Sabrina Marie Danielsen, MA, PhD

Director, Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society

Associate Professor

Contact

SabrinaDanielsen@creighton.edu
College of Arts and Sciences
Cultural & Social Studies
Sociology
CRHL - Creighton Hall/Administration Building - 426B

Sabrina Marie Danielsen, MA, PhD

Director, Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society

Associate Professor

As a sociologist, I am fascinated by the causes and consequences of various patterns in contemporary life.  How are people’s individual lives affected by the social and historical context in which they are living? How do we construct differences between people, such as by race, social class, and gender? How are inequalities based on these differences perpetuated and how can we challenge these inequalities? These are some of the questions that drive my research and teaching. 

In my classes, I want students to gain theoretical and research tools to help them study the structures of society that surround them and concern them. The classes I regularly teach are: 
1. Introduction to Sociology: Self and Society (SOC 101). How is social life organized? This introductory class provides an overview of the field of sociology and seeks to understand how individuals are influenced by the social and historical context in which they are living. 
2. Research Design in the Social Sciences (SOC 312). How do we ask and answer research questions about social life? The aim of this class is for students to better understand how social research is done so that they can more critically read published research and more thoughtfully create their own research studies. 
3. Social Inequality and Stratification (SOC 411). What is the nature, causes, and consequences of social inequality and stratification? This class explores both theory and empirical research related to social inequality in the United States today. 
4. Gender in American Society (SOC 318). How and why do the positions and behavior of women and men in modern American society differ? What are the consequences of these differences? This Doing Social Science course emphasizes both the current state of social science empirical research on gender and how sociologists conduct research. Students will undertake three research projects answering a question of their choosing using three different methods: field observational methods, content analysis methods, and qualitative interview methods. 

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching Interests

  • Sociology of Religion

Research Focus

Religion, Climate Change, Politics, Gender

Department

Cultural and Social Studies

Position

Associate Professor

Articles

  • Environmental Research Letters
    Danielsen, Sabrina, Danielsen, Sabrina, Daniel R. DiLeo, and Emily E. Burke [Creighton undergraduate student]. U.S. Catholic Bishops Silence and Denialism on Climate Change. Environmental Research Letters. 16(11). Findings of article discussed in Inside Climate News, NPR, New Yorker, New York Times, National Catholic Reporter, and other news sources.
    16 2021
  • Journal of Religion and Society
    Danielsen, Sabrina, 'U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Discussion of President Obama vs. President Trump, 2014–2019'
    23, p. 146-167 2021
  • Journal of Church & State
    Danielsen, Sabrina, Mobilizing on Abortion: Social Networks, Civil Disobedience, and the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, 1967-1973.
    63(3), p. 461-484 2021
  • Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion
    Danielsen, Sabrina, “Consensus and Conflict: Abortion, Mainline Protestants, and Religious Restructuring Since 1960.”
    15(20), p. 2-37 2019
  • Social Science Research
    'Leaving My Religion: Understanding the Relationship between Religious Disaffiliation, Health, and Well-Being.'
    57(May), p. 49-62 2016
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    “Shifting Concerns About Social Problems: Religious and Political Identity Among Evangelical and Mainline Protestants, 1960-2013.'
    13(2016), p. 156-175 2015
  • American Journal of Sociology
    'Fewer and Better Children: Race, Class, Religion, and Birth Control Reform in America' Co-Author: Melissa J. Wilde. Article Awards: 1. Winner, Charles Tilly Best Award (2015) from the American Sociological Association's Comparative and Historical Section. 2. Winner, Distinguished Article Award (2015) from the American Sociological Association's Sociology of Religion Section. 3. Winner, Distinguished Article Award (2015) from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
    119 (6), p. 1710-60 2014
  • Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
    'Fracturing Over Creation Care? Shifting Environmental Beliefs Among Evangelicals, 1984-2010.'
    52(1), p. 198-215 2013

