
NSF Org: |
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | August 16, 2019 |
Latest Amendment Date: | August 3, 2022 |
Award Number: | 1918020 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Antwan Jones
aajones@nsf.gov (703)292-4973 SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
Start Date: | August 15, 2019 |
End Date: | July 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $324,228.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $328,582.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2022 = $4,354.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2200 VINE ST # 830861 LINCOLN NE US 68503-2427 (402)472-3171 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
151 Prem S. Paul Research Center Lincoln NE US 68583-0861 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): |
GVF - Global Venture Fund, Sociology |
Primary Program Source: |
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075, 47.079 |
ABSTRACT
Public debates over the civil rights of minorities have evoked questions about whether individuals may be exempt from adhering to nondiscrimination laws based on the claim that to adhere would violate their religious beliefs. This project will study the laws related to religious exemption and Americans' reactions to religious exemption laws related to minority rights. The project will address the following questions: (1) How and when do state and case laws related to religious exemption implicate minorities? (2) How do individuals evaluate religious exemption claims as they relate to minorities? and (3) To what extent does the language of state and case laws overlap or diverge with individual interpretations? The project will advance scientific understanding about the relationship between public opinion and state and federal laws. It will benefit society by generating empirical knowledge that can inform legislation and policies related to minority rights and religious exemption, thus contributing to health and well-being of individuals and our democracy in the United States.
The issue of whether individuals may be exempt from adhering to nondiscrimination laws owing to religious beliefs is a complex question involving legal institutions as well as individual beliefs. This project addresses this issue with a mixed-methods study that uses quantitative and qualitative analysis of legal data and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews to understand processes of cultural interpretations at both the institutional and individual level. In Phase 1 of the project, the project will create and analyze an original database of all U.S. court cases and state laws related to religious exemption over a 21-year period. In Phase 2, the project will conduct and analyze in-depth interviews with 180 participants in four U.S. cities. In Phase 3, the project will compare legal initiatives with interview data. Findings from the project will inform the literature in cultural sociology, the sociology of religion and the sociology of law, with focus on the intersection of cultural schemas and legal institutions surrounding religious exemption and minority rights.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Public debates over the civil rights of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people have evoked questions about whether opponents may be exempt from serving and accommodating SGM people based on the claim that to do so would violate their religious beliefs. Our project used cultural sociology and the concept of cultural schemas to study meanings surrounding religious freedom and SGM rights in order to advance law and society scholarship that examines shifts in public opinion, shifts in state and federal laws, and the relationship between the two.
We conducted a mixed-methods study that used quantitative and qualitative analysis of legal data and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. First, we created and analyzed an original database of all U.S. federal court cases related to religious exemption over a 21-year period (n=1,281). Second, we conducted and analyzed in-depth interviews with 91 participants in four U.S. cities who are evangelical Christian, affiliated with some other religion, or not religiously affiliated and who are SGM and non-SGM. Third, we compared federal cases with interview data to understand processes of meaning-making at both the institutional and individual level.
In three peer-reviewed journal articles, our quantitative and qualitative analyses of federal case laws provide insights into the process by which the law is applied to new social issues at the institutional level. Our analysis of the interview data extends scholarship by utilizing a cultural sociological perspective that attends to the processes by which individuals form political opinions and make sense of the law. Overall, our analyses provide a model for how to integrate institutional and individual level data to examine political controversies. The project also generates new empirical insights into the intersections between religion and sexuality in contemporary America.
Along with advancing social science, our project achieves several broader impacts. First, we advanced discovery and understanding and added clarity to a tumultuous political issue by providing empirical evidence about individual meaning-making alongside analysis of legal discourse. We achieved maximum impact by making our research findings publicly available and accessible in two publications in public-facing venues. Second, we enhanced the infrastructure for research and education by providing training for graduate and undergraduate students. Research assistants are co-authors on publications that resulted from the study. We also integrated project findings into our undergraduate and graduate courses on sexuality, law, and religion. Third, we advanced data infrastructure and sharing. Our study resulted in two data sources that will be publicly available to researchers: a searchable database and codebook of federal case laws related to religious exemption and de-identified questionnaire responses and interview transcripts. Both forms of data will be made available five years following the completion of the project.
Last Modified: 08/10/2023
Modified by: Emily A Kazyak
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