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Based on a year and a half of ethnographic observation and interviews with teachers and students at
four high schools in the New York City area -- two of them Sunni Muslim and two Evangelical
Christian --, sociologist Jeffrey Guhin argues that these schools use politics, gender, sex, and the
internet to separate themselves from the rest of America, a country they view as both a promise and a
threat. In examining these boundaries, he describes how the schools use scripture, prayer, and
science as a means of maintaining their authority over the students' lives.
List of contents
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter One: Authority and Essence
- Chapter Two: Politics and Public Schools
- Chapter Three: Differently Differentiating Gender
- Chapter Four: Sex and the Internet
- Chapter Five: Scripture as External Authority
- Chapter Six: Prayer as External Authority
- Chapter Seven: Science as External Authority
- Chapter Eight: It's Dangerous Out There
- Methodological Appendix
- Endnotes
- Bibliography
About the author
Jeffrey Guhin is an Assistant Professor of sociology at UCLA. He is the director of the Social Thought minor and is affiliated faculty for the Islamic Studies program and the Center for the Study of Religion. He teaches courses on Islam, the sociology of religion, the sociology of education, and social theory. He has published widely in magazines and academic journals. Before becoming an academic, Guhin taught high school English in Brooklyn, New York.
Summary
Sociologist Jeffrey Guhin spent a year and a half embedded in four high schools in the New York City area -- two of them Sunni Muslim and two Evangelical Christian. At first pass, these communities do not seem to have much in common. But under closer inspection Guhin finds several common threads: each school community holds to a conservative approach to gender and sexuality, a hostility towards the theory of evolution, and a deep suspicion of secularism. All possess a double-sided image of America, on the one hand as a place where their children can excel and prosper, and on the other hand as a land of temptations that could lead their children astray. He shows how these school communities use boundaries of politics, gender, and sexuality to distinguish themselves from the secular world, both in school and online. Guhin develops his study of boundaries in the book's first half to show how the school communities teach their children who they are not; the book's second half shows how the communities use "external authorities" to teach their children who they are. These "external authorities" -- such as Science, Scripture, and Prayer -- are experienced by community members as real powers with the ability to issue commands and coerce action. By offloading agency to these external authorities, leaders in these schools are able to maintain a commitment to religious freedom while simultaneously reproducing their moral commitments in their students. Drawing on extensive classroom observation, community participation, and 143 formal interviews with students, teachers, and staff, this book makes an original contribution to sociology, religious studies, and education.
Additional text
Agents of God is a thought-provoking and meticulously researched book that makes clear and helpful contributions to the field of sociology of religion. Guhin's interdisciplinary approach, combined with his rich ethnographic data, offers valuable insights for scholars and practitioners alike. Anyone interested in the nature of contemporary religious education will find Guhin's nuanced understanding of how these institutions navigate the challenges of secularism while reaffirming their sacred identities enriching.
