Rebecca Catto
Kent State University, Sociology, Faculty Member
- Religion, Sociology, Law and Religion, Atheism, Evangelization, Science and Religion, and 21 moreEvolution and Religion, Secularisms and Secularities, Youth Studies, Equality and Diversity, Christianity, Globalization, Social Policy, Cultural Sociology, Sacred (Religion), Religion in Europe, Religion-State Relations., Muslims in Europe, Religion and Politics, Multiculturalism, Muslims in Britain, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Equality and Non Discrimination, Intercultural Competence, Community Cohesion, Religious Discrimination, and Social Sciencesedit
This FORUM article is written in response to 'Evolutionary Stasis: creationism, evolution and climate change in the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum' by Jenna Scaramanga and Michael J. Reiss published in CSSE in 2023. Starting... more
This FORUM article is written in response to 'Evolutionary Stasis: creationism, evolution and climate change in the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum' by Jenna Scaramanga and Michael J. Reiss published in CSSE in 2023. Starting from a sociological rather than pedagogical standpoint, the article aims to situate Accelerated Christian Education's curriculum in relation to evolution and climate change in its broader context. This broader context comprises a national situation of Culture Wars where views on science and religion are politically polarized and morally inflected. Creationism and climate change denial/ skepticism occur together and connect to right-wing politics. Climate change denial also clearly connects to corporate interests. Struggles for political, economic, ideological, and epistemic power all pertain. Reference is then made to recently collected focus group data to illustrate how non-creationist publics may also define science narrowly and inaccurately and yet still support it. The influence of evolution and climate change denialists must not be overstated. However, the harm of inaccurate, pseudoscientific education also requires examination. Nothing less than the Earth's future is at stake, and education is a key battlefield. Science educators have an important role to play, working with patience, empathy, and awareness.
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Previous sociological research on science and religion, and secularity and nonreligion, has highlighted a consistent connection between science and nonreligious identities. Yet, the dynamics of this association have not been explored in... more
Previous sociological research on science and religion, and secularity and nonreligion, has highlighted a consistent connection between science and nonreligious identities. Yet, the dynamics of this association have not been explored in depth. Building upon a growing body of work, this article adopts a relational approach to science and nonreligion to analyze narratives around science and religion emerging among nonreligious life scientists and members of the public in Canada and the UK. Across a variety of nonreligious identities, they tend to presume religion is irrational and consequently incompatible with science, idealize science, and refer to religious people as a less scientific outgroup. Upbringing, friendships, workspaces, and education all contribute to beliefs about science, (non)religion, and society. The social imaginary that to be modern is to be secular and scientific has enduring cultural power within these Western contexts, affecting daily life. Whether this is the case in other countries is a question for future research.
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Within the last 20 years sociological research on science and religion has provided new insights that challenge myths regarding conflicts between science and religion. Gaps in pre-existing work have been identified resulting in major... more
Within the last 20 years sociological research on science and religion has provided new insights that challenge myths regarding conflicts between science and religion. Gaps in pre-existing work have been identified resulting in major shifts in the field. In particular, research has employed more mixed methods, widened its scope to become more international, and expanded to include nonreligion. Building upon these developments and critiques, this chiefly conceptual article explores a way to move forward by combining three fields of research in a novel way: the sociology of religion, the sociology of nonreligion, and the Public Understanding of Science (PUS). These subfields all touch on relevant and interrelated topics. Sociology of religion contributes to parceling out aspects of belief, identity, and practice; focuses on lived experience along with positionality, normative commitments, and culture. The sociology of nonreligion draws more detailed attention to the association between science and secularism. Finally, including research on PUS provides resources for understanding trust in, and engagement with science dialogically, as well as lessons for effective public engagement.
