iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

How religious beliefs of local government officials influence approaches to governance academic.oup.com/socrel/artic... onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

000

Interested in the sociology of religion, law, and government? Pair yesterday's great law article about the "re-establishment of religion" in law(lawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archiv...) with our sociological work about what religion-state interaction looks like in practice. Try these....

100

Papers – Church and State Relations Project

This is our latest contribution for bringing sociology to the intersection of religion, law, and government. Here's a curated list of our papers: churchstaterelations.com/papers/

churchstaterelations.com

The empirical parts of the article use the National Congregations Study and include our interviews with religious leaders in different regions and community types across the country. Some great vignettes and quotes about how politicization occurs in specific settings.

111

We review the use of "public religion" over the past few decades, noting divergent diagnoses, sources, and applications. Our proposal? Stop using the phrase "public religion" Instead, analyze empirical data along three dimensions: -politicized religion -civic religion -public religious culture

112

Pamela Oliver @pamelaoliver.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

What is the public relevance of religion? We (@jonathancoley.bsky.social @mayrl.bsky.social and non-blueskyers) have thoughts coming out in @amjsoc.bsky.social doi.org/10.1086/744185

172

Reposted by Gary Adler

John Levi Martin's detailed methodological critique of the "Rubin report" about sociology probably should be required reading for all sociologists. Well worth your time. One take-away is maybe our internal disciplinary fractiousness has some good sides. 1/ osf.io/preprints/so...

osf.io

OSF

1143

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

It did...but it was oral. I let them "lead the way" with topics they were interested in and we talked about theoretical assumptions, evidence, arguments etc. Berkman is doing orals now, too.

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Written or oral? I did this through oral exams with a small class recently.

111

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

My university became shockingly corporatized over the past five years, so our faculty organized and, today, won a union. In an era when democracy is under attack, our faculty fought to bring democracy into the workplace. www.pennstatefacultyalliance.org/news/2026/05...

pennstatefacultyalliance.org

We Won!!!

Thousands of Penn State Faculty Vote to Join SEIU Local 668.

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Great to hear. I think we're a "great rethink" moment within the field and I expect this to be an important piece in that.

130

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Tonight! I'll be talking about Catholics in government. We're on Zoom....details below if you'd like to join.

040

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I'll get there sometime, I promise!

110

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Research + teaching + student = great partnership. Also why I love my job @pennstateuniv.bsky.social Keep an eye on @ienesatac.bsky.social! It was a fun weekend at @sssreligion.bsky.social

1114

Reposted by Gary Adler

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 10/07/2025

Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino took the extraordinary step of formally excusing parishioners in his diocese from the obligation of attending mass weekly - because of the possibility immigration officers would seize people coming to or from church.

thebulwark.com

A Religious Rebellion Against Mass Deportation

American Christians are showing increasing discomfort with Trump’s signature policy.

921850

This makes sense given the demographic and political differences in Catholic pews. But it's a pragmatic reversal from the "fortnight for freedom" stuff. In the 1980s, the Church encouraged a "both sides doctrine" for candidate visits. My thoughts on this topic... bsky.app/profile/gary...

020

8.) Random thoughts #2 -cities are experimenting with ways for religious non-profits to contribute to public budgets. Like parcel fees or use fees. Maybe more of this to come if religious orgs are seen as partisan and partial?

000

7.) Random thoughts #1 -the IRS "began" non-enforcement of the Johnson Amendment decades ago...enabling the 1980s rise of wealthy preachers and partisan mobilization. An example of how the "free market of religion" produces bad religion? social conflict?

100

6.) What shenanigans to come? -SC jurists will find a way to justify this as "treat religion like everyone else"....while also allowing religious orgs to avoid taxes, not follow employment law, etc. -big religious organizations will become a hole for dark money political contributions.

100

5.) A few more (worrisome) reasons why this WILL change a lot: -partisanship reduces trust in organized religion as a social good. Rough seas ahead. -undergirds the implicit idea of non-profit organizations as benefitting the public, writ large. The downfall of non-profits ahead?

100

4.) A few reasons why this WILL change a lot: -gives a minority of congregations--which are the anchor of Christian Nationalism--license for more partisanship. -gives a minority of liberal congregations a legal way to defend their partisanship.

100

3.) A few more (problematic) reasons this will NOT change much: -partisan politics were already translated into "moral issues" in religious orgs -partisan religious congregations were already doing political speech...just not overtly from the pulpit. Side conversations. Not mention candidates. Etc.

