Dissertations / Theses: 'Religion and sociology Australia'

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Armstrong, John Malcolm. "Religious attendance and affiliation patterns in Australia 1966 to 1996 : the dichotomy of religious identity and practice." View thesis entry in Australian Digital Theses Program, 2001. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20020729.140410/index.html.

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Khokhar, Nadeem. "Belief, Belonging and Social Identity: Religious Ideals and Young Adults in Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367246.

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This thesis examines how young Australians engage with questions about their existence and place in the world in both religious and in non-religious terms. Using data from in-depth interviews, it seeks to understand how young people’s beliefs interact with their ethical thinking (to create their “inner worlds”) and impact on their social relationships. Its twin arguments are, firstly, that young people are actively thinking about their existential and moral beliefs: the existential imaginary mechanism described in this thesis is a viable mechanism for uncovering them. Secondly, most young people are increasingly seeking to determine for themselves what to believe and with whom to associate. This investigation has implications for research on individual, and social, identity formation; the formation or avoidance of prejudicial attitudes and behaviours among young people; and threats to and support for social cohesion in Australian society. My research, using the existential imaginary tool as a foundation, indicates three salient findings: firstly, that non-religious youth have the potential to develop a conception of their existence as rich and as complex as their religious peers; secondly, that higher belief intensity is associated with decreases in belief diversity and, for theists, an increase in moral conservatism; and finally, that strength of belief has an inverse relationship to social group heterogeneity.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Humanities
Arts, Education and Law
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Cashen, Paul William. "From the Sacred Heart to the heart of the sacred: The spiritual journey of Australian Catholics since the Second Vatican Council." Thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2005. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/a5a80ac04ecd570d02f0eb3e1597ea99b1580b8f645c3ba15dc17e4903b7401b/2105806/64819_downloaded_stream_44.pdf.

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This study was undertaken to investigate and to propose a solution to the pastoral dilemma that faced the Catholic Church in Australia the 1990's. The pastoral dilemma contrasted two opposing pastoral responses to the significant changes in Catholic life since the Second Vatican Council. One response reacted to the changes by interpreting them as 'crises of faith'. This response determined that the decline in mass attendance, the fewer vocations to the priesthood and religious life and the disregard of the teaching authority of the Church was the result of a loss of faith. Consequently, it prescribed a return to previous values and behaviour. The other response was more difficult to determine and has been the principle work of this thesis. The second pastoral response was identified in the search for the sacred in the daily lives of the people. This search linked the changes in Catholic life to the ongoing journey of faith that has taken place. A pastoral response based on this understanding of the changes in Catholic life was seen to provide an opportunity for 'all who invoked the name of Christ' to enter a deeper relationship with him and each other. This response embraced the spirit of renewal proposed by the Council. A review of religious literature published in Australia since the Council was conducted to provide an overview of the journey of Catholic life. It identified four categories of literature that displayed the most interest in the changes. Whilst the review had a particular focus on Catholics, it included other traditions. Of the four categories initially sociology of religion which attracted most interest, followed later by theological reflections and interpretations, and ultimately an interest in spirituality, or the 'spirituality revolution'. The historical and biographical studies reviewed recounted the changes in Church life and remained at a lesser, but constant expression of interest. An examination of the research of sociology of religion in Australia established that the changes in religious belief and practice were influenced by environmental factors and, for Catholics, the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The methods of sociology identified the significant areas of change, but their limited explanations of the changes did little to assist church authorities to resolve the tensions and difficulties. The limitations of statistical information about religion contributed to the pastoral dilemma. The findings of sociology increased interest in theological reflection about the influence of the changing context of society on Catholic life. These reflections endeavoured to explain the reforms of the Council, the relationship to the changes to the reforms and led to 'contextual' theology which was embraced by the 'Discovery of an Australian Theology'. Spirituality by the 1990s had become a popular response that purported to take the place of 'organised religion' in the community. The interest in spirituality also became the key factor in the Catholic search for deeper values, and inspired a renewed sense of the spiritual in ordinary everyday life. The popular interest in spirituality was located in the tradition of Christian spirituality, and the thesis concluded that this tradition embraced the personal experience of God, as expressed in the lives of Catholics in Australia. Such personal experiences were identified and discerned to benefit of the individual and through dialogue transformed the community. The transformation, thus begun, continued in further dialogue, engaged the community, and inspired others beyond the community of the Church to believe. Therefore, the personal experience of the spiritual was authenticated by its place in the developing tradition of the Church. The Council called for individuals and communities in the Church to identify the 'signs of the times' as the opportunities for renewal, and personal renewal was closely linked to communal renewal. The 'search for a soul' expressed an Australian 'sign of the times'. The search provided the opportunity for many people to embark on a journey that led to personal and communal renewal or transformation. Consequently, pastoral responses to renewal based on rule and regulation, or expectations of the past, lacked the personal spiritual dimension. Thus, the title of the thesis figuratively describes the spiritual journey of Catholics from a devotional religious experience to one that seeks to find the sacred in the core values and experiences of life.

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Green, Sandra Aili. "Building solidarity: The process for metropolitan ChineseMuslims, 1912-1949." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/284059.

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In the midst of revolution as the Qing Dynasty faded into the twentieth century, metropolitan Chinese Muslim leaders took initiatives in their communities, which shaped change. As a result, a process was set in motion, one that effected the identity of urban Chinese Muslims in more ways than one--within the new political scene nationally, internationally, and in regards to other Muslims in China. The process stimulated a self-awareness among Chinese Muslim urban populations, which promoted new perceptions of their identity as Hui. The process also triggered a debate among Chinese Muslim intellectuals in which ideas of minzu-ness, ethnicity, and religiosity were argued. The process fostered a sense of solidarity among the urban Muslim communities. Chinese Muslim activities paralleled those of other Chinese. Chinese Muslims took part in the New Culture Movement, many joined the army. At the same time they focused attention on improving their communities. This dissertation examines the activities of urban Chinese Muslims: the creation of study groups and associations; the revamping of Muslim schools; and the publishing of books and periodicals. The dissertation is a look at strategies used in adapting to change. The goal has been to illustrate that the Chinese Muslims accepted change, even welcomed it, but in so doing altered perceptions of themselves and their religion. The metropolitan Chinese Muslims got swept up in the enthusiasm of the early republican era. Many influential members of the community endorsed the Nationalists' revolution and the new republic. Chinese Muslim urbanites welcomed modernization and nationalism, seeing them as vehicles that would facilitate their efforts, and protect them. Chinese Muslim motives were nationalistic, as Chinese they wanted a strong China. Their motives were also parochial. They wanted a strong local community, and they actively set out to improve conditions. By strengthening their communities they could insure the survival of Chinese Muslim culture, just as a strong China would insure the survival of Chinese culture.