Publications

  • Religion News Service
    DiLeo, Daniel, “Study: Most US Catholic bishops kept silent on Francis’ climate change push.” Reprinted in The Washington Post and National Catholic Reporter 2021
  • National Catholic Reporter
    DiLeo, Daniel, “Predicting how US bishops’ conference will treat Biden, based on their criticism of Obama and Trump.” 2021

Editing and Reviews

  • Sociology of Religion
    Danielsen, Sabrina, Book Review of Divine Variations: How Christian Thought Became Racial Science, by Terence Keel
    81(1), p. 121-122 2020
  • American Journal of Sociology
    Danielsen, Sabrina, Book Review of Addicted to Lust: Pornography in the Lives of Conservative Protestants, by Samuel L. Perry
    126(1), p. 174-175 2020
  • Contemporary Sociology-a Journal of Reviews
    Book Review of Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics, by Mark A. Smith.
    46(2), p. 217-219 2017
  • Sociology of Religion
    Book Review of The Rationalization of Miracles, by Paolo Parigi.
    75:1, p. 169-171 2014

Presentations

  • Eco-sisters: Gender, Power, and Climate Change Politics within the American Catholic Church. Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD. 2022
  • Kripke Center Symposium on Religion and Politics, 2016 "Uniting in Opposition:Race and Religion in the Early Abortion Rights Movement in America" 2016
  • Kripke Center Symposium on Religion and Identity "Shifting Concerns About Social Problems: Religious and Political Identity since 1960" 2015
  • Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies Conference, Race, Class, Gender, and Religion Section: "Religion, Race, Class and Gender in the Politics of Abortion before Roe v. Wade" 2014
  • Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting - Social Movement Activisms Session "Clergy Consultation Service and the Religious Mobilization on Abortion before Roe v. Wade" 2014
  • Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting, Politics of Abortion Session "Mainline Protestants and the Politics of Abortion after Roe v. Wade" 2013
  • Culture and Interaction Cluster, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA. Sept 2013. "Religious Restructuring, Mainline Protestants, and the Politics of Abortion Since 1960" 2013
  • Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ. Nov 2012. Religion and Abortion Session. "Mainline Protestant Denominations and Abortion Law Reform and Repeal, 1960-1973 2012
  • American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. Aug 2012. Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable. "Liberalizing on Abortion: Religion and Abortion Law Reform, 1960-1973. 2012
  • Association for the Sociology of Religion Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. Aug 2012. Moral Attitudes Session. "Mainline Protestants and the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights" 2012
  • American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV. Aug 2011. Sociology of Culture Session, "Rightward Tendencies: Conservatism in the Age of Obama" "Fracturing Over Creation Care: Environmental Beliefs and Discourse Among Evangelicals." 2011
  • Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Meeting with Melissa J. Wilde: "Creating Heaven on Earth: Birth Control, Eugenics, and the Social Gospel in the Early 20th Century" 2010

Other

  • CURAS Faculty Research Fund to support scholarship involving undergraduate student (Brittni Porath).

Awards

  • Winner of the Distinguished Article Award
    Wilde, Melissa J. and Sabrina Danielsen. “Fewer and Better Children: Race, Class, Religion, and Birth Control Reform in America.” American Journal of Sociology. 119(6): 1710-60.
    Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
  • Winner of the Charles Tilly Best Article Award
    Wilde, Melissa J. and Sabrina Danielsen. “Fewer and Better Children: Race, Class, Religion, and Birth Control Reform in America.” American Journal of Sociology. 119(6): 1710-60.
    American Sociological Association's Comparative and Historical Section
  • Winner of the Distinguished Article Award
    Wilde, Melissa J. and Sabrina Danielsen. “Fewer and Better Children: Race, Class, Religion, and Birth Control Reform in America.” American Journal of Sociology. 119(6): 1710-60.
    American Sociological Association's Sociology of Religion Section.