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<p>In public discussion and polling on the subject of science and belief people's views are often subsumed under identity labels such as 'Creationism', 'Darwinism', 'New Atheism', 'Intelligent... more
<p>In public discussion and polling on the subject of science and belief people's views are often subsumed under identity labels such as 'Creationism', 'Darwinism', 'New Atheism', 'Intelligent Design' and 'Theistic Evolutionism'. Often, these labels are held to accurately represent people's views both by public figures and by social scientific researchers. In this chapter, Kaden, Jones and Catto make the case for a reassessment of the role of labels and the knowledge connected to them in popular and social scientific treatment of the relationship between science and belief. They argue that there are considerable problems in identifying people's views using the majority of commonly used analytic labels. Drawing on 123 semi-structured interviews with scientists and members of the public in the UK and Canada from a range of religious and non-religious positions, the authors then show that such categories of belief are creatively interpreted. The authors highlight the limited salience of popular concepts in science and religion debates, showing that such terms are frequently unfamiliar to British and Canadian publics. Based on their analysis, they argue that naive application of labels contributes to misperceptions and prejudices, especially relating to religious people's beliefs about human origins. Finally, they conclude that to limit such misperceptions attention needs to be paid by scholars to whether, how and why individuals relate their fundamental beliefs to aspects of science.</p>
Research Interests: Religion, Christianity, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Religion, and 15 morePhilosophy of Science, Philosophy Of Religion, Media Studies, Cultural Sociology, Social Sciences, Science and Religion, Secularisms and Secularities, Darwinism, Creationism, Religion and Science, Intelligent design, Secularism, New Atheism, Labelling Theory, and Philosophy of Religion
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This article examines the relationship between the State and religion in Great Britain. After summarizing the key features of the constitution of the UK and discussing the evolving relations between Church and State, the article describes... more
This article examines the relationship between the State and religion in Great Britain. After summarizing the key features of the constitution of the UK and discussing the evolving relations between Church and State, the article describes the religious landscape both in general and in terms of minority religious groups, focusing on Muslims (the second largest religious group in Britain after Christians). The main features of British law pertaining to religion are then discussed, followed by an assessment of the impact of religion on education in terms of the ownership and management of schools, religious education and religious worship. The concluding section reflects on the main debates and controversies. * Coventry University ** University of Exeters *** University of Chester Insight Turkey Vol. 17 / No. 1 / 2015, pp. 79-96
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The chapter looks at developments in sociological theory of religion, arguing that Robertson’s work on globalization pushes this theory to broaden its horizons, re-evaluate its preoccupations, and overcome its historically geographic and... more
The chapter looks at developments in sociological theory of religion, arguing that Robertson’s work on globalization pushes this theory to broaden its horizons, re-evaluate its preoccupations, and overcome its historically geographic and cultural narrowness. Focusing on the until recently dominant secularization thesis, the analysis seeks to show how the globalizing context relativizes the notion that secularization is the dominant fate for religion under modern conditions, leading to the dissolution of Western modernization as the master sociological narrative in which non-Western regions play at best a derivative role. In this context, secularization or the marginalization of religion becomes but one possibility among others, and not a particularly dominant one. Globalization as Robertson has theorized it allows glocalization that includes the possibility of religious resurgence as well as decline, of transformation in the religious field just as much as continuity. After illustrating these changes in theoretical developments such as in the work of Beyer, Casanova, and Juergensmeyer, the chapter argues that the most important change is taking place in empirical research; namely in that this has moved away from Western, white Christianity as default religion; has focussed more different religious particularizations, including both religious resurgence and religious transformation; and has moved towards deterritorialized reliogion attendant upon migration and transnationalism.
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The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, covering everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis... more
The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, covering everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce. This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific methods, traditions and theories. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.
