Religious Homogeneity Research Articles

The East European Gypsies in the imperial age

It is often assumed that states within the same regime-type pursue similar policies towards minorities. An imperial state, for instance, which has already consolidated its rule over its territory and subject peoples (such as the Hapsburg Empire in the nineteenth century or the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century) tends to pursue restrained policies towards marginal groups. Ordinarily, one could expect such states not to enforce cultural or religious homogeneity, for instance, given the costs associated with communication, transportation, the maintenance of public order and other factors. This article argues that although the Hapsburg and Ottoman states belong to the same regime-type (that is, they were both empires), their specific policies and general approach to ethnic and other minorities diverged significantly. This argument is illustrated through the two empires' policies towards their Gypsy/Romani populations.

Models of Religious Peace in the Middle English Romance Sir Isumbras

Sir Isumbras, like many other didactic Middle English romances, concerns the triumph of Christianity over "non-Christianity." That victory has two interrelated narrative manifestations – the redemption of the titular hero and the military defeat of "Saracens," who are painted as worshippers of "Mahmoud," but are, of course, not fully developed as Islamic. At different points in the plot's development, however, the main characters – Isumbras, his wife, who is stolen away from him by a heathen sultan, and the sultan and his cohorts – implicitly or explicitly propose models of religious "co-existence." These models apply in the first instance to the conflict between Christianity and Islam. But, because the presentation of the poem's Muslims is so reminiscent of medieval English renderings of Jews and apostate and heretical Christians, these models may be read more generally as concerning the difficulty of achieving Christian hegemony, a more relevant topic for the English in the age of Lollardy, when Islam was far away. Although these models are rejected in favor of the seeming religious homogeneity of the poem's ending, this paper reads the fact of the proposals as evidence of poets' and scribes' desire to find alternative models for achieving religious peace.

Religious homogeneity and suicide.

In a study of 296 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in 1980, suicide rates were lower in those regions in which church membership was higher, Roman Catholics more common, and religious homogeneity greater.

Population Mobility across the Pakistani Border: Fifty Years Experience

This paper describes population mobility across borders experienced by Pakistan during the past fifty years. Some consequences of this mobility have also been briefly mentioned. The dichotomy of this population mobility into inward and outward flow reveals that while the former can be traced to political factors like the partition of the Subcontinent and the Afghan war, the latter mostly represents a job-oriented move. Every flow is associated with its own set of effects, difficult to be encompassed by a single research exercise. Migration from India in the wake of partition is associated with a higher level of urbanisation and a rise in religious homogeneity associated at the same time with increased ethnic diversity, which according to some can be linked with the current Karachi situation. Pakistan also engaged in manpower export and experienced brain-drain. Both of these outward flows, to some extent rooted in history, have particular effects for the society and economy. These differences emanate from the pattern of permanent or temporary settlement abroad, characteristics of the emigrants particularly in terms of human capital endowments. and the nature of links maintained with families in Pakistan which have a bearing on the inflow of remittances. Illegal migration to Pakistan from the surrounding countries is alleged to be substantial at present. The ease with which the identity cards and passports of Pakistan are acquired by these illegal migrants simply reveals the level of control and the standard of honesty prevailing in the situation. In this context, the importance of peace and economic stability in the neighbouring countries emerges to be quite obvious for Pakistan.

Religious Homogeneity and Metropolitan Suicide Rates

Numerous studies have examined the relationships between religious factors and aggregate suicide rates with inconsistent findings. We extend research on this topic by focusing on an overlooked variable: religious homogeneity or the extent to which community residents adhere to a single religion or a small number of faiths. After developing a series of arguments linking religious homogeneity with lower suicide rates we investigate this relationship using 1980 data on 296 SMSAs. As hypothesized religious homogeneity is inversely associated with suicide rates; its estimated effects are greater than those of the other religious variables that are widely used in studies of suicide -percent Catholic and church member rates -- and they persist despite controls for established covariates of suicide rates. On closer inspection we find regional differences in the apparent influence of religious homogeneity. Protective effects are strongest in the SMSAs of the Northeast and they also surface in the South while they are weaker in other areas of the US. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings and by outlining a number of fruitful directions for future research on the religion-suicide connection. (authors)

