Mission, Vision, and History: The Journal of Sociology and Christianity (ISSN 2572-4088) is a peer-reviewed, academic publication designed to provide a forum for the latest research and commentary relative to the intersection of Christianity and society. Founded in 2011 and published bi-annually, it was originally entitled the Journal or the Sociological Integration of Religion and Society (JSIRS) until Volume 6, Number 2 (October 2016). Call for Papers: The Journal of Sociology and Christianity invites submission of articles for the next issue. All articles will be anonymously peer-reviewed. Please see the Submission Guidelines for details.
"Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America" by Christian Smith
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Sociology and Christianity
"Redemptive Service: Loving Our Neighbors Well" by Lisa P. Stephenson and Ruthie Wienk
"Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America" by Randall Balmer
"Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis" by James Davison Hunter
Paganism and Anti-Christian Violence During the Chilean Revolts of 2019
A Tale of the Tension between Social Justice and Utilitarianism
The Role of Christianity in Reinforcing Racial Hierarchies in the United States
This article employs a sociological lens to critically examine the historical, institutional, and theological relationships between Christianity and White supremacy in the United States. Arguing that race is a socially constructed system embedded within American institutions, it explores how religion—specifically Christianity—has functioned as a key legitimizing institution in the maintenance of systemic racism. Christian theological frameworks have often reinforced racial hierarchies, moralized Whiteness, and sanctioned exclusionary social norms that marginalize non-White populations. This study is a literature review that serves as a reminder of the power of religion, and particularly Christianity, to establish and reinforce racial hierarchies. Today, this reminder is more warranted than ever. The study further investigates how institutional Christianity has actively participated in shaping and sustaining racialized structures within the housing system, especially homeownership. Simultaneously, the article juxtaposes these sociological insights with an exegetical analysis of biblical scriptures that affirm the inherent value, equality, and divine purpose of all human beings. Through scriptural texts, the study highlights a counter-narrative within Christianity that upholds human dignity and spiritual equality. Moreover, it reflects on the symbolic use of light and darkness in Genesis and the theological portrayal of Lucifer's fall and role as a deceiver to underscore the complexities of religious interpretation. The article seeks to reconcile the dissonance between Christianity’s foundational egalitarian ideals and its historical complicity in racial oppression, contributing to the broader sociological discourse on religion, race, and institutional power.
Rock Concerts and Gin Tasting: The Ethics of Transforming Sacred Space Into Entertainment Space
In England and other liberal democracies, Protestant cathedrals are increasingly using rock concerts, drinks festivals, and “raves in the nave” to woo a secular population and pay the bills. Whether the ends justify the means, however, is a question that has received surprisingly little attention. Using English cathedrals as a case study, this article examines the ethics of hosting popular entertainments in Church and suggests that they trivialize the serious message of the Christian faith. The ideological rationale for entertainments is traced to cultural changes during the 1960s which accelerated secularization within society and the Church, and led to a growing emphasis on business and marketing strategies to maintain the Church estate. While this has brought material benefits, the article argues that misappropriating sacred space is harmful to both patrons and the Church. The nature of these harms, both tangible and intangible, is considered in detail, and it is suggested that Church entertainments may eventually lead to churches simply becoming “civic” institutions. There are important lessons to be drawn from this not only for churches in England but elsewhere where secular entertainments have gained or may gain a foothold.
Care Providers are People Too! Reassessing the Rhetoric and Practice of Person-Centered Dementia Care
Despite the current emphasis on relational care within dementia care literature and practice, long-term care centers continue to operate under a dominant reductionist logic which emphasizes “assembly-line” task completion and the individualization of care. This article explores the operationalization of Person-Centered Care (PPC) philosophy (Kitwood 1997) at two faith-based care centers in Alberta, Canada. While staff are versed in the PCC philosophy of care, and are often intent on delivering relational care, their efforts are often frustrated by systemic problems including chronic understaffing and lack of support by administration. It is argued that significant change needs to occur at the organizational and governmental levels of society in order to provide holistic care for persons with dementia, and that the concept of personhood needs to be extended to networks of care which also affirm the personhood of care providers and family members.
The Ever Evolving and Evasive Nature of Knowledge
"The Raceless Antiracist: Why Ending Race is the Future of Antiracism" by Sheena Michele Mason
Pondering Truth and Love in Christian Life
Creating and Redeeming Institutions: A Christian Approach
Public Sociology and Anthropology: Moving Toward Things that Smell
Satan and Social Regulation: Exploring Socio-Political and Economic Dimensions in Jewish-Christian Thought
This article explores the concept of Satan within Jewish-Christian society, arguing that it extends beyond mere metaphysical representation to reflect broader social, cultural, religious, and political dynamics. It highlights how the personification of Satan can shape societal organization and social structures, especially in the context of evolving economic production modes. This study posits that Satan functions as a regulatory tool within societies, helping to maintain social stability by providing a clear moral framework. This regulatory function of Satan influences behavior and the stability of the overall system. Belief in Satan can instill and perpetuate specific values, ideologies, and social structures, demonstrating its role not only as a metaphysical entity, but also as a mechanism for social regulation. Analyzing Satan’s role as a regulatory tool illustrates how societies manage and transform their social order, using belief in Satan to either sustain or challenge existing social structures.