Research Interests: Religion, Christianity, Cultural Studies, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy Of Religion, and 15 moreAtheism, Social Sciences, Science Education, Public Understanding Of Science, Science and Religion, Islamic Studies, Secularization, Secularisms and Secularities, Creationism, New Atheism, Bristol University, Non Religion, Science and Religin, Philosophy of Religion, and Science and Technology Studies
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Within science and technology studies, there is an established tradition of examining publics’ knowledge of, trust in, access to and engagement with science, but less attention has been paid to whether and why publics identify with... more
Within science and technology studies, there is an established tradition of examining publics’ knowledge of, trust in, access to and engagement with science, but less attention has been paid to whether and why publics identify with science. While this is understandable given the field’s interest in bridging gaps between publics and producers of scientific knowledge, it leaves unanswered questions about how science forms part of people’s worldviews and fits into cultural politics and conflict. Based on 123 interviews and 16 focus groups with mixed religious and nonreligious publics and scientists in the United Kingdom and Canada, this article utilises approaches from the sociology of (non)religion to delineate varieties of science identification. It maps out ‘practical’, ‘norm-based’, ‘civilisational’ and ‘existential’ identifications and explores how these interrelate with people’s social characteristics. The article illustrates how science identification is typically dependent on a...
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The development and public prominence of the ‘New Atheism’ in the West, particularly the UK and USA, since the millennium has occasioned considerable growth in the study of ‘non-religion and secularity’. Such work is uncovering the... more
The development and public prominence of the ‘New Atheism’ in the West, particularly the UK and USA, since the millennium has occasioned considerable growth in the study of ‘non-religion and secularity’. Such work is uncovering the variety and complexity of associated categories, different public figures, arguments and organizations involved. There has been a concomitant increase in research on youth and religion. As yet, however, little is known about young people who self-identify as atheist, though the statistics indicate that in Britain they are the cohort most likely to select ‘No religion’ in surveys. This article addresses this gap with presentation of data gathered with young British people who describe themselves as atheists. Atheism is a multifaceted identity for these young people developed over time and through experience. Disbelief in God and other non-empirical propositions such as in an afterlife and the efficacy of homeopathy and belief in progress through science, e...
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Issues pertaining to the relationship between science and religion, like creationism, Intelligent Design, and New Atheism, are increasingly the focus of social scientific research. This research often does not differentiate clearly... more
Issues pertaining to the relationship between science and religion, like creationism, Intelligent Design, and New Atheism, are increasingly the focus of social scientific research. This research often does not differentiate clearly between different kinds of social actors. At the most basic level, professional developers and distributors of systems of thought that deal with the relationship between science and religion, and laypeople who take up this knowledge, or parts of it, must be distinguished. Based upon interview material from the large, multinational study Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum, we identify five typical dimensions of lay knowledge vis-à-vis professional knowledge: reinterpretation of professional labels; neglect of important parts of knowledge systems; addition of knowledge; lower ascription of relevance; and an individual ethical framing.
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Evolutionary Biology, Cultural Studies, Religion and Politics, and 15 morePopular Culture and Religious Studies, Evolution, Qualitative Research, Humanism, Creationism, Intelligent design, Fundamentalism, New Atheism, Creationism in education, Evolutionary Creationism, Evolution and Religion, Religion and Human Evolution, Anthropology of Religion, History of Creationism, and Creationism V Evolution
From recent qualitative research investigating interfaith dialogue in the English city of Coventry, it becomes apparent that committed individuals work hard running interfaith activities and organizations and the local authority is taking... more
From recent qualitative research investigating interfaith dialogue in the English city of Coventry, it becomes apparent that committed individuals work hard running interfaith activities and organizations and the local authority is taking a leading role in supporting these. However, the reach of such work is unclear.
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Non-Western Christian missionaries from a variety of backgrounds represent Europe as being in decline in terms of its religiosity and morals. Such evaluations are set against a backdrop of Christian demographic shift from the global North... more
Non-Western Christian missionaries from a variety of backgrounds represent Europe as being in decline in terms of its religiosity and morals. Such evaluations are set against a backdrop of Christian demographic shift from the global North to the global South and secularization theory.The shift in demographics is, however, unfinished, as is the inversion of relations implied by the vocal, critical presence of Southern Christians in Europe. There is great religious variety within Europe, the West and the global South. Hence scholars are developing fresh theoretical lenses to take better account of contexts and connections in analyses, and further research into the relationship between rhetoric and reality is called for.
