d o n i n -t e r e s t , r e a s o n , a n d s c i e n c e . S t r u c t u r e -f u n c t i o n a l t h e o r y m i g h t h a v e l e d s o c i a ls c i e n t i s t s t o d i f f e r e n t e o n e l u s i o n s a b o u tt h e d e s t i n y o f r e l i g i o n , b u t t h e d o m -i n a n e e o f e v o l u t i o n a r y t h o u g h t l e d m a n yt o c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e h i s t o r i c a l f u n c t i o n so f r e l i g i o n w e r e r a p i d l y d i s a p p e a r i n g i na s e e u l a r i z i n g w o r l d .I f t h e s o c i o l o g i s t ' s t h e o r i e s w e r e n o te n o u g h t o c o n v i n c e h i t o o f t h e i r r e l -e v a n c e o f r e l i g i o n , h i s p e r s o n a l e x p e r i -e n t e s e r v e d t o r e i n f o r c e t h e t h e o r y . T h i si s p e r h a p s o n e o f t h e e l e a r e s t e x a m p l e so f w h a t H u g h e s ( 1 9 6 1 ) l a b e l e d e th n o -c e n t r i e s o c i o l o g y .B u t t h e r e w a s y e t a n o t h e r i m p o r t a n tf a c t o r t h a t t e n d e d t o d r a w t h e s o c i o l o g i s ta w a y f r o m i n r e li g io n . T h i s w a st h e s t r u g g l e o f t h e d i s c i p l i n e t o b e c o m ea l e g i t i m a t e s c i e n c e . I n s o m e s c h o o l s t h ed e s i r e t o a c q u i r e l e g i t i m a c y a s a s c i e n c er e a c h e d p r o p o r t i o n s o f o b s e s s i o n , n o to n l y i n t e r m s o f e x t e rn a l a c c e p t a n c e b u t

a l s o i n t e r m s o f o n e ' s o w n s e l f - i m a g e .T h e s t u d y o f a t o p i c a s l o a d c d w i t hn u a n c e s o f m e a n i n g a s r e l i g i o n d i d n o tf i t t he b i l l .A l l o f t h i s is n o t t o s a y t h a t s o c i o l o g i s tsa b a n d o n e d i n t e r e s t i n r e l i g i o n . R a t h e r ,w e a r e s a y i n g s i m p l y th a t e a r ly e m p i r i c als o c i o lo g y w a s m u c h l es s i nr e l i g io n t h a n w e r e t h e c l a s si c a l t h e o r is t s .M o r e o v e r , w e b e l i e v e t h a t t h e w o r k m i -l i e u o f s o c i o l o g y h a d m u c h t o d o w i t ht h i s . W h i l e o u r r e v i e w o f t h e e a r l i e r l i t -e r a t u r e i s l e ss s y s t e m a t i t i s o u r im -p r e s s i o n t h a t m u c h o f t h e w o r k o c c u r r e di n s e m i n a r i e s a n d c h u r c h - r e l a t e d c o l l e g e s- - h e n c e , s e g m e n t e d f r o m t h e m a i ns t r e a m o f s o c i o l o g y . T h e r e a l s o t e n d s t ob e a h e m p h a s i s o n t h e s t u d y o f c u l t sa n d s e c t s r a t h e r t h a n t h e " m a i n - l i n e "P r o s t e s t a n t a n d C a t h o l i e t r a d i t i o n s , a n dt h i s c a n p r o b a b l y b e e x p l a i n e d b y t h ea f l ~ n i t y a n d t o l e r a n e e o f t h e s o c i o l o g i c a le n t e r p r i s e t o s t u d y d e v i a n c e - - - t h e o f f -b e a t , e s o t e a n d t r iv i a l .T h e s o c i o l o g i s t w h o w a s i n t e r e s t e d i nr e l i g i o n , t h u s , w a s p l a c e d o n t h e d e f e n -s i v e , h a v i n g t o e x p l a i n t h i s i n t e r e s t t oh i s s k e p t i c a l e o l l e a g u e s . T h e e m p i r i c a l l yo r i e n t e d s o c i o lo g i s t d i d n ' t f i nd m u c h s u p -p o r t i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c a l d i s -c i p l i n e s t h a t w e r e i n t e r e s t e d i n r e l i g i o ne i t h e r , f o r t h e y t e n d e d t o v i e w h i t o a s ac h a r l a t a n e n c r o a e h i n g o n t h e i r o w n p r i -v a t e d o m a i n .

