Doctoral Dissertation Research: Contemporary Catholic Identities

这是对美国天主教内部分歧的研究。天主教的研究提供了一个独特的机会，研究如何竞争的宗教身份和运动可以发展，并保持在一个单一的总体机构内的反对。 虽然新教的身份和运动的冲突往往会导致民族分裂，但天主教内部相互竞争的身份和运动却不会。在宗教和社会问题上分裂天主教徒的力量与将他们统一为一个民族的力量之间的紧张关系是本文的主题。 两种方法将被用来分析传统，温和和自由派天主教徒之间的差异：（1）在三个中西部教区的60名成员和（2）从1998年和2000年的一般社会调查的全国调查数据的深入采访。 本研究将探讨四个基本的研究问题：（1）“传统”、“温和”、“自由”的标签是否存在？“对普通天主教徒有意义吗 (2)这些身份是否与神学差异、教会内部冲突和宗教运动有关？ (3)天主教徒如何在一个单一的教会内为传统派、温和派和自由派创造和谈判单独的空间？ (4)区分传统派、温和派和自由派的关键社会和经济问题是什么？ 这项研究对社会科学的贡献集中在对宗教身份和机构研究的贡献上。 在世界各地宗教身份日益政治化的时候，了解这些身份是如何发展和维持的是很重要的。 调查这些身份如何在统一的制度环境中相互作用，也将使我们更充分地了解将我们彼此分开的宗教力量和将我们团结起来的宗教力量。

This is a study of the divisions within US Catholicism. The study of Catholicism provides a unique opportunity to examine how competing religious identities and movements can develop and remain in opposition within a single overarching institution. Whereas conflicting Protestant identities and movements have often brought about denominational splits, competing identities and movements within Catholicism have not. The tension between the forces dividing Catholics on religious and social issues and those unifying them as one people is the subject of this dissertation. Two methods will be used to analyze differences between traditional, moderate, and liberal Catholics: (1) in-depth interviews with 60 members of three Midwestern parishes and (2) national survey data from the General Social Surveys of 1998 and 2000. Four basic research questions will be addressed: (1) Are the labels "traditional," "moderate," and "liberal." meaningful to ordinary Catholics? (2) Are these identities connected to theological differences, intra-church conflicts, and religious movements? (3) How do Catholics create and negotiate separate spaces for traditional, moderates, and liberals within a single Church? (4) What are the key social and economic issues separating traditional, moderates, and liberals? The contribution of this research to social science is centered in contributions to be made to the study of religious identities and institutions. At a time when religious identities are increasingly politicized throughout the world, it is important to understand how these identities develop and are maintained. Investigating how these identities interact within a unified institutional setting will also allow us to more fully understand the religious forces that divide us from each other and those that unify us.