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The chapter looks at developments in sociological theory of religion, arguing that Robertson’s work on globalization pushes this theory to broaden its horizons, re-evaluate its preoccupations, and overcome its historically geographic and... more
The chapter looks at developments in sociological theory of religion, arguing that Robertson’s work on globalization pushes this theory to broaden its horizons, re-evaluate its preoccupations, and overcome its historically geographic and cultural narrowness. Focusing on the until recently dominant secularization thesis, the analysis seeks to show how the globalizing context relativizes the notion that secularization is the dominant fate for religion under modern conditions, leading to the dissolution of Western modernization as the master sociological narrative in which non-Western regions play at best a derivative role. In this context, secularization or the marginalization of religion becomes but one possibility among others, and not a particularly dominant one. Globalization as Robertson has theorized it allows glocalization that includes the possibility of religious resurgence as well as decline, of transformation in the religious field just as much as continuity. After illustrating these changes in theoretical developments such as in the work of Beyer, Casanova, and Juergensmeyer, the chapter argues that the most important change is taking place in empirical research; namely in that this has moved away from Western, white Christianity as default religion; has focussed more different religious particularizations, including both religious resurgence and religious transformation; and has moved towards deterritorialized reliogion attendant upon migration and transnationalism.
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Islam’s positioning in relation to Western ideals of individuality, freedom, women’s rights and democracy has been an abiding theme of sociological analysis and cultural criticism, especially since September 11 2001. Less attention has... more
Islam’s positioning in relation to Western ideals of individuality, freedom, women’s rights and democracy has been an abiding theme of sociological analysis and cultural criticism, especially since September 11 2001. Less attention has been paid, however, to another concept that has been central to the image of Western modernity: science. This article analyses comments about Islam gathered over the course of 117 interviews and 13 focus groups with non-Muslim members of the public and scientists in the UK and Canada on the theme of the relationship between science and religion. The article shows how participants’ accounts of Islam and science contrasted starkly with their accounts of other religious traditions, with a notable minority of predominantly non-religious interviewees describing Islam as uniquely, and uniformly, hostile to science and rational thought. It highlights how such descriptions of Islam were used to justify the cultural othering of Muslims in the West and anxietie...
Research Interests: Sociology, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Religion, Cultural Sociology, Social Sciences, and 12 moreIslamic Contemporary Studies, Prejudice, Stereotypes, Stereotypes and Prejudice, Sociology of islam, Islamic Studies, Qualitative Research, Islam, Nvivo Based Qualitative Research, Religious Studies, Soziologie, and Religionssoziologie
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Has mission been reversed? Reflections on sociological research with non-western Christian missionaries in England. Catto, Rebecca (2008) Has mission been reversed? Reflections on sociological research with non-western Christian... more
Has mission been reversed? Reflections on sociological research with non-western Christian missionaries in England. Catto, Rebecca (2008) Has mission been reversed? Reflections on sociological research with non-western Christian missionaries in England. ...
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This excellent, thought-provoking, and touching monograph is based upon Day’s ethnographic research, principally with “Generation A” women in Anglican churches in the south of England, but with comparative observation and interviews also... more
This excellent, thought-provoking, and touching monograph is based upon Day’s ethnographic research, principally with “Generation A” women in Anglican churches in the south of England, but with comparative observation and interviews also conducted in North America. This comparison, alongside reference to wider literature, enables Day to say something more broadly about gender and generational change in the global North. She argues that this older generation of women has been key to sustain the Anglican Communion in the North, it is not being replaced, and this loss will have a major, unanticipated impact upon the Church. The impact is unanticipated, because the significant contribution these women make tends to go unremarked and undervalued by the institution.
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The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, covering everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis... more
The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, covering everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce.
This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific methods, traditions and theories. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.
This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific methods, traditions and theories. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.