Doctoral Dissertation Research: Mobilization in the American Pro-Life Movement

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

SES 0000353 PI: Theda Skocpol, Ziad Munson This project studies how individuals are recruited into, and mobilized to activity within, pro-life movements. The design draws on ideas from social movements, religion, and political sociology; it emphasizes the role of ideas in this social movement. The research uses documents produced by pro-life groups, and interviews with both activists and non-activists. Four sites that represent different religious composition, demographic characteristics, and levels of interest in the pro-life movement have been chosen: Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, and Charleston. Outcomes of this project should include a fuller understanding of the role(s) of religion in social activism, and conditions and processes of mobilization of social movements in contemporary U.S. society.