Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Sociological Analysis of Vatican II

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

SES 0002409 PI: Michael Hout, Melissa J Wilde This project studies forces leading to some of the key reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Four proposals, two liberal reforms, one conservative reform, and one compromise reform, brought before the Council are treated as outcomes of political forces, compromises, and log-rolling. The project proposes a competition model based on differential resources, political opportunities, and cultural differences. The analyses use archival materials from Italy, Washington DC, and Berkeley CA. Cultural forces appear in content analyses of various drafts of proposals, speeches, diaries, public statements during deliberation, and vote outcomes. The research will assess several hypotheses on how cultural institutions respond to changes in their social environment.