Wendy Cadge
Assistant Professor of Sociology
email: wcadge@brandeis.edu
(CV)
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Focus of Research Sociology of Religion, Culture, Health and Medicine, Immigration, Gender, Sexuality, Organizations, Research Methods. Education Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Princeton University, 2002 M.A., Department of Sociology, Princeton University, 2000 B.A., Religion, Sociology and Anth. , Swarthmore College, 1997 |
Wendy Cadge joined the faculty at Brandeis University in 2006 after teaching at Bowdoin College (2003-04) and completing a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Fellowship at Harvard University (2004-2006). She teaches courses in the sociology of religion, the sociology of health and medicine, the sociology of sexuality, research methods, and introductory sociology.
Professor Cadge’s research focuses broadly on questions about meaning and identity in the contemporary United States. Her first book, Heartwood: the First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America, is an ethnographic study of how immigrant Buddhists from Thailand and mostly white convert Buddhists in the U.S. understand and practice Buddhism in their everyday lives. Her current book project, Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine, examines the historical and current institutional presence of religion and spirituality in hospitals. It draws from historical materials and the evolving policies of the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as well as from more than one hundred interviews with hospital chaplains, nurses, and physicians in large academic medical centers in the greater Boston area and across the country.
With the support of the Metanexus Institute, Professor Cadge is also working with several colleagues on a research project about spiritual capital in three small cities (Portland, ME; Olympia, WA; and Danbury, CT) where large numbers of immigrants have settled since 1990. Additionally, she has published on religion and public opinion about same-sex marriage, conflicts over homosexuality in mainline Protestant churches, inter-religious dialogues of Buddhist and Catholic nuns, religion and the nonprofit sector, religious identity, and other issues. Her teaching and research have been supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Program, Metanexus Institute, Louisville Institute, the Gill Foundation, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Teaching Enhancement Fund of the American Sociological Association, Younger Scholars in American Religion Program, a Fulbright IIE Fellowship in Sri Lanka, and other organizations. She regularly speaks with the news media and participates in many forms of public education.
Current Research Projects
“Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine” (Book Project)
“Comparing Spiritual and Other Forms of Social Capital: Lessons from the Immigrant Experience” with Peggy Levitt, Sara Curran, and Nadya Jawskory.
“How Religion and Spirituality Influence Vocation and Ethical Decision Making Among American Physicians: A Research Study and Broader Conversation” with Elizabeth A. Catlin.
“Hospital Chaplaincy in the United States“
“The Religious Identities, Beliefs, and Practices of Academic Pediatricians and Pediatric Oncologists in the U.S.“ with Elizabeth Catlin and Elaine Howard Ecklund
“The Medicalization of Religion: Scientific Studies of Intercessory Prayer.“
Recent Publications
Selected Books
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Heartwood: The First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (2005). |
Selected Articles
Forthcoming (March 2008). “De Facto Congregationalism and the Religious Organizations of Post-1965 Immigrants to the United States: A Revised Approach.“Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
Forthcoming (June 2008). “Hospital Chaplaincy in the United States: A National Overview“ with Jeremy Freese and Nicholas Christakis. Southern Medical Journal.
Forthcoming. “Blessings, Strength, and Guidance: Prayer Frames in a Hospital Prayer Book“ with M. Daglian. Poetics.
Forthcoming. “How Denominational Resources Influence Debates about Homosexuality in Mainline Protestant Congregations“ with Laura Olson and Christopher Wildeman. Sociology of Religion. 69(2).
Forthcoming. “Facilitators and Advocates: How Mainline Protestant Clergy Respond to Homosexuality“ with Christopher Wildemen. Sociological Perspectives. 51.
Forthcoming. “Religion and Health“ Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Peter Clarke Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2007. “Immigration and Religion“ with Elaine Howard Ecklund. Annual Review of Sociology. 33: 17.1-17.21
2007. “The Religious and Spiritual Beliefs and Practices of Academic Pediatric Oncologists in the United States“ with Elaine Howard Ecklund, Elizabeth A. Gage, and Elizabeth A. Catlin. Journal of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. . 29(11):736-742.