Having None of It: A Rebuttal to "Rape, Suicide, and the Rise of Religious Nones"
In the previous issue of this journal, Phillip Truscott published an article entitled “Rape, Suicide, and the Rise of Religious Nones” (2024) which found that the crude proportion of nonreligious individuals correlated with the crude rates of rape and suicide in the USA. He concluded that increases in the number of nonreligious individuals were causally linked to higher rates of rape and suicide. We note, among other things, that in his introduction he provides no meaningful justification for his thesis, he selected an odd analytical period, he erroneously treated self-control as the sole predictor of rape and suicide, his argument structure is logically fallacious, and he ignored or mischaracterized the extant literature addressing religion and attitudes towards rape. With respect to his analyses, he used simple correlation to advance a causal argument, he failed to consider reverse causality, he used an objectively incorrect analytical approach in several of his figures, and he mislabeled, misdescribed, or mischaracterized the content of one of his tables. As for his discussion, he significantly overstated the actual meaning of his results, he poorly defended why a causal relationship exists, and he mischaracterized the existing literature on drug consumption and rape to advance his argument that drug consumption mediated his observed findings. While Truscott’s research question was excellent, his work addressing said question was uniformly deficient.
Sharing Christian Faith Through Social Media: Influence on Young Adults Who Do Not Identify as Christian
This qualitative descriptive study examines how young adults who do not identify as Christians describe the influence that encountering Christian faith sharing through social media exerts on their thoughts and behaviors. Four themes emerge: when they perceive faith sharing through social media positively, they typically regard the posts as encouraging, culturally relevant, helpful, clear, and/or passionate; when they perceive it negatively, they view the content as condescending, demanding, judgmental, dishonest, and/or hypocritical; when they do not seem opposed to Christianity, they nevertheless often dislike how faith sharers conduct themselves online; and when this faith sharing influences them toward Christianity, they typically report positive cognitive responses, but when it influences them away from Christianity, they often report negative emotional responses. Overall, three themes developed from the non-Christians’ behavioral data: they often exhibit a fight or flight response when they perceive Christian online faith sharing negatively by either challenging the faith sharers or avoiding them and their religion; when they experience faith sharers online positively, it often results in them practicing the teachings posted and imitating the faith sharers' Christianity; and they often seem unaware of the Christians’ online faith sharing influence or underestimate its magnitude.
Culture and Community: De-colonizing Social Science
The Conundrum of Social Distancing and the Benefits of Physical Touching
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Sociology and Christianity
"Democracy Needs Religion" by Harmut Rosa
"Touch the Wounds: On Suffering, Trust, and Transformation" by Tomáš Halik
Review Essay: "The Spiritual Turn: The Religion of the Heart and the Making of Romantic Liberal Modernity"
Agency, Identity, and Community: Performativity Versus Deliberation
Rape, Suicide, and the Rise of Religious Nones
One of the most widely quoted concepts in late twentieth century criminology was the general theory of crime which proposed that insufficiency of self-control is the most important predictor of criminal behavior. The presence or absence of social bonds promoting self-control is an important element of this theory. This article argues that the decline of one important societal bond, religious affiliation, is impacting the incidence of rape. Since the 2010s, there has been a positive correlation between the proportion of the population declaring no religious affiliation (the “None” rate) in the 50 USA states and the campus rape rate. This correlation was significant in the four years from 2016 (r=0.464, p. 0.001) to 2019 (r=0.393, p. 0.005). Beginning in 2018, the None rate in the 50 states also correlates with the rape rate in the general US population (r=.343, p. 0.015) identified by Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Was this due to a variation in actual crimes or in reporting rates? Recent data make the reporting rate explanation implausible. Furthermore, the UCR rape rate is directly correlated with another violence statistic that is not susceptible to reporting error: suicide rates published by the CDC. This research contends that suicide rates are a proxy indicator for male self-control, as three quarters of suicides are male. Rape perpetration is also overwhelmingly male. The correlation of rape rates and suicide rates in the USA rose from 2014 (r=.55, p. = 0.00001) to 2019 (r=.66, p. = 0.0000001). It is argued that declining religiosity is lowering self-control, and that this is a plausible mechanism driving both increased rape and suicide.
A Gospel-Centered Approach to Race and Ethnicity
“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one” (John 17:20–21a, NRSV). This prayer by Jesus for his followers continues to ring in our ears as a dream, an “elusive dream” (Edwards 2021) we have yet to see fulfilled here on earth. There has been an awakening in the American church to the racial evils of the past, yet it seems evangelical Christians are farther apart than ever when it comes to discussing racial matters.
Language as Power: A Labeling Theory Perspective on Adult Clergy Sexual Abuse Discourse
This article explores how labeling theory can aid victim-survivors, religious leaders, and the public in understanding the impact of language used in discourse addressing adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA). The #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements have led to increased exposure of abuse of power, challenging prevailing narratives and language. While clergy sexual abuse of minors is widely recognized as egregious criminal behavior, less is understood about clergy sexual abuse of adults, which is currently illegal in 13 states and D.C. in the United States. This article highlights the adverse impacts of language that disguises abuse of adults by clergy as consensual “affairs,” causing further harm to survivors and disregarding power dynamics. Embracing labeling theory, the author suggests that sociologists, akin to prophets, who critically analyze the Church’s use and misuse of power, can aid religious leaders in establishing a unified language informed by existing multidisciplinary research that accurately represents the essence of ACSA. This article emphasizes the potential of labeling theory to empower religious leaders who act as agents of social control with the ability to define and apply labels of deviance with the critical insights needed to establish a cohesive language capturing the abusive nature of ACSA.
"Public Sociology: Between Utopia and Anti-Utopia" by Michael Burawoy
"An Anthropology of Anthropology: Is It Time to Shift Paradigms?" by Robert Borofsky