2012 - 2013 Academic year

Oct 2012
Speakers: Dr. Thomas J. Josephsohn and Todd Nicholas Fuist, Department of Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
Paper Title:"Lines That Matter, Lines That Don't: Religion, Boundaries, and the Meaning of Difference"

2011 - 2012 Academic year

Oct 2011
Speaker: Dr. Lida V. Nedilsky, Professor of Sociology at North Park University, Chicago
Paper Title: “The Work of Civil Society: What Hong Kong Converts to Christianity Do through the NGO”
Discussants:
   Michael Agliardo, SJ, professor in the Sociology department at Loyola University Chicago
   Fenggang Yang, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society (CRCS)
                              at Purdue University

 

February 18th, 2012
Speaker: Nicolette Manglos, Doctoral Student in Sociology at University of Texas at Austin
Paper Title: Choosing a Church: Agency in the Context of African Immigration
Discussants:
    Dr. Rhys H. Williams, Professor and Chair,  Department of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago and
                                      Director of the McNamara Centre for the Social Study of Religion

    Todd Nicholas Fuist, PhD student in the sociology department at Loyola University Chicago.

April 21, 2012
Speaker: Dr. Kristin Geraty, Assistant Professor of Sociology, North Central College, Chicago
Paper Tile: "Organizing Among Privilege: Saul Alinsky and Cultural Reception within Suburban Congregations"
Discussants:
   Dr. Kraig Beyerlein, Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Notre Dame

   Catherine Gillis, PhD student and teaching fellow in the sociology department at Loyola University Chicago.

2010 - 2011 Academic year

October 23 - Jeremy Thomas, Purdue University
"Sexual Moral Strategies in American Evangelicalism: Negotiating Homosexuality in a Pluralist Society."
Respondents: Dawne Moon and Amy Reynolds

Feb 5, 2011 - Juan R. Martinez and Stephen P. Davis, University of Illinois, Chicago
"From ‘We Shall Overcome’ to ‘Sí Se Puede!’: Echoes of the 20th-Century Civil Rights Era in 21st-Century Catholic Activism for Immigration Reform."
Respondents: Kraig Beyerlein and Mary Ellen Konieczny,

Apr 30, 2011 - Dr. Paul Numrich - Loyola University Chicago and the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus.
"Facing Northeast in a Midwestern Metropolis: A History of Islam and the Challenges of Ummatic Unity in Chicago."
Respondents: Besheer Mohamed and Marcia Hermansen

2009-2010 Academic Year

October 17: Steve Warner and Anne Heider,  University of Illinois Chicago
"Bodies in Synch: Interaction Ritual Theory Applied to Sacred Harp Singing"
Respondents: Kevin McElmurry and David Stowe

Febuary 13: Kraig Beyerlein, University of Notre Dame
"Dynamics of Congregation-Based Mobilization Efforts: The Case of Humanitarian Aid Efforts for Migrants Along the Arizona-Sedona Border"
Respondents: Kelly Moore and Kersten Bayt Priest

April 10: Jennifer Buntin, University of Chicago
"Beyond the Immigrant Church: Conceptualizing Connections between Immigrants and Non-Immigrant Churches"
Respondents: Elfriede Wedam and Anthony Orum

2008-2009 Academic Year

November 8: Suzanne Fournier Macaluso, Purdue
"Context, Community and Congregation: How Does Strong Catholic Pastoral Leadership Mediate the Effects of Location on Congregational Sense of Community?" (a paper based on her dissertation research)
Respondents: Gene Burns and Deborah Kapp

February 21: Paul Numrich, Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus
A presentation based on his forthcoming book (Oxford University Press), The Faith Next Door: American Christians and Their New Religious Neighbors, a series of Chicago-area case studies
Respondents: Timothy Manatt and Frank Senn

April 4: Yuting Wang, Notre Dame
A presentation based on her dissertation research, "Becoming American: the racial/ethnic relationship in an immigrant Muslim community and the process of identity construction"
Respondents: Mahruq F. Khan and Rhys H. Williams

 

2007-2008 Academic Year

October 10: Stephen Davis, Juan Martinez, and Steve Warner ; University of Illinois Chicago.
"The Role of the Catholic Churches in the Chicago Immigrant Mobilization" An early report from part of the Immigrant Mobilization research team at UIC.
Respondents: Karen Richman and Phil Nyden

Febuary 9: Nehal Patel, Northwestern University
"Revisiting the Family Life Cycle Hypotheses: Age, Life Course, and Church Attendance in Middle and Older Age" The paper is co-authored with Gerald Marwell of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Respondents: Michael Montgomery and Marilyn Krogh

April 12: Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame (Sociology)
"Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money." The presentation was based on a forthcoming book co-authored with Michael Emerson and Patricia Snell.
Respondents: Dan Olson and Tim Larkin

