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Graduate Fellows
Scott Draper 
E-mail: Scott_Draper@Baylor.edu
P.O. Box 97326 M.A. Acting, Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University, 2001 B.A., English Literature, Wheaton College, 1998 My research focuses on contemporary expressions of religiosity. In my dissertation, I combine statistical and observational methods to analyze how religious congregations generate collective emotions and feelings of solidarity. This work is motivated by Randall Collins’ interaction ritual theory, and has older roots in Durkheim and Goffman. Apart from interaction ritual theory, I have secondary interests in the sociology of art and media, crime and deviance, and social psychology. Publications: Draper, Scott and Joseph Baker. “Angelic Belief as American Folk Religion.” Forthcoming in Sociological Forum. Baker, Joseph and Scott Draper. 2010. “Diverse Supernatural Portfolios: Certitude, Exclusivity, and the Curvilinear Relationship Between Religiosity and Paranormal Beliefs.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(3): 413-424. Draper, Scott and Jerry Z. Park. 2010. “Sunday Celluloid: Visual Media and Protestant Boundaries with Secular Culture.” Sociological Spectrum 30: 433-458. Park, Jerry Z. and Scott Draper. 2008. “The Da Vinci Code Effect.” In What Americans Really Believe, edited by Rodney Stark. Waco: Baylor University Press. Alessandra Gonzalez 
E-mail: Alessandra_Gonzalez@Baylor.edu Research Assistant Alessandra L. Gonzalez is a PhD 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
Ashley Palmer 
E-mail: A_Palmer@Baylor.edu Research Assistant 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.  Jeremy RhodesE-mail: Jeremy Rhodes Department of Sociology 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.  Samuel Stroope E-mail: Sam_Stroope@Baylor.edu Research/Teaching Assistant Sociology of Religion graduate student M.A. Expected Spring 2010 M.A., Theological Studies, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006 M.A., Intercultural Studies, Union University, 2002 B.A., English, Ouachita Baptist University, 1999 Sam’s primary research areas lie at the intersection of contemporary India, stratification, and the sociology of religion. He also has interests in health/well-being, social networks, civil society/community, and crime. His recent published work focuses on the impact of stratification and urbanization on religious participation in India, a country of growing global importance yet currently neglected in sociological research. Sam has also done work on the contextual influences of group characteristics on beliefs and feelings of attachment in groups. This research uses multilevel modeling techniques on a large national sample of congregations and their members. Additionally, Sam has worked collaboratively on a project that uses new national data to assess the effects of God concepts on individuals’ sense of meaning in life. Sam has lived in India, Sri Lanka, Germany, and the U.K and has spent time in 25 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Before beginning doctoral studies, he worked in international academic advising and study abroad programming for five years. Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals:
Stroope, Samuel. Forthcoming. “Caste, Class, and Urbanization: The Shaping of Religious Community in Contemporary India.” Social Indicators Research, doi:10.1177/0044118X10374636. First published online: January 21, 2011. Stroope, Samuel. 2011. “Review of A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism by Prema A. Kurien.” Review of Religious Research 52(3): 338-339. Additional papers are currently in revise and resubmit status at The Sociological Quarterly, Social Science Research, Sociology of Religion, and Environment and Planning A. Other work is under review at Social Problems and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Andrew Whitehead 
E-mail: Andrew Whitehead
My current research interests primarily revolve around religion, organizations, moral attitudes, and gender. These areas often intersect in interesting and important ways. My dissertation will explore the relationship between religion and attitudes toward homosexuality at both the individual and organizational levels. The first chapter provides a nationally representative profile of the extent to which congregations allow gay men and lesbians to be either members or leaders. The second and third chapters explore the link between gender traditionalism and attitudes toward homosexuality at both the organizational and individual levels. The final chapter utilizes structural equation modeling to investigate religion, attribution theory, and attitudes toward same-sex unions and adoption by same-sex couples. Publications: Whitehead, Andrew L. Forthcoming 2012. “Gender Ideology and Religion: Does a Masculine Image of God Matter?” Review of Religious Research Dougherty, Kevin D., and Andrew L. Whitehead. 2011. “A Place to Belong: Small Group Involvement in Religious Congregations.” Sociology of Religion 72(1): 91-111. Whitehead, Andrew L. 2010. “Financial Commitment within Federations of Small Groups: The Effect of Cell-Based Congregational Structure on Individual Giving.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(4): 640-656. Whitehead, Andrew L. 2010. “Sacred Rites and Civil Rights: Religion’s Effect on Attitudes toward Same-Sex Unions and the Perceived Cause of Homosexuality.” Social Science Quarterly 91(1): 63-78. Book Chapters: Finke, Roger, Christopher D. Bader, and Andrew L. Whitehead. Forthcoming October 2011. “Innovations in the Development and Use of Social Science Data Archives.” In Leadership in Science and Technology: A Reference Handbook, William Sims Bainbridge (ed.). Book Reviews: Whitehead, Andrew L. 2010. “Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(2):383-84.
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