P e r h a p s o n e c o u l d p u s h t h i s p o i n t t o ol a r , b u t t o i g n o r e i t o r e l ai m t h a t i t d i d n ' te xi st w o u l d b e to m i s s a n i m p o r t a n t o b -s e r v a t i o n o n t h e s t r u c t u r a l f a c t o r s t h a t i n -h i b i t e d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n e m p i r i c a ls o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g io n . ~T h i s s u b t l e p r e s s u r e h a s d i m i n i s h e d t oa c o n s i d e r a b l e e x t e n t d u t h e p a s to Th is year marked the twentieth anniversaryof the So ciety for the Scientific Study of R eli-gion. At the annual meetin~ he charter mem-bers rem iniseed about coUeague reactio ns totheir interest in religion, and their observationssupport this argument.

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ASSESSlNG THE EMPIRICAL STUDIES 16 5

d e e a d e . I -I ow e v e r, i t is i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t et h a t a s u b s t a n t i a l n u m b e r o f t h e m o s tp r o d u c t i v e s o c io lo g i s t s i n t h i s f i e l d d on o t t h in k o f t h e m s e lv e s a s s o c io lo g i s t so f r e l i g io n , a n d , i n f a c t , t h e i r w o r k h a sn o t b e e n r e s t r i c t e d t o t h i s a r e a . I t i s p e r -h a p s n o t t o o w i d e o f t h e m a r k t o s u g g e s tt h a t t h e y h a v e h e d g e d t h e i r b e t s - - i f t h es o c io lo g y o f r e l i g io n d o e s n ' t m a k e i t a sa l e g i t i m a t e a n d r e s p e c t e d f i e l d , t h e yh a v e o th e r a r e a s t o f a l l b a c k o n . Bu t t h i sh a s n o t b e e n f u n c t i o n a l t o t h e d e v e l o p -m e n t o f s o c i o l o g y o f r e l i g i o n . M a n y o ft h e s e s c h o l a r s h a v e s u b s t a n t i a l a m o u n t so f d a t a w a i t i n g t o b e a n a l y z e d w h i l et h e y d e v o t e a p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e i r e n e r g yto o th e r p r o f e s s io n a l i n t e r e s t s .A n y b o d y o f s c h o l a r l y l i t e r a t u r e w d r a w in to i t a b o d y o f s c h o l a r l y c r i t i c s .P e r h a p s t h e b e s t i n d i c a t o r w e h a v e t h a tt h e s o c o f r e l i g i o n i s m a k i n g s o m ep r o g r e s s t h a t i t h a s b e g u n t o a t t r a c tc r i ti c a l e x a m i n a t i o n f r o m w i t h t h e f i e ldo f s o c io lo g y . W h i l e s o m e s c h o l a r s c e l e -b r a t e t h e r o l e o f c r i t i c i s m f o r i t s o w ns a k e , t h e r o l e o f t h e c r i t i c h a s g e n e r a l l yb e e n p r o d u c t i v e o f m o r e s o l i d s c h o l a r -s h ip . U n l i k e G r e s h a m ' s I aw i n th e m o n e ym a r k e t , c r i t i c s i n t h e a c a d e m i c m a r k e t -p l a c e t e n d t o d r i v e o u t t h e w e a k a n dr a i s e t h e l e v e l o f t h e d i s c i p l i n e t o ah i g h e r p l a n e . T h e c r it ic s o f t h e s o c i o l og yo f r e l i g io n w i l l l i k e ly h a v e t h i s e f f e c t .H o w e v e r , w e h a v e o n e u n e a s i n e s s a b o u tt h e i r p r e s e n c e : t h e y m a y l e n d c r e d i b i l i t ya n d a d d f e r v o r t o t h o s e c r it ic s w i t h i n t h er e l i g i o u s c o m m u n i t y w h o a r e l a r g e l y u n -q u a l i f i e d t o c r i t i c i z e . T h i s c o u ld h a v es e r io u s c o n s e q u e n c e s a t t h r e e l e v e l s : ( 1 )i t c o u ld l im i t t h e s o c io lo g a c c e ss t ot h e r e l i g i o u s g r o u p s h e i n t e r e s t e d i ns t u d y i n g ; ( 2 ) i t c o u l d m a k e r e s e a r c hm o n je s e v e n m o r e d i f f ic u l t t o o b t a in ; a n d( 3) t h e s o c io lo g i s t o f r e l i g io n m a y a c h i e v em o r e s o p h i s ti c a te d m e a s u r i n g t e c h n i q u e sa n d p a y g r e a t e r a t t e n t i o n t o q u e s t i o n so f v a l i d i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y , b u t l o s e h i sab i l i ty to add ress ] l i s in te res t s to "s ig -

