Showing papers in "International Review of Sociology in 2011"
TL;DR: This article found evidence that Muslims support patriarchal values more than non-Muslims, but the nature of this evidence is still open for debate. But they concluded that "the cultural interpretation suggests that patriarchal values are a...
Abstract: Evidence that Muslims support patriarchal values more than non-Muslims is abundant but the nature of this evidence is contested. The ‘cultural’ interpretation suggests that patriarchal values are a...
149 citations
TL;DR: In the face of continuing debate about the adequacy and definition of the concept of "religion" as discussed by the authors, it is necessary for the social sciences to become more self-critical about their various and changing uses of the term.
Abstract: In the face of continuing debate about the adequacy and definition of the concept of ‘religion’, this paper argues that it is necessary for the social sciences to become more self-critical about their various – and changing – uses of the term. As this paper shows, three main uses are currently dominant: religion as belief/meaning, religion as identity, and religion as structured social relations. By contrast, some uses which were once important are currently recessive, including Marxist approaches to religion as ideology, and Parsonian conceptions of religion as norms and values. Some new uses are also emerging, including ‘material’ religion, religion as discourse, and religion as practice. Drawing these together, the paper proposes a taxonomy of five main major uses of the term. It reflects on their adequacy, and points out where there are still occlusions: above all with regard to ‘super-social’ or ‘meta-social’ relations with non-human or quasi-human beings, forces and powers.
125 citations
TL;DR: This paper made the case that functional definitions of religion are generally not definitions but assertions about the consequences of religion substantively defined, and a substantive definition of religion was proposed, and the relationship between ordinary and sociological language was discussed.
Abstract: After addressing the post-modern argument that defining religion is impossible, bad or both, the case is made that functional definitions of religion are generally not definitions but assertions about the consequences of religion substantively defined. A substantive definition of religion is proposed. The relationship between ordinary and sociological language is discussed. A review of recent debates in the sociology of religion makes the point that our arguments rarely concern the definition of religion; they are much more often about the practical identification and measurement of the features of the social phenomenon which we want to study and those problems are not peculiar to the sociology of religion.
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a differentiating universalism emerges within the different spheres of society (the market, the political system, the associational or third-sector system, and the system of families and informal primary networks).
Abstract: This paper deals with the issue of reflexivity in the different spheres of society, affected by the processes of globalization. The author argues that each sub-system of society is more or less differentiating itself according to a (prevailing) code or register of reflexivity. Global contextualism changes the way people manage the distinction between the particular and the universal (i.e. their perceived ‘different identities’) according to a plurality of reflexive processes. A differentiating universalism emerges within the different spheres of society (the market, the political system, the associational or third-sector system, and the system of families and informal primary networks). In principle, within these spheres many different codes of reflexivity can be detected. The four types of reflexivity detected by M.S. Archer can be correlated with the different spheres/sub-systems of society in order to see how the latter change their operations and overall configuration. In conclusion, it is shown that ...
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, living apart together is defined as being in an intimate relationship with a partner who lives in another country (LAT) and it is increasingly recognised and accepted as a specific way of being in a couple.
Abstract: ‘Living apart together’ – that is being in an intimate relationship with a partner who lives somewhere else (LAT) – is increasingly recognised and accepted as a specific way of being in a couple. O...
44 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assume the notion of religion as communication: a system of belief challenges the complexity of the world, trying to reduce that, transforming the external differentiation into a internal one.
Abstract: From the perspective of social system theory, religion is a label by which it is possible to study the relation between the individual expressions of the sacred, on one hand, and the organized system of meanings to be referred to the sacred, on the other, developing a relatively free chain of communication. Therefore, coherently to this approach, the author suggests to assume the notion of religion as communication: a system of belief challenges the complexity of the world, trying to reduce that, transforming the external differentiation into a internal one. This theoretical approach supports three research strategies: (a) overcoming the disputing question secularization/de-secularization, focusing on the dynamics of the relation between a system of belief and the social change occurring in a social context; (b) going beyond the polarization between tradition and modernity, confuting the assumption that modernity means necessarily the decline of religion; (c) reconsidering religion in the light of the soc...
22 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that the synthetic outcome is a partisan-laden perception of political accountability, which led to serious political gridlock and ingrained partisan rivalry that could have jeopardized Taiwan's fledgling democracy.
