Social Forces has just published my review of Beyond Betrayal: The Priest Sex Abuse Crisis, The Voice of the Faithful, and the Process of Collective Identity (University of Chicago Press 2019). This book, written by Drs. Patricia Ewick and the late Marc W. Steinberg, explores a single Voice of the Faithful affiliate for ten years. For those unfamiliar, Voice of the Faithful is a group that began following the discovery of clerical sexual abuse of minors and its subsequent coverup. Ewick and Steinberg’s long-haul study allows us to see the ways the group does identity work as they encounter victories and setbacks in their work for justice and healing. Beyond the content itself, the book is a wonderful contribution to the literature on theories of narrative; I’m especially appreciative of this as this in an understudied field within sociology. To share a piece of my review:

Beyond Betrayal is a masterfully written book that dives deeply into the minds of individual activists to see the ways they make sense not only of their activism, but also their very selves. This book is sure to invite new questions on meaning and the role of narratives in social life. It is a must-read for scholars in the areas of social movements, identity, emotion, small groups, or framing and would be very useful for those who lead small groups trying to foment social change.

My Featured Review Essay of The Twenty-something Soul (OUP 2019) just came out in Sociology of Religion. Authors Tim Clydesdale and Kathleen Garces-Foley do an excellent job of providing the reader with a clear understanding of the social and religious characteristics of today’s Mainline Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical and unaffiliated twenty-somethings. The book uses both survey data and interviews to look at religious and nonreligious twenty-somethings’ commitments and challenges, providing many insights. It is a great book for both scholars and ministers, as I close my review by writing:

[T]hrough its clear presentation of the findings and insightful analysis, this is a timely book that answers questions in both the public and academic minds. The Twentysomething Soul is an exciting new addition to the sociological literature on religion and young adults and is a must-read for those working in campus or young adult ministry.

The most recent edition of The CARA Report featured two of my projects.

First, my edited collection, Young Adult American Catholics, was featured. The summary highlighted discussed the major parts of the book as well as highlighted the contribution of CARA senior researcher, Mary Gautier, as an example. You can read the report here.

Second, some findings from the report on the USCCB national study of Catholic campus ministers, co-authored with Brian Starks, were also featured; the CARA feature can be viewed here.

As any scholar knows, it is one thing to do research. It is an entirely different task to get your analysis into the hands of the audiences that would most benefit from these findings. Thank you, CARA, for your not only your own important research, but also your generosity in spreading the research of others in the field.

I’m very grateful to Dan Morris-Young of the National Catholic Reporter for the thoughtful and positive review he gave of my Young Adult American Catholics. He concludes his review by noting some of the most relevant audiences for the book, writing:

The book could be a valuable tool on many fronts, in addition to simply providing its reader with a panoramic sense of young adult Catholics. Parish leaders could be better-informed in the evaluation of young adult outreach. Diocesan planners could gain insight into specific challenges, such as ministry to the LGBTQ community or to young Hispanics. Lay organizations might have light bulbs come on about involving young adults in their perhaps flagging apostolates.

Please enjoy the full text of his review here and if you prefer to purchase on amazon, you may do so here.