Beautiful exhibit of indigenous books at Northshire in Manchester Vermont— and they have a copy of The Loyalty Trap!

How to save ourselves from the climate crisis from @fisherdanar.bsky.social at Hamilton College

VOTE!

In light of Veteran’s Day coming soon, posting this important distinction. Mom struggles…

On Wednesday, I'll be talking about my recent book, Saving Ourselves: from Climate Shocks to Climate Action at Hamilton College. The event is open to the public if you're nearby! Many thanks to @jlkucinskas.bsky.social for the invitation

Well I couldn’t make it to @sssreligion.bsky.social this year, but Hamilton College Relig Studies did a pretty awesome analysis of religious themes in #StarWars for parents’ weekend! #Buddhism

Excerpt: "Reading The Loyalty Trap evokes that set piece of war movies in which a strained and sweating submarine crew huddles silently, listening to the creaks and bangs that signal either an attack from without or failures of the vessel itself. During the previous administration, 1/3

Excited @fisherdanar.bsky.social is coming to Hamilton College next week to give a talk on Saving Ourselves. It’s open to the public if you’re in upstate NY!

First review of The Loyalty Trap is out at Social Forces. I'm so honored Lis Clemens was the one to review the book. She also gave us wise editorial advice on our first article from the project while she was editor at AJS. academic.oup.com/sf/advance-a...

As a diplomat, I served in several countries where most government jobs were filled by patronage appointments. It’s a guarantee for ineffectiveness and corruption.

Thrilled a symposium on how The Loyalty Trap applies to Israel is rolling out. And special thanks to Nadiv Mordechay for organizing this! israeliconstitutionalism.wordpress.com/2025/10/19/%... On my way to Emory Sociology to talk about the book today!

When it’s already hard to get medical care in upstate NY:/

Wonderful to see so many people and joyful vibe at No Kings Day Utica @indivisible.org

I love fall from my office at Hamilton

UVA's Sociology department is looking to hire a tenured sociologist of religion at the Associate or Full level. Here is the advertisement. @sssreligion.bsky.social @asareligion.bsky.social Details here: apply.interfolio.com/173879

“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’” It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.

Incredible that they put this in writing

“It feels like coerced speech where the government is forcing employees to spread its propaganda in communicating with the public,” says Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social), a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan.

Amid the stress of the shutdown and the Trump administration’s ethical transgressions with trying to influence military leaders to be a politicized for force— how does this affect civ servants and their choices to stay, speak up, or go?

Thinking of federal civil servants today. . .

Thrilling performances and wise words on creating and writing from Lin-Manuel Miranda tonight at Hamilton College: -"If you write what you haven't seen yet then you are already ahead." -"Ask for help from people smarter than you." -"You are always re-writing. If you don't like it, stop. Quit." 1/3

New in Social Forces: @profsamperry.bsky.social new article Secularism, Sorting, and Americans’ Political Knowledge shows secular Americans score highest on civics & politics, especially liberals/Democrats. Evangelicals trend opposite with conservatism. Read it here: doi.org/10.1093/sf/s...

This is the feeling of losing a country to autocracy. I’ve felt it since returning from Sweden. Good people saying hateful things about immigrants, turning a blind eye to how they are being disappeared here.1/3 www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/o...

As the semester heats up, junior scholars ask, when do you do research? Friday mornings - w/some pressure from beloved colleagues. But in my excitement for this new paper on an unbundling of US religion - leading to mobile, hybrid, convenient and competitive forms of religiosity and spirituality 1/2

State capacity that is being gutted now will need to be rebuilt in the future. Alex Hertel-Fernandez looks back at his time in the Biden administration to identify ways that governments could better use social scientists to improve public services. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-social...

So many good people are avoiding paying attention to visible authoritarian creep nationally & culturally in the US. Social psychologists know negative emotions are powerful deterrents for facing discomfort - but the end result of silence & avoidance is we lose. We are losing so much day by day. 1/2

This paper on the conditions enabling moral courage among civil servants in the U.S. and Brazil is super-timely. osf.io/preprints/so...

