Browsing by Author "Khalsa, Simranjit"

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    Defining Sikhism: Boundaries of Religion and Ethnicity Among Sikhs in the US
    (2016-04-22) Khalsa, Simranjit; Ecklund, Elaine Howard; Chavez, Sergio
    U.S. immigration has brought rising numbers of non-western religious practitioners whose religious and ethnic identities are linked, and there has been a concurrent rise in white Americans converting to these faiths. Research on religious-ethnic traditions has not addressed how communities of white converts impact religious-ethnic traditions. I study this phenomena among US Sikhs, comparing members of two Sikh communities. I ask how they construct their Sikh identity and what boundaries they draw around this identity. I draw on participant observation and 31 in-depth interviews with both Indian Sikhs in Houston and members of Sikh Dharma, a predominantly white Sikh community. I find that respondents in each community draw on the same elements (symbols, practices, values) to construct Sikh identity, however, they diverge in regards to the specific practices they emphasize. Differences in religious practice become boundaries between respondents, separating Indian Sikhs and members of Sikh Dharma along both religious and ethnic lines. Furthermore, members of Sikh Dharma redefine both Sikh practice and the boundaries around Sikhism, despite the dissent of Indian Sikhs. Thus, my findings suggest that white practitioners of non-white religious-ethnic traditions have outsized agency in defining Sikhism for themselves and the broader American public.
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    Gossip as Social Control: Informal Sanctions on Ethical Violations in Scientific Workplaces
    (Oxford University Press, 2016) Vaidyanathan, Brandon; Khalsa, Simranjit; Ecklund, Elaine Howard
    Research on misconduct in science has largely focused on egregious violations such as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. Recent scholarship, however, calls for greater attention to forms of everyday misconduct and how scientists navigate ethical ambiguity when they are unable or unwilling to make formal accusations. Drawing on interview data from 251 physicists and biologists from both elite and non-elite universities and research institutes in the United States, United Kingdom, and India, we find that scientists are often reticent or unable to take formal action against many behaviors they perceive as unethical and irresponsible. As a result, they resort to informal gossip to warn colleagues of transgressors. Many express confidence that such pro-social gossip can serve as a means of social control by tarnishing the reputations of transgressors. Yet its effectiveness as a form of social control is limited, particularly when transgressors enjoy higher status than gossipers. We identify two types and three consequences of such gossip and assess the effectiveness of gossip as a means of social control. Finally, we consider the implications of our study for understanding and decreasing misconduct in science.
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    Indian Scientists' Definitions of Religion and Spirituality
    (MDPI, 2020) Khalsa, Simranjit; Kalinowski, Brenton D.; Howard Ecklund, Elaine
    Scientists are often assumed to be irreligious and little research has examined the role of religion and spirituality in their lives. Recent research shows that many scientists do articulate a commitment to the sacred and see religion and spirituality as influencing their work. However, we lack a basic understanding of how scientists define religion and spirituality, particularly outside of the Western world. We examine Indian Scientists’ definitions of religion and spirituality and their tie to scientists’ views on the relationship between religion and science. Drawing on 80 in-depth interviews with Indian scientists, we find that although science often operates as a global institution, national context influences definitions of religion and spirituality. Further, the views a scientist has about the relationship between religion and science are linked to their definition of religion. To understand and navigate the relationship between religion and science, we must study definitions of religion and spirituality, as well as the way they are shaped by national context.
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    Practicing Minority Religion: Interrogating the Role of Race, National Belonging, and Gender Among Sikhs in the US and England
    (2020-04-24) Khalsa, Simranjit; Ecklund, Elaine H
    Defying the expectations of scholarship predicting that religion will continue to decline, religion remains an influential force that shapes the lives of everyday people. Religious beliefs and communities provide people with cultural tools to understand the world around them, shape their views and beliefs about other aspects of the social world, and provide community members access to resources. We have little understanding, however, of how status as a religious minority shapes the lives of practitioners and their interactions with people outside of their faith tradition. I turn my attention to this subject by asking how having a minority religious identity is linked to race, national belonging, and constructions of gender. I examine these questions through the Sikh case in the US and England. Sikhs are a religious minority in every nation in which they are present, making them an excellent case to examine these questions. Further, in the US and England they are a particularly visible and distinctive religious minority, and both countries have distinct state relationships to religion, distinct relationships to India, and shared but unique experiences with radical terrorism claiming affiliation with Islam. I draw on 11 months of participant observation with two communities in two national contexts, analyzing data from 79 qualitative interviews to better understand the experience of practicing a minority religion. I find that boundary work is central to the experience of practicing Sikhism for my respondents, shaping their religious practice, the way they go about their lives, and their interactions with non-Sikhs. Further, I find that race, national belonging, and constructions of gender are tightly bound up with the way Sikhs understand their own identity, how they situate themselves in relation to other groups, and how they are perceived by non-Sikhs. Taken together, this research contributes necessary information to understand the experiences of practitioners of minority religions in contexts that are becoming increasingly religiously diverse.