Presidential Appointments and Religious Stratification in the United States, 1789–2003

In America's colonial period, the “Protestant Establishment” (Anglicans, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians) had more access to political power than “Other Colonial Elites” (Quakers and Unitarians), “Other Protestants” (e.g., Baptists and Methodists), and “Others” (e.g., Catholics, Jews, and people with no religious affiliation). To what extent has this pattern of religious stratification persisted and/or changed over the course of U.S. history? New data on the religious affiliations of U.S. presidents, cabinet members, and justices on the Supreme Court indicate that the Protestant Establishment and Other Colonial Elites are not as dominant as they once were but continue to be overrepresented in the White House, in the cabinet, and on the Supreme Court. Other Protestants and Others have made noteworthy gains but continue to be underrepresented in most spheres of national political life. Presidents from all religious strata are more likely to appoint people who belong to the Protestant Establishment than any other religious stratum. Other Protestants and Others are most likely to appoint religious outsiders. Thus, political appointments are a means by which religious stratification both persists and changes.     

Physical "Phantasies" and Family Functions: Overcoming the Mind/Body Dualism in Somatization

In this article, we examine some of the ways in which family therapists have conceptualized the experience of illness of unexplained physical origin. We argue that opinions about the etiology of somatic symptoms should not be the primary focus of therapeutic work with people who share the prototypical characteristics of what has been defined as "somatization disorder." We suggest that current research in neurobiology can expand the linguistic resources of clinicians and help them avoid perpetuating unhelpful dichotomies between the mind and the body.     

The Effects of Theistic and Atheistic Counselor Values on Client Trust: A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis

Using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), we investigated how theistic or atheistic values of an analogue counselor influenced trust of the counselor by 49 religious psychotherapy clients and 51 religious leaders.