Religious Homogeneity and Metropolitan Suicide Rates

Religious Homogeneity and Metropolitan Suicide Rates

Revisiting the Rural‐Urban Contrast: Personal Networks in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Settings1

Abstract To revisit the rural‐urban contrast, we use data from non‐metropolitan and metropolitan subsamples of the 1985 General Social Survey to test whether, compared to personal networks in urban settings, personal networks in rural settings contain ties of greater intensity and role multiplexity, are based more on kinship and neighborhood solidarities rather than on friendship, are smaller, are denser, and have greater educational, race‐ethnic, and religious homogeneity, but less age and gender homogeneity. Our results are generally consistent with these predictions. We then present evidence for rural diversity by comparing data from residents of a two‐parish nonmetropolitan area in southwestern Louisiana to the nonmetropolitan subsample of the GSS. After discussing possible mechanisms for this covariation of spatial and aspatial communities, we conclude by commenting on the potential of network analysis to contribute to the resolution of these and other substantively important problems in rural sociology.

How 4.5 Million Irish Immigrants Became 40 Million Irish Americans: Demographic and Subjective Aspects of the Ethnic Composition of White Americans

In 1980 for the first time the U.S. Census contained a subjective question about ethnic identity. Natural increase intermarriage and subjective identification contribute to the current size of each ethnic group. Simulations for the British- Irish- German- and Italian-origin populations show the interaction among time of arrival overall fertility and mortality trends and differential fertility in determining natural increase. The subjective identification with some ethnic groups notably the Irish and Germans exceeds what natural increase would imply while identification with other ethnic groups falls short of what demographic processes would imply. Loglinear models of ethno-religious intermarriage show that religious diversity is an important factor in the diffusion of Irish and German identities while the relative religious homogeneity of the British and Italians limits the diffusion of those identities. This paper was originally presented at the 1993 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. (EXCERPT)

In From the Cold? Christian Parties in Scandinavia

The combination of extreme religious homogeneity and advanced secularization is a special feature of the Scandinavian societies as compared to the rest of Europe. This difference largely explains why Christian parties have remained small compared to the rest of Europe. This article surveys the creation and popular following of the Christian parties in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The four parties acquired an image of “moral vigilantes” from the beginning. Their best electoral results, however, are a result of a more general political protest. Despite the recent success of the Swedish party, the parties are not likely to reach a position beyond that of a minor party with basically a moralist image.

Sinful Sex: Legal Prosecution of Extramarital Sex in Preindustrial Sweden

There is no Doubt that Sweden, at least from the middle of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, belonged to the European countries where legal control of extramarital sex was most extensive. First of all, there was a difference between Protestant and Catholic countries, not in principle but in emphasis and form. The Spanish Inquisition was, for instance, mainly interested in whether people thought that a certain behavior was a sin or not. Religious confessions proved that the sinner realized that he had done something wrong, and he could therefore be treated with a certain mildness afterwards (Benassar et al. 1979; Henningsen et al. 1986). Protestantism, at least in Sweden, tended to be more interested in people's actual behavior, usually leaving the internal spiritual life of the sinner aside. This dichotomy between thought and behavior was of course not total in practice, but it tells us something important about the difference between Catholic and Protestant attitudes towards religious control. Religious homogeneity also explains some of the success of Swedish orthodox Protestantism in creating a system of tight control. There was no escape for dissenters except emigration, since the creed was protected by the civil state.

The Decline of Religious Homogeneity: The Indonesian Situation

In this paper a theory relevant to understanding the decrease in religious homogeneity is developed and tested. The theoretical model is based on Wuthnow's (1978) analysis of conditions necessary for cultural innovation, with modifications suggested by Lofland and Stark's (1965) research and studies of secularization. The data come from a stratified random sample of Javanese residents. In this context the model was used to predict the prevalance of two types of religious deviants Christians and nones. The theory was partially supported by the data. The paper concludes with suggestions for improving the theoretical model.