Folks have seemed interested in this paper by Mariana Costa Silveira and I comparing civil servants responses to Trump (1st administration) and Bolsonaro. Here is a preprint of our paper (still under review):https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/kcjwr_v1

Surveying the decimated world for where to rebuild. From Jamea Richmond Edwards’ heart bursting new exhibition at the Wellin Museum at Hamilton College

Amazing trip to Perdue Sociology. For those interested in studying religion(@asareligion.bsky.social), this is one of the best places to go! Curious & supportive scholars who care about pedagogy & research in a big and growing department. And one of the best places to give talks! A gem for sure.

Briefly back at the Indy airport and while it’s comforting to be at a familiar airport that once signaled almost home— some things have changed for the better. And giving a talk on The Loyalty Trap tomorrow afternoon at Purdue for those nearby!

Join our new @asareligion.bsky.social community! Thank you to @andrewmackey.com for setting it up! And please share your new publications and other opportunities through this handle.

Looking for an easy way to follow other members of ASA Religion? Look no further than this Starter Pack! go.bsky.app/6cTpB24

Beautiful day for biking as fall creeps in

My husband just caught me listening to K-Pop demon hunters soundtrack finishing up work without the kids. But it's so catchy!

Moving back to the US from Sweden -- this pattern of a weakening welfare state and increasing militarization is so apparent. Seeing a police officer stationed at school drop off and the mall at night getting the kids' back to school supplies is such a disturbing contrast.

Posted this morning -- a new @us.theconversation.com piece by Yvonne Zylan and I on federal workers' struggles under Trump. theconversation.com/civil-servan.... And a reminder-- I'm speaking on the Loyalty Trap today at noon at the Hamilton library!

Fighting back

Led by US senator Jon Ossoff, the investigation cites hundreds of reports since January, including accounts of miscarriages, child neglect, and sexual abuse at ICE detention centers in dozens of states. www.wired.com/story/senate...

And action! Time to turn back on my teaching brain. This is also the time of year when scholars magically start doing the work of two people.

Excited to get this book in the mail today! Congrats Elaine! Can’t wait to read it

Writing this paper has felt like spending the year doing a seminar with some of the most inspiring and theoretically savvy scholars of spirituality and religion —and friends. Our conclusion? Religion has been unbundled. Read more below:

Started reading Oneya’s book already and it’s so on point. Can’t wait to read the rest!

Book selfies are the best selfies #ASA2025 @ucpress.bsky.social

I’m thrilled to chair @asanews.bsky.social’s #sociologyofreligion section this year. If anyone has ideas of how to develop the section, support members, and/or would like to be involved or serve on a committee dm me.

Wonderful to see The Loyalty Trap @columbiaup.bsky.social booth @asanews.bsky.social #ASA2025. Especially next to @fisherdanar.bsky.social’s awesome book — when she’s been such a wonderful supporter and mentor of the book!

Terrific @asapolisoc.bsky.social panel on Political Engagement at #asa2025 this am. Overall takeaway, conventional understandings of engagement are far too restricted to voting. E.g. Case's research says egalitarian and redistributive ballot initiatives are hugely popular, esp. in red states.

Authoritarianism survives on isolation. . . Anthony Spires on academics’ responses in Hong Kong #ASA2025 @asapolisoc.bsky.social

I'm also struck by how much religion is showing up in the @asapolisoc.bsky.social panels on populism & democratic engagement. If you want to brainstorm how to focus/develop your findings for soc of religion I'm happy to chat & I bet Evan is too - as the new editor of Sociology of Religion! #ASA2025

Fantastic panel on religion & politics at #ASA2025. New findings pushing the field forward: - how political activism brings some people back to religion - how people use similar cultural schema to talk about spirituality & politics - racialized patterns in Christian nationalism & patriotism