My area of specialization is the sociology of religion, though I maintain an interest in classical and contemporary theory, culture, education, and race/ethnic studies.

Overview

I recently finished a study of the role of conferences of Catholic bishops in state legislative politics nationwide. My book, The Catholic Church in State Politics: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities, was published by Rowman & Littlefield in September 2005.

I am currently involved in a study of conversion to Roman Catholicism through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. A book based on that research, Real Stories of Christian Initiation: Lessons for and from the RCIA, was published early in 2006 by The Liturgical Press. A second book -- provisionally titled Becoming Catholic: Finding Rome in the American Spiritual Marketplace -- is underway and should be complete in 2008.

Looking ahead, I am already in the planning stages of my next major project: an intellectual biography of sociologist Robert N. Bellah. Stay tuned for more on that.

The following links can provide you with more detailed information on my research interests, pursuits, and products. For writing I have done on pedagogical issues, see my teaching page, and for news stories I have contributed to, see my service page. To see the total package, you can download my curriculum vitae in PDF format.

Books

• Click here to learn more about my books, especially how to buy copies for yourself and your friends, family, and colleagues. Here is what sociologist and best-selling author Andrew Greeley had to say about my most recent book: "David Yamane's book, The Catholic Church in State Politics, is an extraordinary, subtle, and intelligent analysis of a complex matter. It demonstrates conclusively that by and large the state Catholic conferences have worked out a way of representing religion in the public marketplace with skill, intelligence, and balance."

Selected Articles

• "Beyond Beliefs: Religion and the Sociology of Religion in America," Social Compass (2007) -- PDF Format (1.9 MB)

• “Religion in the Legislative Arena: Affiliation, Salience, Advocacy, and Public Policy-Making” (with Elizabeth Oldmixon), Legislative Studies Quarterly (August 2006) -- PDF format
  
  
• “Religious Advocacy in the Wisconsin Statehouse,” in Edward Cleary, ed., Representing God at the Statehouse: Religion and Politics in the American States (2006) -- PDF format

• "Narrative and Religious Experience," Sociology of Religion (Summer 2000) -- PDF Format (2.3 MB)

• "Faith and Access: Personal Religiosity and Religious Group Advocacy in a State Legislature." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (December 1999) -- PDF Format (956 KB)

• "Secularization on Trial: In Defense of a Neosecularization Paradigm," Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (March 1997) -- PDF Format (947 KB)

• "Ways of Seeing Ecstasy in Modern Society: Experiential-Expressive and Cultural-Linguistic Views," Sociology of Religion (Spring 1994), with Megan Polzer -- PDF Format (1.2 MB)

Some Book Reviews

• Review of Kathleen Jenkins' Awesome Families: The Promise of Healing Relationships in the International Churches of Christ in Social Forces (June 2007) -- PDF Format (188 KB)

• Review of Michele Dillon's Catholic Identity: Balancing Faith, Reason, and Power in Contemporary Sociology (January 2001) -- PDF Format (325 KB)
  
  
• Review of Patricia Wittberg's The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders: A Social Movement Perspective in Social Forces (March 1996) -- PDF Format (399 KB)

Yet to Be Published Papers

• "Religion in the Statehouse: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities" -- manuscript in PDF format

Other Resources

• Resources for research in sociology of religion
  
• American Sociological Association
  
• Association for the Sociology of Religion
  
• Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review