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Terracini, Paul (Paul Wilson). "John Stoward Moyes and the social gospel : a study in Christian social engagement." Phd thesis, Department of Studies in Religion, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8976.

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Robinson, Cheryl Dorothy Moodai. "Effects of colonisation, cultural and psychological on my family." Thesis, View thesis, 1997. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/686.

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This research is a story about the author’s Murri family. It is about rebirthing the author’s identity, history and culture, and concerns the history and consequences that colonisation has rendered on her family. The story divulges the secrets and problems from the past that continue to affect the author and her family today. Aboriginal history concerns each and every person in Australia. Non-indigenous people need to understand that Aborigines’ spirits belong to this land, that they are a part of it. They need to understand what colonisation has done to Aboriginal families. It is only through understanding and accepting the history of what has happened to thousands of Murri families that their identities and place within their environment can become reality in the minds of non-Aboriginal people. Because a written discourse is alien to the Aboriginal culture and to the author’s psyche, she has rebirthed her family’s stories in both visual and oral language, and combined this with the written. The author’s art is a healing vehicle through which she and her family reconnect with their culture. It is connected with the author’s identity, her heritage. She has created images/objects that reflect what she has discovered of herself and her family. Her creations are imbued with all that is natural, her palette is the land and its produce, thus reconnecting herself with her heritage, the land – mother earth.

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Lehane, John. "The experiences of Western Australian Muslims within the current political and social environment." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2020. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2400.

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The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of Western Australian (WA) Muslims, within the context of the current Australian political and social climate, with a key focus on how political and social factors, and the vast introduction of Australian antiterrorism legislation, may impact them. Also explored in this inquiry, was how mainstream media and their regular portrayal of Islamic-inspired terrorist attacks, which has at times connected all Muslims to these atrocities, is creating a social division within the Australian community which is difficult to overcome. A generic qualitative methodology was utilised to best capture the lived experiences of the participants involved in this research, which concluded that the WA Muslims interviewed had all experienced differing levels of prejudice, racism and discrimination from fellow WA residents (Non-Muslims), with a perception that western media (including social media) is largely responsible for this phenomenon. The implications of this phenomena highlighted the need for Federal and State government to work closer with WA Muslims and to involve them more in the introduction of new anti-terrorism legislation, so that unbiased and non-discriminatory laws can be established. This thesis further highlights the need for media organisations and public figures, to accurately report on Australian Muslims and on the Islam religion itself, and not create links to Islamic-inspired atrocities occurring around Australia and the world, to all the followers of this Islamic faith.

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Baker, Joseph O. "Teaching in the Sociology of Religion." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5386.

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Lawrence, Geoffrey Alan. "The Sociology of Contemporary Agr-Food Restructuring in Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367781.

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Sandberg, Russell. "Religion, society and law : an analysis of the interface between the law on religion and the sociology of religion." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.525073.

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This thesis is an investigation into teachers' status in Kuwait, what it is and the reasons for it. The question was posed and systematically investigated as to the standing of teachers, an issue of great significance for Kuwait and its education system. The thesis also explores the connections between teacher status and teacher education and the possibility of using improvements in teacher education to raise the status of teachers. The study is heavily based on empirical work, specifically: three substantial surveys and a case study that includes a fourth smaller survey. The collection of data is predominantly, though not exclusively, quantitative. A short questionnaire on teachers' status was administered to, 5200 citizens, 0.65% of the popUlation, using a network or 'snowball' technique. A longer questionnaire was administered to 320 final-year students in a cross-section of Kuwaiti secondary schools. A third questionnaire was administered to 1200 teachers (4% of the teacher population). The response rates for all three surveys exceeded 95%. The hypothetically significant variables considered in these surveys variously included gender, socio-cultural group, age, family status, academic ability, professional experience, subject specialism and nationality. In addition, an extended case study was carried out in the College of Basic Education, the training institution for primary teachers in Kuwait. The findings of these surveys and of the case-study are compared with each other and, to a lesser extent, with previous research that has been conducted in regard to teacher status in other educational systems. At an early stage of the analysis, some findings were presented to two members of the 'educational elite' in Kuwait for their interpretation and comment. The following are some examples of the findings of the study. Kuwaiti society sees the relative status of teachers as middle-order. The public have higher views of teachers than either teachers or trainee teachers have of themselves. The standing of the College of Basic Education is perceived as low by all sectors, including trainees at the college. Up to 28% of school-Ieavers were conSidering teaching as a career option, but almost none of these are academically able students. Kuwaitis choose teaching very much more for pragmatic than for 'vocational' reasons. Sociocultural group is the variable with the widest influence on the matters investigated. Gender is less significant than expected in some areas.

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Javan, Jafari Bojnordi Abdolreza. "Religion, culture and punishment : rethinking the sociology of punishment." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.479134.

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Cox, Philip F. "Student beliefs about learning in religion and science in Catholic schools." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2004. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/799.

