Patriarchy in the Dual Systems of Religion and the State: A Concept-Driven Sociological Analysis

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6. Religion and Authority

Abstract

Scholars have argued for the need to center patriarchy in analyses of oppression, particularly in relation to gender, race, and class, and how those in state and religious institutions use their positions of power in ways that limit the freedoms of women and other subjugated groups, increase the odds of violence against them, and then engage in narrative control to excuse, justify, or rationalize these behaviors. Historically, scholars criticized the use of patriarchy, stating it is unclear as to whether it is an explanation, description, a theory, or a concept, or somewhere in between, and highlighted its perceived theoretical weakness. Patriarchy has re-emerged in recent years, and we contribute to the emerging literature to offer a new way to conceptualize patriarchy, framing the state and religion, along with their respective ideologies and institutions, as dual power systems that overlap in patriarchal leadership and goals. Using a concept-driven sociological analysis to advance patriarchy as a “form” using Simmel’s formal sociology (1959) and Zerubavel’s (2024) cognitive sociological frameworks, we identified patriarchy’s cross-contextual core features and similarities across levels of society, domains, culture, and history. In applying this framework, this project employs patriarchy as a concept in a new and novel way by articulating the ways in which religion and the state work independently and together across contexts to create a society where they can monopolize social control.

Authors

• Brandie Pugh, West Virginia University

• Faith Burrill, West Virginia University

• Ansley Shamblin, West Virginia University