Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Sociology
Date of Award
12-2008
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Martha Copp
Committee Members
Lindsey King, Paul Kamolnick
Abstract
This qualitative study aims to provide a sociological understanding of people who hold minority beliefs about spirituality and religion and to improve our sociological and social-psychological understanding of a-religious and alternatively religious people. Data were collected through indepth interviews with 10 atheist and 11 naturalist respondents. The study examines the religious histories of the respondents, how they left mainstream religion, how they adopted a minority identity with regard to religion/spirituality, and their personal experiences living in a predominately Christian area. I hypothesized that atheists and naturalists would hold minority identities and feel subordinated or oppressed by the dominant group: Christians. Analyses of interviews provided strong support for the idea that the respondents experienced a minority identity in the sociological sense.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Church-Hearl, Kelly E., "A Sociological Study of Atheism and Naturalism as Minority Identities in Appalachia." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1996. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1996
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.