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The focus of this study is the impact of student perception of the validity of content on student learning. It is proposed that, if the content of a subject is perceived by students as being different to the content of another subject, a result of this perceived difference is that students will treat their learning in these subjects differently. To test this proposal, student beliefs about items from the content of the religious education course are compared with student responses to items of content of their science course. A sample of 1418, year 11 students from nine co-educational Catholic secondary schools were asked to respond to a series of outcome statements from the year 10 religious education and science courses. The questionnaire asks two questions; one, can• the student recall being taught each item; and two, does the student believe that the item is true. If the students believe that the item is true, they are asked to indicate one of three possible reasons for their belief. One, they believe the item because the teacher had provided them with evidence that convinced them that the item is true; two, they believe the item because they trust the teacher to teach them what is true, or three they believe the item for some other reason such as faith. This study does not deal with the issue of faith formation, catechesis, new evangelisation or evangelisation which are significant raison•d'etre of Catholic schools and are closely linked to the study of religious education in Catholic schools. Student and staff responses to a number of open-ended questions, and extensive discussions with students in a Reference Group, provide additional insights into the student beliefs regarding the nature of knowledge particularly for the content of their religious education and science courses.

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Kriel, Elli. "Jewish converts, their communities and experiences of social inclusion and exclusion in post-apartheid South Africa." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25343.

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Set in a small minority community in South Africa, the Orthodox Jewish com-munity in Johannesburg, this study explores why a person would actively and volun-tarily seek minority status by converting into an ethnic-religious minority group. Taking a social constructionist approach to understanding religious conversion, it is argued that religious conversion to Orthodox Judaism is also a social process of becoming ethnically "Jewish". In this study, two types of converts are considered, namely con-verts who come to Judaism through marriage and converts for religious purposes. Through in-depth-interviews with rabbis and converts, experiences of social inclusion and exclusion, and the meaning of conversions is understood. This study finds that regardless of the path to conversion, belonging and identity are key reasons for con-version, and that it is an ethnic process that serves group and individual needs recip-rocally. At an individual level, becoming Jewish through conversion helps avoid social exclusion and achieves other social inclusions by acquiring membership in new com-munities and by forming new social identities. At a group level, the research shows that religious conversion is part of the group's broader concern for maintaining ethnic boundaries and is therefore an element of the politics of belonging. The research shows how conversion to a minority ethnic group in a plural environment becomes a social means to protect ethnic identity and avoid assimilation. By understanding con-version as the politics of belonging, the research explores the subjective experiences of citizenship at a group and individual level.

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Neylan, Julian School of History &amp Philosophy of Science UNSW. "The sociology of numbers: statistics and social policy in Australia." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of History and Philosophy of Science, 2005. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/31963.

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This dissertation presents an historical-sociological study of how governments of the modern western state use the language and techniques of quantification in the domain of social policy. The case material has an Australian focus. The thesis argues that by relying on techniques of quantification, governments risk introducing a false legitimacy to their social policy decisions. The thesis takes observed historical phenomena, language and techniques of quantification for signifying the social, and seeks meaningful interpretations in light of the culturally embedded actions of individuals and collective members of Australian bureaucracies. These interpretations are framed by the arguments of a range of scholars on the sociology of mathematics and quantitative technologies. The interpretative framework is in turn grounded in the history and sociology of modernity since the Enlightenment period, with a particular focus on three aspects: the nature and purpose of the administrative bureaucracy, the role of positivism in shaping scientific inquiry and the emergence of a risk consciousness in the late twentieth century. The thesis claim is examined across three case studies, each representative of Australian government action in formulating social policy or providing human services. Key social entities examined include the national census of population, housing needs indicators, welfare program performance and social capital. The analysis of these social statistics reveals a set of recurring characteristics that are shown to reduce their certainty. The analysis provides evidence for a common set of institutional attitudes toward social numbers, essentially that quantification is an objective technical device capable of reducing unstable social entities to stable, reliable significations (numbers). While this appears to strengthen the apparatus of governmentality for developing and implementing state policy, ignoring the many unarticulated and arbitrary judgments that are embedded in social numbers introduces a false legitimacy to these government actions.

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Douglas, Steven Murray, and u4093670@alumni anu edu au. "Is 'green' religion the solution to the ecological crisis? A case study of mainstream religion in Australia." The Australian National University. Fenner School of Environment and Society, 2008. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20091111.144835.

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A significant and growing number of authors and commentators have proposed that ecologically enlightened (greened) religion is the solution or at least a major part of the solution to the global ecological crisis. These include Birch, 1965 p90; Brindle, 2000; Callicott, 1994; Gardner, 2002, 2003, 2006; Gore Jr., 1992; Gottlieb, 2006, 2007; Hallman, 2000; Hamilton, 2006b, a, 2007b; Hessel & Ruether, 2000b; Hitchcock, 1999; King, 2002; Lerner, 2006a; McDonagh, 1987; McFague, 2001; McKenzie, 2005; Nasr, 1996; Oelschlaeger, 1994; Palmer, 1992; Randers, 1972; Tucker & Grim, 2000; and White Jr., 1967. Proponents offer a variety of reasons for this view, including that the majority of the worlds and many nations people identify themselves as religious, and that there is a large amount of land and infrastructure controlled by religious organisations worldwide. However, the most important reason is that religion is said to have one or more exceptional qualities that can drive and sustain dramatic personal and societal change. The underlying or sometimes overt suggestion is that as the ecological crisis is ultimately a moral crisis, religion is best placed to address the problem at its root. ¶ Proponents of the above views are often religious, though there are many who are not. Many proponents are from the USA and write in the context of the powerful role of religion in that country. Others write in a global context. Very few write from or about the Australian context where the role of religion in society is variously argued to be virtually non-existent, soon to be non-existent, or conversely, profound but covert. ¶ This thesis tests the proposition that religion is the solution to the ecological crisis. It does this using a case study of mainstream religion in Australia, represented by the Catholic, Anglican, and Uniting Churches. The Churches ecological policies and practices are analysed to determine the extent to which these denominations are fulfilling, or might be able to fulfil, the proposition. The primary research method is an Internet-based search for policy and praxis material. The methodology is Critical Human Ecology. ¶ The research finds that: the greening of these denominations is evident; it is a recent phenomenon in the older Churches; there is a growing wealth of environmentalist sentiment and ecological policy being produced; but little institutional praxis has occurred. Despite the often-strong rhetoric, there is no evidence to suggest that ecological concerns, even linked to broader social concerns (termed ecojustice) are core business for the Churches as institutions. Conventional institutional and anthropocentric welfare concerns remain dominant. ¶ Overall, the three Churches struggle with organisational, demographic, and cultural problems that impede their ability to convert their official ecological concerns into institutional praxis. Despite these problems, there are some outstanding examples of ecological policy and praxis in institutional and non-institutional forms that at least match those seen in mainstream secular society. ¶ I conclude that in Australia, mainstream religion is a limited part of the solution to the ecological crisis. It is not the solution to the crisis, at least not in its present institutional form. Institutional Christianity is in decline in Australia and is being replaced by non-institutional Christianity, other religions and non-religious spiritualities (Tacey, 2000, 2003; Bouma, 2006; Tacey, 2007). The ecological crisis is a moral crisis, but in Australia, morality is increasingly outside the domain of institutional religion. The growth of the non-institutional religious and the spiritual but not religious demographic may, if ecologically informed, offer more of a contribution to addressing the ecological crisis in future. This may occur in combination with some of the more progressive movements seen at the periphery of institutional Christianity such as the eco-ministry of Rev. Dr. Jason John in Adelaide, and the Creation Spirituality taught, advocated and practiced by the Mercy Sisters Earth Link project in Queensland.