Abstract: Popular discontent with political performance has been a preeminent feature in Taiwanese politics since the first power alternation in 2000. Potential explanations include economic decline, deteriorating quality of democratic governance, and electoral over-competition. For an emerging democracy like Taiwan, the political experience under the Chen Shui-bian administration was a crucial test for the transition to a mature democracy. While popular discontent with various political agencies might convey different messages, the author argues that the synthetic outcome is a partisan-laden perception of political accountability, which led to serious political gridlock and ingrained partisan rivalry that could have jeopardized Taiwan's fledgling democracy. More importantly, polarized politics in Taiwan under the Chen administration can be seen as a lesson, one that illustrates how the process of democratic consolidation can be possibly reversed in an emerging democracy.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the need to take the social-structural context into account to evaluate the existing types of definitions of religion and conclude that sociologists should differentiate between meaning systems, of which religion is a sub-division, and spiritualities.
Abstract: The author insists on the need to take the social-structural context into account to evaluate the existing types of definitions of religion. Proposing a definition for the Western hemisphere, he then checks his definition against sociological studies referring to ‘new types of religiosity’ and concludes that sociologists should differentiate between meaning systems – of which religion is a sub-division – and spiritualities. In a second step, he discusses two sociological theories about religion and insists that sociologists should be more careful in using such theories by taking into consideration the type of religion the theory is concerned with. Finally, he suggests that rational choice theory and secularization theory might well be integrated and applied in a European context if we move to the level of the competing existing meaning systems.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluate the meanings and consequences of the contemporary phenomenon of political distrust in old and new democracies and show that distrust of democratic institutions is associated with negative feeling about political efficacy, low levels of political interest and political participation, and also preference for democratic models which exclude political parties and/or parliaments.
Abstract: Political changes related to globalization apparently produce similar effects on old and new democracies. All over the world, comparative research on democratization has showed that political distrust is a common variable affecting the whole of the State and the relationship between citizens and democracy. Nevertheless, political discontent in old democracies has stimulated citizens to adopt new attitudes and modes of political participation, while in newly democratized countries citizens tend to withdraw from politics as a consequence of institutional distrust. In fact, in many new democracies, although adhering to the normative meaning of the democratic regime, distrust of democratic institutions is associated to citizens’ negative feeling about political efficacy, low levels of political interest and political participation, and also preference for democratic models which exclude political parties and/or parliaments. This paper evaluates the meanings and consequences of the contemporary phenomenon of p...
13 citations
TL;DR: The postmodern condition transformed the discursive universe: contrary to the tradition of differentiation theoretical sociology, the pamphlet interpreted modernization as a process in which the plurality of local cultural traditions was destroyed and their various narratives were rearticulated into a unified modern canon under the repressive meta-narratives of science, progress and the Enlightenment.
Abstract: Modernization, in the sociological tradition, was usually understood as increasing differentiation. Theorists as different as Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Parsons all shared the view that modernization meant the opening of new horizons. The publication of Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition transformed the discursive universe: contrary to the tradition of differentiation theoretical sociology the pamphlet interpreted modernization as a process in which the plurality of local cultural traditions was destroyed and their various narratives were rearticulated into a unified modern canon under the repressive meta-narratives of science, progress and the Enlightenment. At first, sociologists were at odds with this new interpretation until Beck, Giddens and Lash brought up the idea of modernity in two phases in their Reflexive Modernization (1994) and related publications. According to them, ‘traditional modernity’ was based on cultural closures, such as unified class-identities, nationalities and fixed gender-identi...
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of individual and parental socioeconomic resources on the timing of the transition to first cohabitation and found that the individual and parent socioeconomic resources had an impact on the transition timing.
Abstract: Using Norwegian data this study examines the impact of individual as well as parental socioeconomic resources on the timing of the transition to first cohabitation. The analyses show that the entra...
TL;DR: In this paper, Blome et al. discuss the intergenerational relations in ageing societies and the welfare state in Europe, and discuss the role of generational relations in aging societies.
Abstract: Family and the welfare state in Europe. Intergenerational relations in ageing societies, by Agnes Blome, Wolfgang Keck and Jens Alber, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2009 Intergenerational...
TL;DR: The main aim of as discussed by the authors is to discuss the conceptual framework for defining religion from a sociological perspective and the possible orderings of its development is showing historical periods and conceptual streams as far as history is concerned.