2007. “Reflections on Habits of the Heart, Buddhism in America, and Religious Individualism“ Sociology of Religion. 68(2): 201-205.
2007. “Bridging the Denomination-Congregation Divide: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Congregations Respond to Homosexuality“ with Heather Day and Christopher Wildemen. Review of Religious Research. 48(3): 245-259.
2007. “Early Factors Leading to College Graduation for Asians and Non-Asians in the United States“ with Thomas Vartanian, Page Buck, and David Karen. Sociological Quarterly. 48:165-197.
2006. “Constructing Buddhism(s): Interreligious Dialogue and Religious Hybridity“ with Courtney Bender. Sociology of Religion. 67(3):229-247.
2006. “Religion and the NonProfit Sector“ with Robert Wuthnow. Handbook of NonProfits. Edited by Walter Powell and Richard Steinberg. New Haven: Yale University Press. 485-505.
2006. “Presidential Address: On Being a Community of Scholars - Practicing the Study of Religion“ with Nancy Ammerman, Omar McRoberts, Robert Woodberry, Milagros Pena. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 45(2): 137-148.
2006. “Religious Service Attendance Among Immigrants: Evidence from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot“ with Elaine Howard Ecklund. American Behavioral Scientist. 49(11): 1574-1595.
2006. “Religion and Public Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage“ with Laura Olson and James Harrison. Social Science Quarterly. 87(2):340-360. (One of ten most downloaded articles from the SSQ webpage in 2006)
2006. “Ascription, Choice, and the Construction of Religious Identities in the Contemporary United States.” With Lynn Davidman. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 45(1): 23-38.
2006. “Making Sense of Suffering and Death: How Health Care Providers’ Construct Meanings in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.” With Elizabeth A. Catlin. Journal of Religion and Health. 45:2.
2006. “Religions of Immigrants in the Mid-Atlantic States.” Religion in the Middle Atlantic States: Fount of Diversity. Edited by Randall Balmer and Mark Silk. AltaMira Press.
2005. “Thai Buddhism in America: A Historical and Contemporary Overview.” With Sidhorn Sangdhanoo Contemporary Buddhism. 6(1).
2004. “Gendered Religious Organizations: The Case of Theravada Buddhism in America.” Gender and Society. 18(6), December 777-793.
2004. “Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States: The Scope of Influence.” With Robert Wuthnow. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 43(3): 361-378.
2004. “Yoga and Rebirth in America: Asian Religions are Here to Stay.” With Courtney Bender. Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds. 3(1): 45-51.
2004. “Reconciling Congregations Bridging Gay and Straight Communities.” Gay Religion. Edited by Edward R. Gray and Scott Thumma. AltaMira Press.
2004. “Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Buddhist Practitioners.” Gay Religion. Edited by Edward R. Gray and Scott Thumma. AltaMira Press.
2004. “Boys and Girls’ Educational Opportunities in Thailand: The Effects of Siblings, Migration, and Accessibility of Schools.” With Sara Curran, Chang Chung, and Anchalee Varangrat. Research in Sociology of Education 14: 59-102.
2002. “Vital Conflicts: The Mainline Protestant Denominations Debate Homosexuality.” The Hand of God: Faith Based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism. Edited by Robert Wuthnow and John Evans. Berkeley: University of California Press.
2002. “Talking about Homosexuality: The Views of Mainline Protestant Clergy.” With Laura R. Olson. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 41(1): 153-167.
2002. “Conceptualizing Your Community-Based Learning Project: Decision Points for the Initial Stages of Project Design.” With Marion Carter, Estella Rivero, and Sara Curran. Teaching Sociology.30 (April): 158-173.
2001. “The Role of Religion in Public Conflicts Over the Arts in the Philadelphia Area, 1965-1997.” With Paul DiMaggio, Lynn Robinson, and Brian Steensland. Crossroads: Art and Religion in American Life. Edited by Alberta Arthurs & Glenn Wallach. New York: The New Press.