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Baker, Joseph O. Bader Christopher David. "A quantitative investigation of normative and deviant religious experiences." Waco, Tex. : Baylor University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2104/5041.

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Glavac, Sonya Maree. "A longitudinal analysis of return migration from Australia,1982-1990." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289207.

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This study evaluates three hypotheses of return migration from Australia: the success hypothesis, the failure hypothesis and the continued evaluation hypothesis. Under the success hypothesis, migrants integrate well into Australian society, but return when they reach their target income. The failure hypothesis proposes that migrants have strong ties to their country of origin and do not integrate well into Australian society. This weak level of integration leads to low probabilities of finding employment and low wage. That, combined with the high pecuniary costs associated with remaining in Australia leads to high probabilities of return migration when economic conditions in Australia are poor. Under this scenario, migrants tend to be older, married and are poorly skilled. In the final hypothesis--the continued evaluation hypothesis--migrants retain strong ties to their country of origin while also integrating into Australian society. However, unlike the previous two hypotheses, migrants continue to compare economic conditions in their country of origin with those in Australia, and return when benefits outweigh the costs of remaining in Australia. The three hypotheses are tested using data from Australian arrival and departure cards and a Cox proportional hazard model. The continued evaluation path hypothesis is found to be most appropriate for Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, whereas the success hypothesis is most applicable for South Africa, Viet Nam and Yugoslavia. There was little support for the failure hypothesis.

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Delaney, Helen Mary. "The evolution of governance structures of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia, 1846-1990." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/7643.

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Bellamy, John. "Why people don't go to church : a study of factors associated with non-participation and participation in church in Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2001. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1071.

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Church-based religion in the western world is considered by many sociologists to be in decline. The causes of this decline have been linked to secularising processes such as institutional differentiation, urbanisation, industrialisation, and the rise of scientific rationalism. The primary research aim of this study is to identify what contribution the religious beliefs of individuals, their demographic characteristics, their work and leisure patterns, their attitudes and experiences of churches and their experience of the urban environment, make towards understanding patterns of non-participation and participation in local churches. A secondary research aim is to identify to what extent theories of secularisation and other theories of religious change receive support from these empirical findings, as well as from other social surveys and historical sources examined in the study. In order to address the primary research aim, a random sample, community survey was carried out. This survey included a wide range of questions covering the issues designated for research~ as well as eliciting stated reasons for non-participation. This survey differs from many others in that it was limited to selected local areas, enabling some assessment to be made of the impact of the physical characteristics of these local areas on church attendance patterns. Initially the data analysis focuses on bivariate relationships between particular characteristics of respondents and their extent of church participation. Thereafter, the data are subjected to multi-variate analysis, in order to identify the contribution of each variable while controlling for the effects of other variables. Path analysis and partial correlations are used to begin to identity the likely causal links between variables in the study. The study concludes that the certainty and salience of traditional religious beliefs and practices make the greatest contribution towards explaining patterns of church participation and non-participation. While the relationship between beliefs and nonparticipation can be shown to conform with secularisation theory, there are doubts about the direction of causality. There is evidence of the significant impact of religious socialisation during childhood on later patterns of participation and nonparticipation, and the likelihood of further declines in church attendance levels due to cohort differences. Many of the variables traditionally associated with conventional secularisation theory such as education, workforce involvement and aspects of urbanisation offer only a partial explanation of non-participation in church. By comparison, variables associated with leisure, material goals and the pursuit of happiness are more strongly related to church participation at the individual level. These provide evidence of other ways in which modernity interacts with religion to produce secularisation, apart from the rising tide of rationality associated with modernity.

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Anderson, Paul D. Jr. "Rural Urban Differences in Educational Outcomes: Does Religious Social Capital Matter?" University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1430749911.

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Hwang, Ik-chu. "Class, religion, and local community : social grouping in Nenagh, Republic of Ireland." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.357554.

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Segura, Clasina Buffelen. "Postmodern man in search of a soul: towards a (re)formulation of the sociology of religion." Texas A&M University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/1189.