Abstract: The main aim of the article is discussion of the conceptual framework for defining religion from a sociological perspective One of the possible orderings of its development is showing historical periods and conceptual streams As far as history is concerned the author distinguishes three periods: classical, post-classical and contemporary, showing dominant themes and ways of approaching religion in each of them An alternative way of ordering is proposed in the second part of the article based on the source of religious change identified as the crucial point by sociologists working on theories of religion There are three perspectives in identifying religious change: giving priority to individuals, to social systems and to religion itself Every perspective has some outcomes for understanding the place of religion in social and individual life The last part of the article is devoted to presenting the impact of religious conceptions on interpretational disputes between sociologists of religion
TL;DR: In this article, a hypothesis inspired by Weber's "Religious Directions of the World and their Directions" (the "Zwischenbetrachtung") is proposed to explain the social, political and economic efficacy of a given religious movement.
Abstract: It has been said that in Brazil the Catholic Church, by the adoption of the Theology of Liberation, chose the poor, but the poor chose the ever growing churches and sects of Pentecostal derivation. This paradox haunts the sociology of religion, in Brazil and elsewhere. This paper suggests to its solution a hypothesis inspired by Weber's ‘Religious Directions of the World and their Directions’ (the ‘Zwischenbetrachtung’).The social, political and economic efficacy of a given religious movement is essentially linked to its theodicy. In other words, the passage of religion to politics, if understood as the exit from religion as allegedly motivated by religion itself, involves a contradiction as it implies the elimination of its basic religious motivation. The inner-worldly success of a religious tendency depends, therefore, on the persistence of a properly religious ‘rejection of the world’. In fact the whole of the Theology of Liberation movement falls under a certain cognitive penumbra, a kind of theologic...
TL;DR: In this article, women's discourses with respect to femininity-in-patriarchy and perceived resistance mechanisms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been assessed.
Abstract: Acknowledging that womanhood in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has traditionally meant complying with the more or less rigid patriarchal norm, especially when a war came to an end, this paper seeks to contextualize current female identities in the postwar BiH by assessing women's discourses with respect to femininity-in-patriarchy and perceived resistance mechanisms. After WWII, modernity and industrialization of the ex-Yugoslav society resulted in a greater equality and emancipation of women only to be reversed by the increased retraditionalization, repatriarchalization and poverty that ensued after the 1992–1995 Bosnian conflict. Such a situation only made it worse for all women in BiH irrespective of their ethnicity or religion and suggested that social class is a more important determinant in coping with the patriarchal legacies and emancipatory demands. Presuming discourse to be both socially determined and socially determinative when it comes to attitudes, identities and agency, this triangulated stud...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse cohabitation as a form of life according to its ontological status and compare it with marriage as a specific institution and with the conversation rules between partners.
Abstract: The aim of this essay is that of analysing cohabitation as a form of life, according to its ontological status. This way of investigating leads to a comparison with marriage as a specific institution and with the conversation rules between partners. From the empirical analysis of more than 50 interviews with cohabitating couples comes the idea of a relationship whose intent is reciprocal care and assistance in everyday life. In other words, cohabitation is not a mere refusal of marriage as an institution, in the perspective of the interviewed, but seems to represent the lifestyle that best expresses the political ideal of a liberal-democratic society based on conversation between free and consenting individuals. At first glance cohabitation shows an ontological status of its own, a sort of ‘marriage conversation’. Yet, deploying a deeper way of analysis and following a critical realist and relational epistemology, one can notice that such status is influenced by an abstract expansion of the present as the...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the processes of deviation from the Bismarckian welfare model in Italy, with a focus on social assistance, and present a new service provision function.
Abstract: This article analyses the processes of deviation from the Bismarckian welfare model in Italy, with a focus on social assistance. The sector was reformed in 2000, with new service provision function...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the nature and sources of political discontent in South Korea, one of the most successful third-wave democracies in East Asia, and found that ordinary people are able to distinguish among regime principles, regime performance, and regime institutions.