100

2.) A few reasons for why this IRS rule will NOT change much: -most clergy and most Americans don't want partisan speech from religious organizations. -the IRS wasn't enforced the rules anyhow, so no "handcuffs are off" effect coming

110

1.) IRS now creates a distinction between "internal" and "external" speech in religious orgs. This is nonsensical. The Tocqueville school sees the social power of religious orgs based in the internal becoming external. Only sectarian orgs separate the two. There are few of them.

100

I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit

Big news on the "Johnson Amendment" (!, ?) A collapse of the wall between church and state? A new plank in the floor of religious liberty? Observations from a sociologist of religion.... I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...

nytimes.com

193

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

In the early days of examining superintendent opinions on religion in schools, a perpetual headline grabber. Check it out.... Big support for studying religion and supporting student religious practice. Big skepticism of teacher-led religious activity

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

First paper from our American Local Leaders Survey, a representative survey of county, municipal, and school district officials done with @mayrl.bsky.social @jonathancoley.bsky.social rebecca sager and eric plutzer.

121

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

One cool trick to increasing trust in elections and government: make everyone a public official. Okay, maybe not, but still our new paper shows that local officials trust elections more. Why? Partly because they have a lot of social trust. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

dx.plos.org

Confidence in elections among U.S. local officials: Effects of social trust, partisanship and political ambition

The U.S. public’s confidence in elections is intensively studied in the last decade but little is known about election confidence among locally elected officials, whose roles and community status may ...

162

Reposted by Gary Adler

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 27/06/2025

Read the piece to learn about how: · USCCB fracturing over advocacy is a big deal, signaling just how much Trump/GOP's policies have pushed bishops · It's a slow-burn result of Francis-aligned clerics finding a voice outside the USCCB · It all adds to widespread religious opposition to Trump

0205

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Deep dive into Pope Leo's immigrant roots and racial identity. The type of story that is being purposefully erased in the US today. Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration theconversation.com/pope-leo-xiv...

theconversation.com

Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration

Repelled by American racism, thousands of free people of color bounced between New Orleans and Haiti in the 19th century.

020

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Yes, definitely. It's an early attempt at a purported "third way" for Catholicism. But, pedagogically at least, students were surprised at the rhetoric.

000

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

First encyclical to (begrudgingly) deal with all things modern. Labor unions, fair wages, social welfare, etc. I used to clip quotes from this and ask students who wrote it. Most guessed Karl Marx.

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Want to know why being the name Leo 14 is such a big deal? Look was Leo 13 was up to.... www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

vatican.va

Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891) | LEO XIII

Encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII, 15 May 1891

131

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

I'm neither Bishop nor Cardinal but, in case anyone was wondering, I also disapproved.

Popehat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Reposted by Gary Adler

ICE agents are lawless, sociopathic shitbirds. Treat every one you encounter accordingly.

1263048882

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Really angered to hear this. I'm waiting to hear too....

110

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Assuming there is a religion angle here, too. See Jack Jeckins' piece about her past leading Catholic Charities. As this goes through court, will her religious liberty claim be made....and hear?

000

Reposted by Gary Adler

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 25/04/2025

Dugan, the judge recently arrested by the FBI on allegations of helping an undocumented immigrant avoid ICE arrest, is also a former executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. www.jsonline.com/story/news/c...

jsonline.com

What to know about Hannah Dugan, the Milwaukee judge at center of ICE arrest investigation

Dugan spent a large swath of her career working for the poor, first with legal aid organizations and then as executive director of Catholic Charities.

21410160

Strong Polanyi "double movement" energy brewing. Don't have the exact text in front of me, but Polanyi's inclusion of normal people organizing always struck me as right.

210

Rest in peace, Pope Francis, master of symbolism... -First "Francis" pope: rebuilder of the Church -First words as Pope: "I am a sinner..." -Eschewed papal apartment for Vatican's "guest house" -Favorite metaphor: The church as field hospital

000

An incredible final message from Pope Francis: "to run like Mary Magdalene and the disciples" "We must take action, set out to look for him: look for him in life, look for him in the faces of our brothers and sisters, look for him in everyday business, look for him everywhere except in the tomb."

011

Pope's blessing in empty St Peter's Square watched by 11m on TV

theguardian.com

Hour-long address came as Italy said 969 people had died from Covid-19 in 24 hours

000

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

A common hearsay rumor that I heard in fieldwork with rural congregations was "the government" observing/recording/punishing their sermons. They mused about how they would fight back. In our inverted world, glad to see Harvard doing so.

Gary Adler @garyadler.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

BIG 10's Rutgers and Michigan State working against "ideological deportation" in legal filing. Let's go @pennstateuniv.bsky.social