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This dissertation seeks to evaluate and reformulate the sociology of religion through an integration of the work of Carl G. Jung and others. The purpose of such a reformulation is to develop a "new" theoretical framework within which to describe and explain individual and collective level religious and spiritual experience in our contemporary postmodern social landscape. Current theoretical frameworks for the sociology of religion have failed to provide an adequate lens through which to view religious experience and have failed to provide an understanding of the differences between religion and spirituality. The modernist framework which reduces religious and spiritual phenomena to mere numbers lacks the depth necessary to view such a multifaceted and varied grouping of social experience. The postmodern alternative, as well, has multiple problems in terms of application particularly if one accepts the postmodern argument that there is no truth. Following a postmodernist trajectory where there is no truth, one must question whether or not the sociological study of religion is relevant at all. Presented here is an integrative model which challenges Kantian assumptions about the nature of religion. The relationship between the concepts of religion and spirituality has long baffled the social sciences. Here spirituality is characterized, in a truly Jungian manner, as an archetypal drive shared by all of humanity. Religion, on the other hand, is best thought of as individual and collective representations of an often unconscious search for a soul. This sort of conceptualization proves fuller than those currently offered. A discussion of religious and spiritual options associated with our contemporary American landscape provides evidence of the applicability of the framework presented here.

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Morgan, Greg. "Attitudes Concerning Euthanasia Among Protestant Denominations." TopSCHOLAR®, 1999. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/734.

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The purpose of this research was to uncover differences in attitudes among Protestant denominations concerning euthanasia. Variations in attitudes were viewed using social theories of religion by Emile Dukheim, Max Weber, Charles Glock, and Rodney Stark. These theories were used to establish a basis for variation among the Protestant denominations on social issues. A questionnaire was given to four Protestant Churches in a mid-sized city in Kentucky during the Spring of 1999. The sample of 134 respondents represented six different Protestant denominations. Logistic regression and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. Results suggest that pro-euthanasia attitudes are positively correlated to educational attainment, experience with a dying friend, and association with liberal denominations. The results also suggest that pro-euthanasia attitudes are negatively correlated with religiosity and political conservativism.

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LeVine, Jason. "THE EFFECTS OF RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION AND PARTICIPATION ON RACIAL DISCRIMINATION." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2009. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/3719.

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This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and racially discriminatory attitudes. Several investigations have been conducted on the topic, yet they did not choose national representative samples. My research examines four decades of NORC General Social Surveys to analyze how religious affiliation and attendance affect the outcome of a survey question which tests the level of discriminatory attitudes among respondents.
M.A.
Department of Sociology
Sciences
Applied Sociology MA

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Worsfold, Adrian John. "New denominationalism : tendencies towards a new reformation of English Christianity." Thesis, University of Hull, 1988. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:11844.

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The tensions which had over hundreds of years built up in the Roman Catholic Church produced the first Reformation. In England the new Anglican Church could not hold together all its elements, and the Great Ejection of 1662 saw the real beginning of separate denominations. Today another realignment is taking place. In an environment of indifference to churchgoing the Churches must respond. But they are divided within. Some elements desire to convert the world, others wish to defend the Church from it, a number want to absorb the world and others wish to combine these approaches. The differences relate to viewpoints about belief and authority. Historical techniques, scientific knowledge and philosophical models have affected the understanding of the Church, the Bible and models of belief. The result is that liberalism, once outside subscribing denominations, has returned to them. This has created further strains with those of biblical and Church beliefs and authority views. A new holiness movement is sweeping the Churches. A revivalist spirit calling on interpreted individual experience is spreading across Catholic and Protestant structures. This has created both new unity and divisions. Behind the desires for ecumenism, the result within denominations is renewed tension between 'independency' and the 'broad Church'. New denominationalism, the realignment of belief and authority patterns, threatens to become a New Reformation, a structural change resulting from alliances and schism.

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Rodriguez-Pagan, Dharma R. "Universidad De Puerto Rico Recinto De Ciencias Medicas Facultad De Ciencias Biosociales Y Escuela Graduada De Salud Publica Departamento De Ciencias Sociales Programa Graduado De Demografia." Thesis, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences (Puerto Rico), 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10931355.

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Actualmente, Puerto Rico está atravesando la transición demográfica, lo que provoca que la población envejecida esté aumentando. Este reto es debido a la reducción en las tasas de natalidad, las altas tasas de migración, las tasas de mortalidad; el mismo tiene diversas implicaciones sociales. La religión, como elemento pro-social, sirve como herramienta para lidiar con los diversos desafíos que atraviesan los adultos mayores; demostrando una influencia positiva en la vida y en la salud de estos individuos. No obstante, la religión como factor en las investigaciones demográficas, no ha sido estudiada en Puerto Rico.

Por consiguiente, existe una necesidad de proveer información sobre las características sociodemográficas de las personas de 60 años o más por grupo religioso, sus características religiosas, sus redes de apoyo y su estado de salud, ya que estas variables influyen en la vida del envejecido. Se utilizó un estudio descriptivo, trabajando con la base de datos “Condiciones de Salud de los Adultos de Edad Mayor en Puerto Rico: 2002-2003” (conocido por sus siglas en inglés, PREHCO). Los resultados y discusión de este trabajo, les proveerán a los lectores un mejor marco para estudiar la influencia de la religión en estos individuos. Además, se espera que esta investigación despierte el interés de profesionales de la salud y líderes religiosos, para así poder realizar distintos planes de acción o políticas públicas para trabajar con esta población vulnerable.

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Murray, Kaye. "Irene Greenwood: A voice for peace." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2002. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/722.

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The thesis establishes the contribution to feminism and the peace of Western Australian broadcaster, (Dr.) Irene Greenwood (AM). In spite of efforts by organised peace groups to persuade governments of the social, political and environmental consequences of violence and warfare, ours is still a violent and war-torn world. Feminism has made significant contributions to peace and justice and Greenwood’s social activism provides the opportunity to explore these links. The media are a powerful tool for social change. In a global climate where violence and warfare are the media’s currency, Irene Greenwood’s broadcasting career provides opportunities to explore the historical connections between internationalism, feminism and peace.

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Daniels, Smith Anisi. "A Study of the Relationship Between Racial and Religious Identities." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1524615640339724.

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Smith, Daniel L. "The religion of the landless : a sociology of the Babylonian Exile." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cb08e6da-28ac-4246-90fc-cd027e4bdfef.