Some Psychological and Social Attitude Correlates of Northern Ireland University Students' Contact with the Civil Disturbances

Northern Ireland university students' contact with the Northern Ireland civil disturbances was examined with regard to five dimensions: Friends' Contact; Bomb Contact; Confrontation or Riot Contact; Harassment; and Property Damage. Confrontation and Bomb contact dimensions were further investigated in terms of their personality, social attitude, and alcohol use correlates. Since analyses of variance did not differentiate Protestants and Roman Catholics in terms of intelligence, socioeconomic status, age, location of residence (rural‐urban), or religious homogeneity of peer group with regard to these two contact dimensions, these two groups were combined in stepwise discriminant analyses. The discriminant analyses suggested that, for both genders, contact with the “troubles” may be conceptualized in terms of a positive feedback loop involving social dissatisfaction and helplessness combining with previous contacts to produce future contacts. Further, having been in a bombing appeared to subdue males, but to produce pro‐social aggression in females. The sample consisted of 65 males and 133 females.

Correlates of Marital Happiness among the Remarried

During the last decade, the divorce rate per 1, 000 population in the United States has doubled and divorce is now recognized as being pervasive throughout all major segments of society. While the remarriage rate has declined somewhat in the past few years, most of those who divorce will, nevertheless, eventually marry again. Data on the correlates of marital satisfaction among those who remarry tends to be fragmentary and dated. To provide additional information on this topic, questionnaires were received from 500 ever-divorced persons living in eight western states who were identified through a screening questionnaire sent to a much larger random sample of residents of these states. A total of369 of these persons were remarried at the time of the study. Comparatively, these individuals exhibit a very high level of marital satisfaction. However, traditional correlates of marital happiness among the firstmarriedsuch as presence or absence of children, religious homogeneity, and social class-are found to be relatively poor predictors of marital happiness among the remarried. The nature and types qf problems which do exist in the remarriages tend to be quite different from those that occurred in the marriage that was terminated by divorce.

The Eighteenth Century Origins of the Split between Private and Public Higher Education in the United States

IN THE LATE eighteenth century are to be found the first beginnings of the to us so familiar division in American higher education between public and private institutions. Throughout most of the eighteenth century such distinction was unknown. Higher education and the preparatory Latin grammar schooling were viewed as intimately linked to the interests of state and church. This view applied to the three colleges existing in the first quarter of the century. Harvard, William and Mary, and Yale served as training centers for their provinces' political and professional leadership. They had been duly authorized and in part financially supported by their colonial legislatures. With the exception of Yale they were under the joint supervision and government of representatives of the colony's lay population and established church. These governmental arrangements reflected the Reformation concept of the unity of established secular and ecclesiastical government with the college, a concept which in turn rested on the assumed religious homogeneity of the province's population, Anglican in Virginia and Puritan in New England. (1) It was precisely this assumption of a religiously homogeneous population which could no longer be upheld in the eighteenth century. As it was being swept away by the appearance of Baptists and Quakers, Lutherans and Dutch Reformed as well as by the migration of Puritans and Anglicans into all the colonies, it could no longer provide guidelines for college founding and governance. As a consequence in colonies with existing colleges-Massachusetts, Virginia, and Connecticut-traditions of college governance came under fire, and the weakening alliance of state and church forced the colleges to redefine their own position. In colonies without an established church there emerged during the Great Awakening of the 1740s

