The Department of Sociology and Anthropology sponsored Works in Progress Series continues. We’re now in our third year!
Next week we’ll be meeting on Friday, October 14th at 1 PM in Drinko Library, Room 402. We have the same room and time slot all semester for all sessions of the series. Each session will have 1-2 speakers. A flyer for the series is attached. Refreshments will be served.
Our second presenter of the series will be MA candidate in Sociology, Mr. Christopher Lucas, presenting his work in progress project titled “Why Witches and Gays Get Along So Well: A Study of the American Midwestern Neopagan Community’s Views on LGBT People.”
Much of the extant literature on the intersection of sexuality and religion establishes a correlation between level of religiosity and approval of same-sex marriage and attitudes towards LGBT people. The levels of measurement for religious categories are usually not exhaustive, however, causing the literature to equate intensity of Christianity to religiosity. This paper attempts to tease out the difference between religiosity and religious category membership by conducting an ethnographic study of the American Midwestern Neopagan community and its opinions on LGBT people: what do they think? What informs these opinions? How to LGBT people situate themselves within the community? The results show that not only does the Neopagan community typically accept LGBT people and same-sex marriage but that many Neopagans consider themselves at the forefront of the fight for LGBT rights and that this drive is influenced by the nature of their spirituality. Religiosity and opinion on LGBT people seem to have no apparent correlation in this study.
We still have OPENINGS for the remaining two sessions, so if you would like to submit a proposal for presenting at the WIP Series and getting valuable feedback on your works in progress, please see the submission portal here: https://tinyurl.com/MUWIPseries. Find more information about the series in general here: http://www.marshall.edu/dosa/calendar/wip/.