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In this study, the Babylonian Exile of the Jews is approached from the perspective of a sociological analysis of more recent historical cases of mass deportation and refugee behaviour. After this survey, four behaviour patterns are isolated that function as 'Mechanisms for Survival' for minorities in crisis and under domination in a foreign environment. These 'Mechanisms' include 1) Structural adaptation, 2) The rise of, and conflict between, new leaders. 35 new Folklore patterns, especially 'Hero' stories, and 4) adoption or elaboration of ritual as a means of boundary maintenance and identity preservation. These four mechanisms are then illustrated from Exilic texts of the Old Testament. The rise of Elders and the changing nature of the Bet Abot is seen as structural adaptation. The conflict of Jeremiah and Hananiah, and the advice of Jeremiah in his 'letter', is seen as the conflict of new leaders in crisis. The 'Diaspora Novella' is compared to Messianic expectation and especially to Suffering Servant to show how folklore can reflect social conditions and serve a function as 'hero stories'. Finally, the latest redactional layers of 'P' reveal concern for purity and separation that expressed itself in social isolationism and boundary maintenance, particularly in the dissolution of marriages with foreign wives. There is also a section on social conflict after the restoration, as a measure of the independent development of exilic social ideology and theology. The conclusion is that sociological analysis of the Exilic material reveals the exilic-post-exilic community exhibiting features of a minority group under stress, and the creative means by which that group responds by Mechanisms for Survival.

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Woolley, Donald Patrick. "Perceptions of the Presidency: Civil Religion and the Public?s Assessment of Candidates and Incumbents." NCSU, 2004. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-08292004-154503/.

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Robert Bellah introduced the concept of American civil religion more than thirty year ago. While interest has waxed and waned over time, there has been an increase in the level of attention paid to civil religion in the United States since the beginning of the 21st Century. Much of this interest has been rhetorical however, and very little actual research has taken place. This study examines the relationship between the civil religious beliefs of the American public and the public?s perception of the presidency. Randomly selected subjects from stratified samples in Raleigh, North Carolina were collected during two separate, yet similar, studies in 1984 and 1998. Data from then 1984 Reagan-Mondale presidential contest are used to examine presidential electoral preference for candidates who are seen as more civil religious. It is contended that the candidate who is seen as more civil religious will have an electoral advantage. Further data collected during the fall of 1998 are used to look at the relationship between civil religious beliefs and feelings of outrage or betrayal at the perceived actions of President Clinton leading to his impeachment trial are explored. In this case it is contended that the stronger a member of the public?s feelings of civil religiosity, the greater their feelings of outrage. It would appear from the results of these studies that the lens of civil religion is used by the public in their perception of the presidency. It would also appear that the traditional view of American civil religion has changed since Bellah?s original thesis. The implications of these findings, in terms of theory methodology and policy are discussed.

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Langridge, Sonia D. "Motivations to volunteer in selected service organisations in Australia." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2003. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1323.

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The contributions of volunteers assist many organisations to stretch scarce resources further in a bid to provide important services to the community. Such organisations are challenged to motivate the participation of new and continuing volunteers. Although most people in the community recognise the value and importance of volunteerism, few actually commit to participating as volunteers. This study seeks to expand the somewhat limited research on volunteers in an Australian context. The sample consisted of 361 volunteers from three service organisations in Australia-- Rotary International, Horne and Community Care (HACC), and Surf Life Saving Australia. Each of these groups fulfils an important role in the community, yet struggles to recruit and retain the services of volunteers. Determining the motivations that members and potential members seek to have satisfied through their volunteer participation allows persuasive communication to be developed that will more effectively attract people to these organisations. It can also assist the placement of volunteers in the most satisfying roles, resulting in longer retention of volunteers. This study employed the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI), an instrument that measures the motivational profile of individual volunteers. The reasonable sample size facilitated the use of multivariate techniques such as factor, discriminant, and cluster analysis, Motivational and demographic profiles of the sample and each sub-group were determined and differences between the three sub-groups examined. The results determined that, for this sample, there were five key motivations to volunteer, contrasting with the six-factor result consistently found by the developers of the VFI. Further research is required to determine whether this is a reflection of Australian volunteers or rather of this particular sample. For the total sample and for each sub-group, the primary motivators of their volunteer participation were the Values and Understanding functions, and the Career function was the least important motivation. The Career motive was, however, significantly more important for Surf Life Saving volunteers than for the Rotary and HACC volunteers and served to differentiate between the groups. The results suggested that Surf Life Saving volunteers tended to be more egoistically-oriented in their motivations for volunteering than were the Rotary and HACC volunteers. Implications for the recruitment, placement and retention of volunteers in these organisations are subsequently discussed.

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Baker, Joseph O., and Andrew Whitehead. "He-God, the Punisher: Masculine Images of God as the Strongest Religious Predictor of Punitiveness." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5388.

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Partington, Geoffrey. "The significant past in Australian thought : some studies in nineteenth century Australian thought and its British background." Title page, preface and contents only, 1989. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09php2732.pdf.

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Robertson, Christie Social Science &amp Policy UNSW. "Social capital, women's agency and the VIEW clubs of Australia." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. Social Science and Policy, 2007. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/31919.

