Religious Leaders in Houston Navigate COVID-19 : A Case of Exogenous Shock and Institutional Isomorphism

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dc.contributor.advisorEcklund, Elaine Howarden_US
dc.creatorKalinowski, Brentonen_US
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-28T16:19:04Zen_US
dc.date.available2022-09-28T16:19:04Zen_US
dc.date.created2022-05en_US
dc.date.issued2022-01-06en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2022en_US
dc.date.updated2022-09-28T16:19:04Zen_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis draws on 26 interviews and 100 surveys with congregational representatives in Houston, Texas to consider the challenges that religious organizations have faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to these challenges. Specifically, I frame COVID-19 as an exogenous shock that has not only highlighted preexisting inequalities and trends in American religious life, but also may have accelerated these trends. I find that religious leaders must navigate the safety and wellbeing of members of their organizations while contending with concerns about declining attendance and the finances of the organization, the complexities of building an online presence, and the politicization of the pandemic, religious life broadly, as well as health safety protocols. I argue by way of implication that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for accelerating trends of participation in religious congregations, the growth of the internet as a medium for congregational interaction and growing political polarization in American religious life. Although growing, the amount of sociological research on COVID-19 and religion is currently limited and primarily focuses on the impact of religious affiliation and religiosity on health behaviors and outcomes during the pandemic. This work is unique in considering congregation-level responses to COVID-19 and the tensions being felt by religious leaders in navigating these responses and will be an important step to help scholars in thinking about the way the pandemic has shaped the role of religious communities in public life.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationKalinowski, Brenton. "Religious Leaders in Houston Navigate COVID-19 : A Case of Exogenous Shock and Institutional Isomorphism." (2022) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113406">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113406</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/113406en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectReligionen_US
dc.subjectCOVID-19en_US
dc.subjectChristianityen_US
dc.subjectMixed Methodsen_US
dc.subjectPoliticsen_US
dc.titleReligious Leaders in Houston Navigate COVID-19 : A Case of Exogenous Shock and Institutional Isomorphismen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentSociologyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
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