Social Class as a Determinant of Political Attitudes

The decline in ideological class politics in an advanced industrial society has been widely publicized. Lipset (1955) maintains that in periods of prosperity, status politics appeals to resentments of individuals who desire to improve their social status, while in periods of depression, class politics appeals to individuals who demand the redistribution of income.The purpose of this article is to explore a tendency toward status politics from class politics in Japan. The data are drawn from interviews with 688 adult males in Tokyo metropolitan area in 1967.We found more than eighty per cent of our sample admitted the existence of class differences mainly based on economic inequality, and Liberal Democratic affiliation is positively associated with socioeconomic status. However, party affiliation along the social class line does not bring forth ideologically-oriented class conflict. Despite their identification with rather lower social stratum, they are satisfied with their present life, and have optimistic views of their future. Though the expansion of their class interest appeals to them, they do not want to attain this goal. by overthrowing the opposition, but they expect affuluence of society to come through cooperation of all classes. Such attitudes seem to be shaped by historical, cultural and geographical factors as well as political leadership ; that is 1) racial, linguistic and religious homogeneity, and geographical isolation strengthen conformity, 2) lack of specific class-culture prevents the formation of strong class identification, and 3) each party tries to hide political cleavage in order to increase its supporters.Today a real political cleavage exists not along the party line but between those who support the established parteis and those who deny them. Analyzing the “non-supporters” may help to explain the source and orientation of political conflict in the coming age.

Change in Religious Affiliation and Family Stability: A Second Study

New data concerning relations between change in religious affiliation and family stability are examined, disclosing results highly similar to those obtained in a previous study. Religious homogeneity between spouses is shown to be similarly related to family stability among both Catholic and Protestant couples. Results for couples who achieve a common religious affiliation in adulthood are virtually the same as those for couples who have always been religiously homogeneous. The continuity of results over two studies suggests that more intensive research, particularly longitudinal in design, is in order.

Social Differentiation in Selected Lebanese Villages

IF the villages of the Arab Middle East are perfectly flat and oriented toward maintaining that condition, it may be hypothesized that they will be relatively impermeable to progressive influences, internal or external. If, on the other hand, there are groups which are changing their ways, defying the cake of custom, economizing in number of children, making capital investments, repressing emotional release through immediate consumption,' if, in short, there is anything in the nature of an emerging opportunistic middle class in these villages, its existence can be revealed through studies of the social structure. This paper reports the results of an investigation into social differentiation and stratification in the Southern Beqa'a Valley of Lebanon.2 Of special concern here are the methodological problems of research in underdeveloped non-census areas, as well as discovering the existence of differentiation within the homogeneous appearing peasant population in such societies. approach is entirely classificatory.3 To the casual observer the only stratification apparent is that between a very few large landowners who rarely reside in the villages and the multitude of village-dwelling peasants. Familial and religious homogeneity lend to this appearance. Islamic sanction of inter-cousin marriages and village endogamy 4 among other factors ensure patrilineal solidarity. In this agrarian, non-specialized society there is practically no threat to the primacy of the family in the area of statusconferring by any interest group development or identification. On the other hand, the existence of social differentiation based on a fairly elaborate division of labor in Lebanese villages cannot be denied. Literacy, health conditions, quality of gardens, evidence of housing repairs, degree of seclusion of women, care of sewage disposal, educational participation, patterns of deference and aggressiveness in personal interaction-these are a few of the bases * Expanded version of paper read at the annual meeting of the American Sociological September, 1955. Special acknowledgment is made to John H. Provinse, Director of the Social Research Center of American University at Cairo for his helpful criticisms, and to Charles W. Churchill of the School of Public Health, American University of Beirut for his able statistical advice. 1 George A. Theodorson, Acceptance of Industrialization and Its Attendant Consequences for the Social Patterns of Non-Western Societies, Amerncan Sociological Review, 18 (October, 1953), pp. 477-484. 2 Department of Sociology at the American University of Beirut (A.U.B.) conducted an extensive survey of an homogenous rural area of Lebanon during 1954. methodological and the initial content report is available in Lincoln Armstrong, Beqa'a Socio-Economic Survey: Methodological Report (Mimeographed), Department of Sociology, A.U.B., Beirut, Lebanon, 1954. Appreciation is here expressed for the co-operation extended by the A.U.B. Economic Research Institute, the Ministries of National Economy and Social Affairs of Lebanon, the Social Research Center of the American University at Cairo, and the United States Operations Mission to Lebanon whose grant to the Department of Sociology made this study possible. 3 Paul K. Hatt, Stratification in the Mass Society, American Sociological Review, 15 (April, 1950), pp. 216-222. 4 John Gulick, The Lebanese Village, American Anthropologist, 55 (August, 1953), pp. 367-372..