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Contemporary debates about collective action in civil society have given prominent place to the connections between voluntary associations and social capital. Social capital research, however, commonly over-emphasises the role of associations in generating societal-level outcomes, to the neglect of the specific contexts in which associations reside and the different opportunities individuals and groups have to access resources for and through collective action. Also largely ignored are considerations of gender. This thesis addresses these issues, presenting evidence from a case study of a large women???s service organisation ??? the VIEW Clubs of Australia ??? to examine how social capital and women???s agency intersect. The thesis adopts a social-structural approach to social capital, highlighting its role as a resource brokered through networks that both enable and constrain action. This approach attends to the inter-relations of particular types of social capital, such as bonding and bridging; specific elements of social capital, such as reciprocity, trust, and shared values, identities and purposes; and addresses the broader socio-historical context in which social capital networks are located. The thesis employs a model of agency that encompasses three core fields of agency ??? individual, social and political. These fields of agency encapsulate the capacity for women to ???act??? and exercise choice and change in their own lives, in the community, and in the polity, and to do this through collective action. The thesis applies these ideas using an embedded case study model combining documentary analysis, participant observation and in-depth interviews. The findings reveal agency and social capital to be in tension. Activities that feed the agential capacity of the organisation and its members are more successfully realised in areas closest to women???s past experiences than in those addressing the public sphere. The research nevertheless shows that a voluntary association such as VIEW can foster women???s agency. Indeed, building women???s capacities in society as a whole may well rely on organisational contexts where women are empowered to self-develop and connect their activities to broader society. This is impacted by the nature, purpose, and social location of the social capital networks of women and others, and has implications for how we understand the ongoing role of voluntary associations in civil society. By revealing how different dimensions of social capital operate and intersect with women???s agency, the thesis shows the dynamic role of voluntary associations in civil society.

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Padgett, Douglas M. "Religion, memory, and imagination in Vietnamese California." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3255506.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Religious Studies, 2007.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 19, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: A, page: 1023. Advisers: Robert A. Orsi; Jan Nattier.

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O'Leary, Zina, of Western Sydney Hawkesbury University, of Arts Education and Social Sciences Faculty, and School of Humanities. "Re-imagining apostasy." THESIS_FARSS_HUM_Oleary_Z.xml, 1997. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/364.

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This dissertation investigates the apostate: those who have given up the beliefs of their birth religion; and apostasy: the process of foregoing said religion. Beyond empirically derived determinants of religious defection often provided by conventional investigations in the sociology of religion, this thesis treats apostasy as a potential signifier of societal change. It attempts to see apostasy as a window for examining the location, of not only apostasy, but of socialisation, religion, and religiosity as constructs of modernity. It provides an investigation beyond a traditional analysis of apostasy as an aberration or problematic rupture in religious socialisation. Rather, apostasy is explored as a potential signifier of resistance to modernistic constructions of socialisation, religion and religiosity. It asks whether, commensurate with an emerging postmodern condition, there has been a transformation in Foucauldian 'technologies of the self' (1988:18) that allows more agency in the negotiation of the self, religion and religiosity. Chapter One introduces and contextualises the argument. It lays the theoretical framework for the thesis and situates the work in the literature. Chapter Two presents the methodology, reviews preliminary statistical findings, and offers the apostasy typology. Chapters Three and Four examine religious socialisation and epistemological orientation of religious disaffiliation. Chapter Five discusses post apostatic re-formations of the self and Chapter Six concludes the thesis with a discussion of the potential need for post apostatic religiosity.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Kucinskas, Jaime. "Change without confrontation| The making of mainstream meditation." Thesis, Indiana University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3629911.

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This dissertation contributes to scholarship on consensus-based movement mobilization, institutional change, and field theory by exploring how movements with stigmatized cultural elements develop consensus-based tactics to establish legitimacy and build new fields. Using mixed qualitative methods and an abductive, multi-level approach, I examine how Buddhist-inspired meditators legitimized and diffused meditation to create a new contemplative meditation field anchored in multiple secular fields (science, education, business, healthcare, and the military), largely without confrontation. In Chapter 1, I investigate how this movement assesses the broader multi-institutional environment it is embedded in, as well as movement leaders' strategies to break into new fields. I examine in Chapter 2 how movement leaders adapt and transform Buddhist culture to move it into new secular institutions. I find Buddhist meditation undergoes a secularization process, at the same time as elements of the sacred are infused into secular institutions. Investigating how meditation moves reveals the importance of strategic action in contemporary lived religion, as well as shows how many kinds of institution-specific forms of contemplative culture are produced through interactions with targeted audiences. These diverse forms of contemplative culture enable the movement to recruit and include many different institutional audiences. Lastly, in Chapter 3, I show how the movement "intervention" programs, which resocialize organizational inhabitants to align their lives with contemplative perspectives, help the movement transform their targeted institutions from the inside out.

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Westcott, Harriet. "Friendship after migration: The experiences of skilled migrants to Australia." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/14420.

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Friendship is an important social relation that offers emotional support in a range of ways and at different life stages. When individuals migrate they necessarily leave their existing friends behind, and need to find new ones. As the numbers of migrants to Australia increases, it is important to understand the emotional consequences of migration on their friendships. This study explores two key areas of friendship after migration. The first area is the process of acquainting and maintaining new friendships after arriving in Australia. The contexts that participants made friends are discussed, along with barriers to friendship such as language issues, or cultural misunderstandings. The second area of investigation is how participants managed to maintain old friendships with people outside Australia over time and geographic distance. The strategies that participants used to stay in touch with old friends, such as using new communication technologies and making home visits are outlined. This study draws on findings from semi-structured interviews and data gathered from a friendship map. The sample was comprised of skilled or professional migrants from different countries. The commonality of these participants was their experience of friendship rupture following migration. Drawing on a range of concepts, but with Goffman’s ideas of micro-sociology as a foundation, the findings of this research contribute to the scholarship of the sociology of friendship. In summary, it was found that migration impacts on friendships in various ways. Moving to a new country can have an emotional cost, because old friends are left behind and it takes time to find new ones who can fulfil these quality relationships, meaning the period immediately following migration can be a lonely one. Further, the migrant is in a position of relative social inequality in comparison to locals, who already have their friends around them. Participants often still felt emotionally close to old friends, even though their friendships were inactive. However, as time passed and life circumstances changed, it became harder to maintain these links over time and distance.

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Williams, John Anthony. "Church, religion and secularization in the theology of Christian radicalism, 1960-69 : critical perspectives from the sociology of religion." Thesis, Durham University, 1986. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6775/.

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Fosse, Ethan. "Cultural Continuity and the Rise of the Millennials: Generational Trends in Politics, Religion, and Economic Values." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17463122.