n i f i c a n t " o r " r e l e v a n t " i s s u e s - - t h e f a c t o rw h i c h h a s a d d e d g r e a t v i t a l i t y t o t h ed i s c ip l i n e t h i s p a s t d e c a d e .The Socio log is t and the Funding Es-tab l ishment . T h e r e i s y e t a t h r e f e r-e n c e g r o u p w h i c h t h e s o c i o l o g i s t c a n n o ti g n o r e - - - h e w h o p a y s t h e b i l l . P r o b a b l yn o o th e r a r e a i n s o c io lo g y h a s s u f f e r e dm o r e f o r l a c k o f f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t . A tt h e s a m e t i m e , p r o b a b l y n o g r o u p o fs c h o l a r s h a s s p e n t m o r e t i m e t r a i p s i n gd o w n b l i n d a l l e y s w i t h t i n c u p s .T h e d e l i c a c y o f t h e s e p a r a t i o n o fc h u r c h a n d s t a t e h a s v i r t u a l l y e l i m i n a t e dt h e fe d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t a s a s o u rc e o fs u p p o r t e x c e p t i n t h e a r e a o f m e n t a lh e a l t h . M a n y i n d i v i d u a l a n d o r g a n i z e de f f o r t s h a v e b e e n m a d e t o a l t e r t h i s p o l -l e y o f th e s i n g l e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f u n d i n gs o u r c e f o r s o c i a l s c i e n c e r e s e a r c h . O n es m a l l N a t i o n a l S c ie n c e F o u n d a t i o n g r a n tw a s a w a r d e d t h i s d e c a d e f o r s e c o n d a r ya n a l y s i s a n d i t a p p e a r e d t h a t a p r e c e d e n th a d b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d . B u t t h e h a r d c u t si n f e d e r a l s p e n d i n g f o r r e s e a r c h g r e a t l yr e d u c e d t h e p r o b a b i l i t y o f t h e g o v e m -m e n t a s a v i a b l e s o u r c e o f s u p p o r t , a tl e a s t f o r t h e i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e .A n u m b e r o f l a r g e f o u n d a t i o n s a l s oh a v e r e s t r i c t i v e p o l i c i e s o n f u n d i n g r e -s e a r c h i n t h e a r e a o f r e l i g io n . A s id e f r o mth e i s s u e o f p r i o r it i e s , t h e y s e e m r e lu c t a n tt o g e t i n t o a n a r e a w i t h a h i g h p r o b -a b o f p r o d u c i n g c o n t ro v e r s y. T h es t u d i e s o f t h i s d e c a d e w i l l n o t d i m i n i s ht h i s f e a r .A f e w f o u n d a t i o n s a r e p r i m a r i l y i n -t e r e s t e d i n r e l i g io u s i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d r e -l i g io u s c a u s e s ; t h e y t o o h a v e b e e n r e lu c -t a n t t o s u p p o r t s o c io lo g i c a l r e s e a r c h .P a r t o f t h i s r e l u c t a n c e i s b a s e d o n t h es u s p i c io n s o f s c i e n c e d i s c u s s e d a b o v e .O t h e r s f e e l t h a t t h e y a r e n o t q u a l i f i e dto j u d g e t h e c a p a b i l i t i e s o f s o c i a l s c i -e n t i s t s s o t h e y d o n ' t f u n d a n y r e s e a r c hp r o j e c t s . S t i l l o th e r s h a v e h a d t h e u n -f o r t u n a t e e x p e r i e n c e o f f u n d i n g p o o r l yd e s i g n e d a n d e x e c u t e d p r o j e c t s w h i c h