Abstract: This paper examines the nature and sources of political discontent in South Korea, one of the most successful third-wave democracies in East Asia The analysis of a recent national sample survey indicates that ordinary people are able to distinguish among regime principles, regime performance, and regime institutions, which constitute separate targets of political discontent The analysis also indicates that sources of political discontent vary depending on its targets Noteworthy is that official corruption is most consistently related to disbelief in democratic principles, democratic dissatisfaction, and institutional distrust Furthermore, less free and fair elections are related to more democratic dissatisfaction and institutional distrust The results suggest that the democracy in Korea confronts not only critical citizens but also disloyal citizens suspicious of democracy The fact that institutional trust declined, democratic satisfaction ceased to grow, the view of democracy as a universal value w
TL;DR: The theory of the firm does not succeed in unifying in a single analytical framework both its institutional and organizational dimensions as discussed by the authors, and the cross-fertilization which occurs between these two social sciences can be used to propose a real socio-economic theory for the firm.
Abstract: The paper aims at showing that beyond its economic nature the firm is an organized social institution. The theory of the firm does not succeed in unifying in a single analytical framework both its institutional and organizational dimensions. In contrast, organization theory – notably organizational sociology – deals with the intertwining of these two existential elements of firms. The cross-fertilization which occurs between these two social sciences can be used to propose a real socio-economic theory of the firm.
TL;DR: In this article, the development of the blog is analyzed from a sociological perspective, passing through different typologies, to define the relationship that develops in today's society between the network and the individual, through a theoretical comparison of the major scholars who have dealt with the issue of network.
Abstract: The contribution analyzes from a sociological perspective the development of the blog, passing through the different typologies, to define the relationship that develops in today's society between the network and the individual, through a theoretical comparison of the major scholars who have dealt with the issue of network. From Sherry Turkle to Manuel Castells up to the studies of Barry Wellman, we will define the development of the network as a new social space. The work incorporates some classical theories of Simmel, some by Goffman and Thompson about interaction, of community-society by Toennies and the action-system of Luhmann. The central part of the article focuses on how the space of the network can become, in some cases, a ‘place’ of sharing not only of entertainment topics but also of those that have some importance for public opinion. Then the blog becomes a ‘showcase’ in which to expose the peculiar characteristics of one's identity, but also a point of listening for those who do not have easy...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the reasons for cohabiting and find that cohabitation is a fortuitous and occasional event rather than a conscious and reflective choice made by the couples, and that most of the reasons which could explain marriage (being Catholic, the solemnity of the marriage, a moment of joy) have to face many other choices that continue to be attractive or based on other reasons.
Abstract: The purpose of the article is to analyse the reasons for cohabiting. Or, in other words, the reasons for which marriage is postponed and not flatly excluded. In fact, from the data (interviews with 50 cohabitating couples) it appears that cohabitation is a fortuitous and occasional event rather than a conscious and reflective choice made by the couples: cohabitation is the best practice and a prompt solution to likewise practical and urgent problems. So, there is a sort of gap between intention and the effective realization of the decision which determines both the choice of cohabiting and the one of marrying. In fact, most of the reasons which could explain marriage (being Catholic, the solemnity of the marriage, a moment of joy) – which could reach or go beyond the moment of acting on the basis of a specific intention – have to face many other choices that continue to be attractive or based on other reasons (cohabitation is as if it was marriage, the wedding is expensive). And the couples act exactly fo...
TL;DR: The idea that spirituality will be contradictory to religion does not constitute a pertinent concrete distinction, but occupies a place in this new religious dogma that presents itself as spiritual as discussed by the authors, which is a new religious belief that is beyond the emerging patch-worked spiritual diversification which emerges in today's advanced industrial societies.
Abstract: When one refuses to participate in shallow debates on the definition of religion, which define in general tactics of declassing the beliefs of others or of under-classing our own beliefs, one recognizes that beyond the emerging patchworked spiritual diversification which emerges in today's advanced industrial societies there is a unified religious dogma. The idea that spirituality will be contradictory to religion does not constitute a pertinent concrete distinction, but occupies a place in this new religious dogma that presents itself as spiritual.
Journal Article•
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TL;DR: This article used ethnographic data to examine socialization, but rarely to ground theories of socialization and found that interest in indigenous representations emerging in indigenous representation is an exception to this rule.
Abstract: Ethnographic data have frequently been used to examine socialization, but rarely to ground theories of socialization This paper is an exception Interest in indigenous representations emerging in
TL;DR: A brief but comprehensive sociological analysis about social and morphological traits of public spaces in order to show the city's irreplaceable role in citizen socialization processes is presented in this paper.
