Publications

Research has examined differences in vaccine hesitancy by religion and by race. Complex religion theory, however, argues that research should examine these two social forces in concert with one another to understand how the religious experience is racialized. Applying this theoretical approach, we examine the interaction of religion and race in a new module for vaccine hesitancy included in the 2022 General Social Survey. We find that the association between religiosity and vaccine hesitancy observed in other work is racialized. Stronger religious commitments are more strongly associated with more vaccine-hesitant attitudes for Black Americans than for White Americans. Yet stronger religious commitments are also more strongly associated with a higher likelihood of vaccine self-reports for a flu vaccine or a COVID-19 vaccine for Black Americans, after accounting for vaccine hesitancy attitudes. These indirect negative and direct positive associations between religiosity and vaccine reporting are important for understanding racialized differences in vaccine uptake. We use these findings to discuss how theories of racialized and complex religion can better serve the study of health and well-being.

The Censuses of Religious Bodies contain detailed information about early 20th-century American religious groups. However, these data have not been used to their full potential—likely because until recently, most of the data in these volumes had not been digitized. We undertook a large data entry initiative to make these data available to contemporary researchers. This research note introduces scholars to the dataset and presents the first quantitative analysis of the wealth held (and not held) by American religious groups a century ago. By quantifying the vast historical disparities between religious traditions, we provide new empirical support for complex religion theory (Wilde 2018), which argues that religion has been a site of stark socioeconomic inequality throughout the history of the United States. We hope our findings and work digitizing these data will spur future research into how socioeconomic disparities between religious groups have persisted or been disrupted over time.

How do seemingly nonracial organizational processes reproduce racial inequality? This study examines how “the Pact,” an ostensibly race- neutral COVID-19 behavioral policy implemented at a predominantly White U.S. liberal arts college, undermined social connection and belonging among students of color. Analyzing three waves of interviews with 30 undergraduates (N=75 interviews), we document disparities in four domains of campus life: (1) social isolation in residence halls, (2) access to “safe” forms of rule-breaking, (3) visibility and surveillance, and (4) stakes of violation. We identify three underlying mechanisms— unequal resource allocation, uneven rule enforcement, and colorblind decision-making—and demonstrate how distinct institutional conditions facilitated these processes. This analysis advances theoretical understandings of racialized organizational processes in higher education by connecting previously theorized mechanisms to specific university characteristics and practices.

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Safety nets are typically invisible until tested, and the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to observe how undergraduates responded to the common challenge of campus closures. Using survey data from two public universities (N=750), we investigated the factors associated with students’ reports of moving to a parent’s home as a result of the pandemic. Our findings indicate that students’ material needs stemming from loss of housing (if on campus) or employment (if off campus) significantly affected but did not fully explain their housing decisions. Beyond these factors, older students and those living with a romantic partner, sibling, or extended family member were less likely to move in with a parent. These findings build on research documenting class-based differences by demonstrating the importance of life stage and other social ties. Moreover, they highlight how parent-child relationships evolve during the transition to adulthood, influencing decisions to seek support in times of crisis.

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See also:

Contexts blog post

Blog post for the Council on Contemporary Families

Objective: This article identifies how social class differences in undergraduates’ relationships with their parents shaped their responses to educational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The mechanisms through which parents transmit class advantages to children are often hidden from view and therefore remain imperfectly understood. This study uses the case of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how young adults from different social class backgrounds expect, negotiate, and attach meaning to parental support.

Method: This study draws from in-depth interviews with 48 Black and White upper-middle and working-class undergraduates from a single elite university, along with 10 of their mothers.

Results: Facing pandemic-related disruptions, upper-middle-class students typically sought substantial direction and material assistance from parents. In contrast, working-class students typically assumed more responsibility for their own—and sometimes other family members’—well-being. These classed patterns of “privileged dependence” and “precarious autonomy” were shaped by students’ understandings of family members’ authority, needs, and responsibilities.

Conclusion: Upper-middle-class students’ greater dependence on parents functioned as a protective force, enabling them to benefit from parents’ material and academic support during the transition to remote instruction. These short-term protections may yield long-term payoffs denied their working-class peers. Beyond the immediate context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concepts of “privileged dependence” and “precarious autonomy” offer scholars a set of theoretical tools for understanding class inequality in other young adult contexts.

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Find the full journal issue here.

See also:

Contexts author Q&A

Contexts interview with Michèle Lamont, Shira Zilberstein & Mari Sanchez

Contexts feature essay

Contexts blog post

Penn Omnia Magazine profile

Opinion article for The Conversation

Blog post for Work In Progress

Blog post for the Council on Contemporary Families

Demonstrating how race is socially constructed has been a core sociological objective, yet many individuals continue to hold essentialist and other concepts of what races are and how to account for group differences. These conceptualizations have crucial consequences for intergroup attitudes, support for social policies, and structures of inequality, all of which are key sociological concerns; yet much of the research in this area has emerged outside of sociology. Our review of this interdisciplinary scholarship describes the range of views people hold, the attitudes and behaviors associated with them, and what factors contribute to these views. We focus primarily on essentialism and constructivism, although we describe the greater variety of beliefs beyond this dichotomy, as well as fluidity in how people use these concepts. We conclude by presenting research on strategies for reducing essentialist belief systems and identifying key areas for future research.

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Research on parental involvement has traditionally focused on social class differences in parenting behavior throughout early childhood and K-12 schooling. Yet there is mounting evidence that similar class divides persist as children exit high school and progress through young adulthood. This review examines parents' roles in young adults' lives, focusing on class differences in non-financial forms of involvement. These processes are often hidden from public view and have received less attention in prior reviews. Beginning with the transition out of high school, I discuss current research on parents' roles in relation to five traditional young adult milestones: finishing school, finding a job, leaving the family home, getting married, and becoming a parent (Furstenberg, 2010). The findings underscore that understanding the transition to adulthood requires understanding young adults' relationships with parents.

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This article examines institutional approaches to multifaith chaplaincy across private institutions of higher education. Based on a pilot study of eight nonreligious colleges and universities, the authors identify a continuum of models for multifaith chaplaincy. At one end of this continuum, universities facilitate access for chaplaincy affiliates they do not pay; at the other end, universities employ staff chaplains. The authors find that smaller institutions and those historically affiliated with a religious group tend to employ more staff chaplains. Chaplaincy models affect how deeply chaplains and affiliates are involved on campus and the possibilities for interfaith engagement.

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This article examines student engagement with chaplaincy services through a pilot survey administered at a private liberal arts college (n = 1043). Almost half of the respondents reported engagement with campus chaplains, which varied by religious tradition and race. Respondents who had engaged with chaplains were more likely to report integrating spirituality into daily life, feeling supported in wrestling with life’s big questions, and experiencing spiritual growth. They were not more likely to feel they were resilient or could manage stress. The authors encourage researchers to build on the model and findings presented here to identify empirically how chaplaincy services affect students.

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In the changing religious landscape of American higher education, campus chaplains offer vital resources to student affairs professionals. Drawing from interviews with 16 religiously diverse chaplains, this article presents the respondents’ perspectives on the challenges facing students, as well as their own contributions to campus life. Chaplains described three central roles: bridge-building, community-building, and tending to the soul of the university. These findings indicate that chaplains, particularly those from non-Christian traditions, contribute to campus life in ways not yet indicated in the higher education literature. In light of these findings, the authors encourage collaboration among chaplains of all faiths and student affairs professionals.

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