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1 6 6 SO CIO L O G ICA L A _ N A LY SISp r o d u e e d t r i v i a l r e s u l t s . I n s o m e c e s e st h e f o u n d a t i o n s b e a r t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t yf o r t h i s , i n a s m u c h a s t h e y h a v e b e e nm o r e e o n c e m e d w i t h t h e r e l i g i o u s q u a l -i f i e a t i o n s o f t h e p r o s p e c t i v e r e s e a r c h e rt h a n w i t h h i s e o m p e t e n e y a s a s o c i a lsc i en t i s t .T h e m a j o r f i m d i n g s o u r e e f o r r es e a r e hh a s b e e n t h e r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s t h e m -s e lv e s, b u t e v e n h e r e th e f u n d s h a v e b e e nl a r f r o m a d e q u a t e . A c t u a U y , t h e c h u r e h e si n A m e r i c a h a v e s p e n t a s u b s t a n t i a la m o u n t o f m o n e y o n r e s e a r c h t h i s p a s td e e a d e - - - p r o b a b l y s e v e r a l r n i l l io n d o l la r s .A l a r g e n u m b e r o f r e s e a r e h d e p a r t m e n t sa r e m a i n t a i n e d b y t h e P r o s t e s t a n t d e -n o m i n a t i o n s a n d e v e r y d e n o r n i n a t h a s c o m m i s s i o n e d s t u d i e s o f f i r s t onet h i n g a n d t h e n a n o t h e r . T h e s e s t u d i e sl e n d l e g i t i m a c y t o t h e g o a l s o f c h u r e ha d m i n i s t r a t o r s , b u t t h e y s e l d o m a d dm u c h i n t h e w a y o f e m p i r i c a l u n d e r -s t a n d i n g t o t h e p r o b l e m s i n q u e s t i o n .T h e r e s e a r c h d e p a r t m e n t s a r e l a r g e l ys t a f f e d b y c l e r g y m e n o r e x - c l e r g y m e nw h o a r e m o r e o . f t e n t h a n n o t i n a d -e q u a t e l y t r a i n e d t o e o n d u c t s o c i a l s e i -e n t e r e s e a r e h - A s a r e s u l t , m o s t o f t h ee h u r c h e s ' m o n e y i s s p e n t f o r r e s e a r e ht h a t i s tm s e i e n ti fi c , u n i m a g i n a t i v e , t r i v i a la n d , i n m a n y e a se s , r e d u n d a n t , loI r is o n e t h i n g f o r a g r o u p o f s o ei -o l o g i s t s w h o a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n o b t a i n i n gr e s e a r c h m o n j e s to t eU t h e c h u r e h e s t h a tt h e y o u g h t t o p o o l t h e i r r e s o u r e e s t o a c -

lo T his observation sho uld be tempered b~,noting that the gene ral quality of ' in houseresearch has im prov ed over the p ast deeade.This is in part a funetion of an upgrading oft h e p e