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Walters, Noel. "Religion, Religiosity, and Attitudes Toward Immigrants| The Influence of American Mainline Religions on Sociopolitical Views." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1589658.

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The growth in recent decades of less traditionally religious groups has inspired a reevaluation of the effect of religious tradition and religiosity on sociopolitical attitudes, particularly attitudes toward immigrants. Additionally, the historic increase in Mexican and Central American immigrants to the U.S. has fixed national attention on immigration reform. Despite a consensus concerning the need for immigration reform in the U.S., existing literature, surveys, and public commentary have shown that issues of immigration foster atypical patterns of support and opposition, particularly among religious groups. As a result, research examining the effects of religious tradition and religiosity on attitudes toward immigrants has yielded contradictory results.

Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, the author aims to construct a more nuanced theoretical framework that distinguishes between the effects of religious tradition and religiosity on attitudes toward immigrants. Among the most notable findings are that members of less traditionally religious groups, those with lower religiosity, and more highly educated respondents have more positive attitudes toward immigrants, while greater perceived economic and cultural threats posed by immigrants create more negative attitudes. The author also finds that religiosity has different effects on attitudes toward immigrants for Black Protestants compared to white Evangelical Protestants. Additional findings and their implications are discussed.

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Bader, Christopher D., Joseph O. Baker, and Andrea Molle. "Countervailing Forces: Religiosity and Paranormal Belief in Italy." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2012. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/498.

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Due to the unique cultural niche inhabited by “paranormal” beliefs and experiences, social scientists have struggled to understand the relationship between religion and the paranormal. Complicating matters is the fact that extant research has primarily focused upon North America, leaving open the possible relationship between these two spheres of the supernatural in less religiously pluralistic contexts. Using data from a random, national survey of Italian citizens, we examine the nature of the relationship between religiosity and paranormal beliefs in a largely Catholic context. We find a curvilinear relationship between religiosity and paranormal beliefs among Italians, with those at the lowest and highest levels of religious participation holding lower average levels of “paranormal” belief than those with moderate religious participation. This pattern reflects how two influential social institutions, religion and science, simultaneously define the paranormal as outside of acceptable realms of inquiry and belief.

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Carman, Stephen B. "Leadership style and church attendance| An ex post facto study of Churches of Christ in Texas." Thesis, Capella University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3600756.

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Church leaders have historically used attendance and membership as indicators of church health and leader effectiveness, yet church attendance in America is declining. 131 senior ministers in mainline Churches of Christ in the state of Texas participated in an ex post facto study to explore the relationship between the leadership styles of senior ministers (IV) including, transformational, transactional, and passive avoidant leader styles, measured by Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and church attendance (DV) patterns, including declining, static, or growing congregations between 2009 and 2012. The findings show that all three MLQ leader styles are present in declining, static, and growing churches. The data suggests there is no relationship between leader style and church growth trends. Churches declined, remained static, or grew with each leader style. The study indicates that senior ministers in Churches of Christ in the state of Texas demonstrate transformational leader behaviors. However, transformational leader styles may not be influencing church growth as measured by attendance more significantly than transactional or passive avoidant leader styles. Because the study did not find a statistically significant difference in church growth patterns for the three leadership styles, this suggests there may be other factors at work that are influencing church growth in Churches of Christ.

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Baker, Joseph O. "The Great Abdicating." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5389.

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Lake, Meredith. "'Such spiritual acres' Protestantism, the land and the colonisation of Australia, 1788-1850 /." Connect to full text, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/3983.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2008.
Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 22, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of History, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

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Kelleher, Matthew H. "Archaeology of sacred space the spatial nature of religious behaviour in the Blue Mountains National Park Australia /." Connect to full text, 2002. http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/4138.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003.
Title from title screen (viewed April 6, 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

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Baker, Joseph O., Jonathan Hill, and Nathaniel Porter. "Religion and Secularity with Crowdsourced Data from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5390.

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Frediksson, Mikael. "Kalmar stads kristnande : En resa genom Mörebygden." Thesis, Linnaeus University, School of Cultural Sciences, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-6674.

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Amin, Larvina. ""Vi är varandras medmänniskor" : En intervjustudie med fem andlig vårdare inom kriminalvården om deras möten med intagna." Thesis, Mälardalens högskola, Akademin för hållbar samhälls- och teknikutveckling, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-11826.

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Wilkins-Laflamme, Sarah. "Les Églises unie, anglicane et catholique et la communauté anglo-québécoise: portrait et enjeux contemporains." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28753.

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Using annual statistics from the United, Anglican and Catholic Churches as well as demographic data from Quebec and Canada, the present thesis details the results of a series of quantitative analyses concerning the evolution of church indicators since the 1970s within the English-speaking community of Quebec. Data regarding religious affiliation, church attendance, membership and rites of passage (baptisms, professions of faith, confirmations, marriages and funerals) are also the object of comparisons with similar statistics from the rest of Quebec and Canada in order to establish the particularities of Anglo-Quebecers in this matter. The entirety of the results show three main axes which distinguish tendencies of decline from those of relative stability: differences between denominations (Protestantism-Catholicism), between linguistic communities (Anglophone-Francophone) and between regions (East-West). Anglo-Quebecers resemble more often than not English Canada regarding religious indicator tendencies from the three Christian churches being studied. Declines, especially protestant, in the English-speaking community are sometimes lesser than those in Ontario and in the West, but greater than those in the Atlantic region. These results are interpreted according to a theoretical framework allowing for the existence of several stories of secularization, dialoging most notably with the sociological works of David Martin, Daniele Hervieu-Leger and Raymond Lemieux --- experts regarding the link between church and national community as well as religious identity. In summary, new data is detailed and interpreted in order to contribute, in a modest but pertinent way, to the field of Sociology of Religion in Quebec and in Canada. An in depth examination of the relationship between Anglo-Quebecers and their three main Christian churches also allows to distinguish in many regards this population from other Quebecois and Canadian ethno-linguistic communities.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Religion and sociology Australia'

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