Graduate Fellows

Joseph Baker

E-mail: Joseph_Baker@Baylor.edu

Research Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A., Sociology, Baylor University, 2007
B.S., Sociology, East Tennessee State University. 2005

My research interests include social theory, religion, and deviance. More specifically I am interested in religious experiences, religious deviance, and irreligion. My thesis investigates the effects of social factors on religious experiences; focusing on exploring religious experiences from a deviance/conformity angle.

I chose this program because it prepares its students for academia as well as themost exciting aspect of coming to Baylor has been the opportunity to receive personal attention and instruction from top flight researchers in sociology. Coupled with this there are varied and unique opportunities to conduct research in the area of religion. In addition to the "official" instruction received from faculty, being in an environment with other graduate students who share the same interests has also been vital to my academic development.

Publications:

Baker, Joseph. Forthcoming in Winter 2008. "Who Believes in Religious Evil? An Investigation of Sociological Patterns of Belief in Satan, Hell, and Demons." Review of Religious Research 50(2).

Baker, Joseph. Forthcoming in 2009. "The Variety of Religious Experiences." Review of Religious Research.

Baker, Joseph and Buster G. Smith. Forthcoming in Summer 2009. "The Nones: Social Characteristics of the Religiously Unaffiliated." Social Forces.

Baker, Joseph. 2008. "An Investigation of the Sociological Patterns of Prayer Frequency and Content." Sociology of Religion 69(2):169-185.

Baker, Joseph and Ashley Palmer-Boyes. "Perceptions of Evil." In American Piety Revisited, edited by Rodney Stark. Baylor University Press.

Baker, Joseph O. and Ashley Palmer-Boyes. 2008. "Evil: Did Sin Cause the Hurricane?" In American Piety Revisited: New Findings from the Baylor Religion Survey, edited by Rodney Stark. Waco: Baylor University Press.

Park, Jerry Z. and Joseph Baker. "What Would Jesus Buy: American Consumption of Religious and Spiritual Material Goods." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46(4: 501-517, 2007.

Scott Draper

E-mail: Scott_Draper@Baylor.edu
Research/Teaching Assistant Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A. expected in May 2009
M.A. Acting, Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University, 2001 B.A., English Literature, Wheaton College, 1998

I'm thrilled to be a part of Baylor's sociology department. The faculty and graduate students are engaged in a wealth of exciting projects, there are numerous opportunities for productive collaboration, and the Baylor Religion Survey is a great source for orginal data. My research interests so far have focused on theory, religion, and media.

Alessandra Gonzalez

E-mail: Alessandra_Gonzalez@Baylor.edu

Research Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A., Sociology, Baylor Univ, 2008
B.A., Sociology & Policy Studies, Rice University, 2005

Alessandra L. Gonzalez is a graduate student in the Sociology of Religion doctoral program at Baylor University. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Policy Studies from Rice University and her current research interests include the role of religion and comparative social movements. She is the principal investigator of the Islamic Social Attitudes Survey Project (ISAS), a study on Islamic Religiosity and Social Attitudes, including Women's Rights Attitudes in the Arab Gulf Region. She has presented her research at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy's 2007 Conference on "The Rights of Women in Islam." Ms. Gonzalez is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, has a working knowledge of French, and is currently studying Chinese and Arabic.

Wes Hinze

E-mail: Wes_Hinze@Baylor.edu

CCRD Research Analyst
Research Assistant Applied
Sociology graduate student
B.A., Sociology, Baylor University, 2004

From Shreveport, LA, I am a Second year graduate student in the Applied Sociology program. The grand social theories are what originally attracted me to Sociology, but my interest in the application of advanced statistical techniques to test and improve these theories is what attracted me to this graduate program. Apart from Sociology I enjoy mountain biking and disc golf.

Eric Liu
E-mail: Eric_Liu@Baylor.edu
Research Assistant Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A., Sociology, Baylor University, 2006

Eric Liu is a graduate student in the Sociology of Religion doctoral program. His research interests include religion, immigration, race and ethnicity, social movements in East Asia. Eric is currently conducting research on the impact of social conflict on religious transformation in the Chinese and Japanese immigrant communities in the United States.

Jared Maier

E-mail: Jared_Maier@Baylor.edu

Research/Teaching Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
Graduate Teacher of Record - Social Statistics Laboratory
M.A., Sociology of Religion, Baylor University, 2007
Master of Divinity, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004
B.S., Computer Science, Baylor University, 1999

Jared Maier is a graduate student in the Sociology of Religion doctoral program. His research interests include race, religion, community, and organizational studies. My thesis is about the attitudinal effects of racial diversity in religious congregations on their attendees. The Sociology of Religion program is structured so that professors and students alike are studying and doing research together in a comfortable atmosphere that nurtures exploration instead of competition. It has equipped me in a short period of time to do research in my personal areas of interest, both on my own, and with student and faculty collaborators.

