Rhys H. Williams, PH.D.
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Rhys H. Williams Coffey Hall 423 |
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Research Areas:
Professor Williams arrived at Loyola in 2009 from the University of Cincinnati, where he had been professor and department head since 2001. From 1989 to 2001 he taught in the Sociology Department at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. His research has focused on the intersection of politics, religion, and social movements in American culture. While getting his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Professor Williams’ dissertation research was on the involvement of religious groups in the urban politics of Springfield, Massachusetts. Since then he has studied the role of religion in such varied social movements as the Civil Rights Movement, 19th century American populism, the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, the Promise Keepers, and the Father's Rights Movement.
Professor Williams’ most research project is a study of young adults' involvement with religious organizations, and the development of personal, social, and religious identity. He has been comparing young adult groups in white and black churches, and the involvement of second generation Muslim and Hindu immigrants in their religious institutions.
Along with research and teaching, Professor Williams was co-editor of the journal Social Problems from
1996-99 and the editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion from 2003-08. He is currently the President of the Association for the Sociology of Religion.
Recent and select publications:
Forthcoming Williams, Rhys H. “American National Identity, the Rise of the Modern City, and the Birth of Protestant Fundamentalism.” In The Fundamentalist City, Nezar Al-Sayyd and Mejgan Massoumi, eds. (Routledge).
2009 Williams, Rhys H. “Politicized Evangelicalism and Secular Elites: Creating a ‘Moral Other.’” Pp. 105-127 in Evangelicals and American Democracy, Volume II: Religion and Politics, Steven Brint and Jean Reith Schroedel, eds. (New York: Russell Sage Foundation).
2009 Williams, Rhys H. “Transnational Religion and the Shaping of Politics, Ethnicity, and Culture,” Review Essay, Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews (March) 38 (2): 129-133.
2007 Williams, Rhys H. and Gira Vashi “Hijab and American Muslim Women: Creating the Space for Autonomous Selves.” Sociology of Religion (Autumn) 68 (3): 269-287.
2007 Williams, Rhys H. “The Languages of the Public Sphere: Religious Pluralism, Institutional Logics, and Civil Society.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (July) 612: 42-61.
2007 Nepstad, Sharon Erickson and Rhys H. Williams. “Religion in Rebellion, Resistance, and Social Change.” Pp. 419-37 in The SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Religion, James A. Beckford and N.J. Demerath III, eds. (London, UK: Sage Publications).
2007 Williams, Rhys H. “Liberalism, Religion, and the Dilemma of ‘Immigrant Rights’ in American Political Culture.” Pp. 16-32 in Religion and Social Justice for Immigrants, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, ed. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press).
2006 Williams, Rhys H. “Collective Action, Everyday Protest, and Lived Religion.” Review Essay. Social Movement Studies (May) 5 (1): 81-87.