BIO

I’ve professed at The College of Idaho since 2012. My research in the sociology of religion examines topics such as religious diversity, social boundaries, belief in angels and the paranormal, art/media, and God concepts. My main interest is the microsociology of religious rituals, as seen in my book, Religious Interaction Ritual: The Microsociology of the Spirit (Lexington Press, 2019), as well as in articles in a variety of academic journals.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Sociology, Baylor University, 2012

M.A., Sociology, Baylor University, 2009

M.F.A., Acting, Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre School, 2001

B.A., English Literature, Wheaton College, 1998

SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH

The following list contains select publications.

Draper, Scott. 2026 (forthcoming). Temple University Press. “Does It Need to Be Loud? Religious Effervescence and Micro-Level Sound.” In Collective Effervescence in the 21st Century, edited by Sébastien Tutenges and Philip Smith.

Draper, Scott. 2019. Religious Interaction Ritual: The Microsociology of the Spirit. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Spencer, Anne Cottrell and Scott Draper. 2018. “Introducing the Sort-Of Buddhist; or, ‘If There is No “I” To Have a Religious Identity Then How Do I Fill Out This Survey?’” Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion 14(3).

Draper, Scott. 2017. “The Preeminent Sacred Symbol: Theorizing Image of God Outcomes.” Sociology Compass 11(10).

Draper, Scott. 2014. “Effervescence and Solidarity in Religious Organizations.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 53(2): 229-248.

Stroope, Sam, Scott Draper, and Andrew Whitehead. 2013. “Images of a Loving God and Sense of Meaning in Life.” Social Indicators Research. 111(1): 25-44

Sherman, Martha and Scott Draper. 2012. “What Will the Neighbors Think? The Effect of Moral Communities on Cohabitation.” Review of Religious Research.

Draper, Scott and Joseph Baker. 2011. “Angelic Belief as American Folk Religion.” Sociological Forum. 26(3): 623-643.

Baker, Joseph and Scott Draper. 2010. “Diverse Supernatural Portfolios: Certitude,

Exclusivity, and the Curvilinear Relationship Between Religiosity and Paranormal Beliefs.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49(3): 413-424.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Winner of the 2021 Distinguished Article Award from the Association for the Sociology of Religion for: “Effervescence Accelerators: Barriers to Outsiders in Christian Interaction Rituals.” 2021. Sociology of Religion 82(3): 357-379.