My two main areas of research are political sociology and sociology of religion. Much of my publication record deals with political tolerance – which is the willingness to extend civil liberties to marginalized social groups. I have published three co-authored articles that examine trends in political tolerance using an innovative quantitative methodology – hierarchical age/period/cohort (HAPC) modeling. In my research on political tolerance, I find that while Americans are becoming more tolerant in general, changes in tolerance greatly differ by a wide variety of social factors. My articles on political tolerance have been published in
The Sociological Quarterly,
Sociological Forum, and
Sociology of Religion. I am currently engaged in research dealing with politics and environment, populism, and links between religion and politics.
My teaching focus is heavily interdisciplinary. In my courses, I find natural connections between sociology and related disciplines like psychology, political science, and economics. I have taught a wide range of courses including introductory courses, substantive courses in my research areas, and methodological courses dealing with quantitative aspects of sociological research. Political tolerance and cultural division are content areas that bridge my research and teaching interests. In many of my courses, I highlight issues of cognitive bias, structural cognition, partisan polarization, and challenges to democracy to help students connect individual attitudes and behaviors to larger ideas about politics and society. My upper-division courses are structured on dialogue and discussion along with project-based student research.