Abstract: Under the pressure of the urbanizing tsunami, town planning and urban policies in Spain have given a residual treatment to public spaces in recent urban development. This work proposes a brief but comprehensive sociological analysis about social and morphological traits of public spaces – like paradigmatic social space – in order to show the city's irreplaceable role in citizen socialization processes. The network of streets and places, the city in this sense, make up the scenes of man's sociability. In this perspective, planning ought to be geared towards and for the city and redeem a civic impetus that pursues developing the whole instead of subjecting it.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of post-divorce cohabitation on the quality of intimate relationships are similar to those of pre-marital co-habitation in first marriage.
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that the effects of postdivorce cohabitation on the quality of intimate relationships are similar to those of premarital cohabitation. Thus, like premarital cohabitation in first marriage, postdivorce cohabitation in general and multi-partnered postdivorce cohabitation in particular delay remarriage and diminish relationship quality (i.e. undermine happiness and stability). However, such findings are based on survey data from the 1980s, such as the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. Using pooled samples from the National Survey of Family Growth (1995, 2002), the present study determines whether such findings can be replicated with more recent nationally representative data collected from remarried women between the ages of 15 and 44 (n=1915). Multivariate regression analyses reveal two major findings. First, as anticipated, premarital and postdivorce cohabitation, including multi-partnered forms of cohabitation, delay remarriage. Moreover, seri...
TL;DR: A definition of a religion based on beliefs and rites was given by Durkheim as discussed by the authors, but Weber never kept his promise to come up with one, and many others have tried to advance indications and trace boundaries.
Abstract: Durkheim provided us with a definition of religion based on beliefs and rites. Weber never kept his promise to come up with one. Many others have tried to advance indications and trace boundaries, ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors pose the question d'une nouvelle inflexion rhetorique dans les regimes de mobilisation and de selection de la main-d'oeuvre avec le recours systematique a la notion of "motivation", which semble franchir un palier supplementaire par rapport aux paradigmes precedents de qualification and de competence en saffranchissant totalement de l'idee de "capacites a tenir un poste de travail''.
Abstract: L'article pose la question d'une nouvelle inflexion rhetorique dans les regimes de mobilisation et de selection de la main-d'oeuvre avec le recours systematique a la notion de «motivation» qui semble franchir un palier supplementaire par rapport aux paradigmes precedents de qualification et de competence en s'affranchissant totalement de l'idee de «capacites a tenir un poste de travail». Ce changement de paradigme sera interroge a partir de l'analyse des criteres de recrutement utilises par les entreprises de travail temporaire qui constituent un observatoire privilegie des mutations contemporaines dans les relations d'emploi. Les entreprises de travail temporaire jouent sur le marche du travail un role de mediation a l'embauche de plus en plus important, par le biais en particulier d'une externalisation de la gestion des ressources humaines en plein developpement. Elles contribuent ce faisant de maniere tout aussi consequente a definir et diffuser des nouvelles normes d’«employabilite».
TL;DR: The success of neopopulism in Latin America can be analyzed as a relation between supply and demand for populism as discussed by the authors, where the demand refers to the presence of certain preferences within the public, which increase the chance of success of the neopulist strategy.
Abstract: The emergence of neopopulism in several countries in Latin America has been described by political science literature as the success of a political strategy in which a leader, generally bearing a strong personality and charismatic appeal, seeks popular support in an almost direct form, and overshadows political parties, the external mechanisms of control which define a democratic regime (Roberts 1996, 2003, 2006, Weyland 1999a, 1999b, Knight 1998, Connif 1999). This article adopts this definition of the concept and argues that the success of this strategy can be analyzed as a relation between supply and demand for populism. The supply refers to the political process which allows leaders to make use of features such as charisma and anti-political and polarizing speech to obtain the support of the public based on their non-programmatic and personal qualities. The demand is defined as the presence of certain preferences within the public, which increase the chance of success of the neopopulist strategy adopt...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify an axis upon which to align patterns and representations of social cohesion and analyze the kinds of cohesion linked to some precise descriptions of social order, and propose a response to the issue of cohesion in post-industrial societies.
Abstract: The concept of social cohesion is often evoked in political discourses. It tends to be used to refer to insertion or to inclusion. Nevertheless the concept remains indeterminate and vague. This paper aims to systematically define patterns of social cohesion in order to set limits and conditions on the relevant use of the concept of social cohesion. First, we will identify an axis upon which to systematically align patterns and representations of social cohesion. Then we will analyze the kinds of cohesion linked to some precise descriptions of social order. Finally we will propose a response to the issue of cohesion in post-industrial societies.