Ashley Palmer

E-mail: A_Palmer@Baylor.edu

Research Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A., Sociology of Religion, Baylor University, 2008
B.A. Environmental Science with Honors, Stetson University, 2005

Baylor was initially appealing to me for the uniqueness of its Sociology of Religion program. I was particularly attracted to the program for the number of faculty dedicated to this area of study and the opportunity to work with them in small-classroom setting. Their accessibility and eagerness to foster scholasticism in the graduate students has enhanced my experience here. It has also been encouraging to work in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competition among the graduate students.

My research interests include stratification and environmental and resource sociology, specifically the relationship between consumption patterns and value system.

Publications:

Baker, Joseph and Ashley Palmer-Boyes. "Perceptions of Evil." In American Piety Revisited, edited by Rodney Stark. Baylor University Press.

Edward C. Polson

Edward Polson is a fifth year graduate student in the Ph.D. program in sociology at Baylor University and a research associate for the Association of Religion Data Archives. Current research interests include civic participation, politics, religion, organizations, and the nonprofit sector. Published works include:

Dougherty, Kevin D., Christopher D. Bader, Paul Froese, Edward C. Polson, and Buster G. Smith. (Forthcoming 2008). “Religious Diversity in a Conservative Baptist Congregation.” Review of Religious Research.

Polson, Edward C. (2008). “The Inter-Organizational Ties That Bind: Exploring the Contributions of Agency-Congregation Relationships.” Sociology of Religion 69(1):45-65.

Dougherty, Kevin D., Byron R. Johnson, and Edward C. Polson. (2007). “Recovering the Lost: Remeasuring U.S. Religious Affiliation.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 46(4):483-499.

Finke, Roger, Christopher D. Bader, and Edward C. Polson. (2007). “A Growing Web of Resources: The Association of Religion Data Archives.” Review of Religious Research 49(1):21-34.

Mencken, F. Carson, Christopher Bader, and Edward Clay Polson. (2006). “Integrating Civil Society and Economic Growth in Appalachia.” Growth and Change 37(1):107-127.

Jeremy Rhodes

Jeremy Rhodes is a graduate student in the Sociology of Religion Doctoral program. Current research interests include religion and stratification, specifically the spread of religion under politically and socially repressive conditions.

Buster Smith

Buster Smith is a graduate student in the Sociology of Religion Doctoral program. Current research interests include work on political tolerance, religious pluralism and the study of Buddhism with sociological techniques. He is currently the principal investigator of a national survey of Buddhists in the United States. The goal of this survey is to gain more nuanced information regarding how American Buddhists are similar and different from other Americans. Funding for this research came from the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion.

Publications:

Baker, Joseph and Buster Smith. 2009. The Nones: Social Characteristics of the Religiously Unaffiliated. Social Forces, forthcoming.

Dougherty, Kevin, Christopher Bader, Paul Froese, Edward Polson and Buster Smith. 2008. Religious Diversity in a Conservative Baptist Congregation. Review of Religious Research, forthcoming.

Keenan, John P., Buster Smith, Lansing Davis and Sydney Copp. 2008. Grounding Our Faith in a Pluralistic World – With a Little Help from Nagarjuna. Wipf & Stock: Eugene, Oregon.

Smith, Buster and Paul Froese. 2008. The Sociology of Buddhism: Theoretical Implications of Current Scholarship. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.

Froese, Paul, Christopher Bader and Buster Smith, "Political Tolerance and God's Wrath in the United States." Sociology of Religion, 69:1 29-44, 2007.

Smith, Buster. 2007. Attitudes toward Religious Pluralism: Measurements and Consequences. Social Compass, 54(2):333-53.

Smith, Buster. 2007. Variety in the Sangha: A Survey of Buddhist Organizations in America. Review of Religious Research, 48(3):308-17.

Smith, Buster. 2006. Buddhism in America: An Analysis of Social Receptivity. Contemporary Buddhism, 7(2):149-64.

Andrew Whitehead

E-mail: Andrew_Whitehead@Baylor.edu

Research/Teaching Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A. Expected Spring 2009
B.A., Psychology, Purdue University, 2005

Aryeh Weinberg

E-mail: Aryeh_Weinberg@Baylor.edu
Research Assistant
Sociology of Religion graduate student
M.A. expected in 2010