The Role of Isomorphism in Ways that the Catholic Church Accommodates People with Disabilities

• In Event: 1517 - Section on Disability and Society Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Politics, Organizations, and Social Change

Abstract

This study measures the type of isomorphism present in the way that Catholic dioceses accommodate people with disabilities. In their original theory, Dimaggio and Powell (1983) proposed that organizations are becoming more similar, labeling the phenomenon isomorphism. They articulated three types of isomorphism: mimetic (copying another organization’s solution to a problem (p. 151)), normative (when professionals collectively look for solutions to problems (p.152)), and coercive (organizations pressure each other to implement a solution to a collective problem (p. 150)). However, they articulate in the article that these three types of isomorphism are difficult to distinguish. Mizruchi and Fein (1999) later analyzed articles that measure isomorphism and observed that authors often conclude mimetic isomorphism is present when coercive tactics are responsible. This research studies Catholic dioceses because they are immune to coercive isomorphic tactics. A Catholic diocese is a geographic region that is subordinate to a bishop. Bishops are given control over their diocese by the Pope but the Pope does not exert any organizational coercion after appointing the bishop. It is also immune from governmental control since religious organizations are exempt from laws requiring accommodations for people with disabilities. Therefore, isomorphism present in diocesan structures must be either mimetic or normative isomorphism.
The data used in the study are from a census of dioceses conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate in 2016 which includes 142 of the 196 dioceses in the United States. Network analysis and binomial regression are used to determine which type of isomorphism is present within the collective diocesan approach to accommodate disabled individuals. Network analysis is used to determine how bishops are connected to each other while binomial regression is used to determine the similarity of dioceses’ strategies to accommodate people with disabilities.

Author

• Jonathon Holland, University of Louisville