2006-2007 Academic Year

November 18: Maureen Benjamins, Sinai Urban Health Institute in Chicago (epidemiology)
A presentation on her project, the Jewish Community Health Survey.
Respondents: Anne Figert and Elijah Ward

February 24: Wayne Thompson, Carthage College in Wisconsin (Sociology)
A presentation on his current project, The Social Ecology of Congregations, a study of congregations and parishes in the southeast Wisconsin region
Respondents: Deborah Kapp and Bryan Froehle

April 28: Sarah Schott, Loyola University
"Creating Cultural Identities through Religious Tourism," her dissertation research on religious tourism in the US.
Respondents: Robert Priest University and William Swatos

2005-2006 Academic Year

October 29: Karen Richman, University of Notre Dame
"The Protestant Ethic and the Dis-spirit of Vodou."
Respondents: Brian Howell and Wayne Thompson

February 11: Andrea Althoff, a scholar from Germany, currently affiliated with the Marty Center at the University of Chicago.
"Religious Identities of Immigrants and Social Cohesion: A Comparative Study in Chicago."
Respondents: R. Stephen Warner, and Norman Ruano

2004-2005 Academic Year

November 6: Luis Alberto Gomez de Souza and Lucia Ribeiro, Notre Dame visiting scholars from Brazil
An overview of current questions in the sociology of religion in Brazil, as well as their particular research on religious politics in Brazil and Brazil-US migration.
Respondents: Bryan Froehle and Luis Rivera

April 16: Rebecca Burwell of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Todd Johnson of North Park University
They presented a multi-media teaching tool designed to help teach seminary students and congregational leaders about liturgy. Rebecca also addressed how sociological methodology can be used to inform teaching tools for other disciplines such as theology.

May 28: Carolyn Chen, Northwestern University
"From Filial Piety to Religious Piety: The Immigrant Church Reconstructing Taiwanese Immigrant Families."
Respondents: Mary Ellen Konieczny and Karen Richman

2003-2004 Academic Year

November 15: Fenggang Yang, Purdue University.
"Religions in Communist China: The Open, Black, and Gray Markets."
Respondents: Maryjane Osa, Rick Cook, and Dan Olson.

February 21: Deborah Kapp, McCormick Theological Seminary, and Mary Ellen Konieczny, University of Chicago
"The Construction of Pastoral Authority in Worship," and Mary Ellen's was "Ritual Practice, Ritual Structure, and Authority Relations
Respondent: R. Stephen Warner

May 22: Nate Wright, Northwestern University
"The Mantle of Joseph: Divine Revelation and the Charisma of Routinization in the Mormon Succession Crisis of 1844."
Respondent: Sarah Schott

2002-2003 Academic Year

October 19: David Stevens, Northwestern University, and Tricia Redeker Hepner, Michigan State University
Stephens presented on his research on two Ghanaian congregations with a paper entitled "'You Can't Do That Here': Evangelism and the Problem of Religious Freedom."
Hepner presented "Faith in the Nation: Christianity and Community among Eritreans in Chicago."
Respondent: Omar McRoberts

February 22: Michael Montgomery
"Form and Substance, Innovation and Place: Congregational Innovation by Liberal Church."
Respondents: Marilyn Krogh and Sally Johnson

2000-2001 ACADEMIC YEAR

March 3: Elfriede Wiedam, Jan Shipps, and Mary Mapes - POLIS Center
A report from the POLIS Center in Indianapolis.

April 13: R. Stephen Warner, University of Illinois Chicago and Rhys Williams, Southern Illinois University
A report from the "Youth and Religion Project."

1999-2000 ACADEMIC YEAR

November 5: Heidi Unruh, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
A report on the "Congregations, Communities and Leadership Development Project."

Febuary 18: Kwang Chung Kim, Western Illinois University
"The Ethnic Roles of Korean American Churches."

May 6: Dan Olson, Indiana University - South Bend
"Religious Pluralism and Church Involvement: Steps in the Exploration of a Changing Relationship."

1998-1999 Academic Year

October 24: Joseph Tamney, Ball State University
"Causes of Congregational Popularity in Middletown."

Febuary 20: Mary Ellen Konieczny and Emily Barman, University of Chicago
"Gender Patterns in US Congregations: Female Headed Congregations and and Congregational Practices (Konieczny)" and "Congregations and Denominations: A Preliminary Analysis of National Congregational Survey Data."

April 24: Mary Patillo-McCoy, Northwestern University
Discussion of her current research project.

1997-1998 Academic Year

October 18: Steve Warner, Judith Wittner, and Mark Chaves
Chaves workshopped the National Congregations Study while Wittner and Warner presented data from the Ethnic and Immigrant Congregations Project.

Febuary 21: Steve Ellingson and Martha Van Hatsima, University of Chicago
"Religion and the Politics of Sexuality"

April 18: Marie Griffith, Northwestern University
"Discipline, Diet and Devotion: Explorations of Christian Fitness Culture in the Twentieth Century."