This article examines occupational differentiation of American Catholic sisters both prior to and following the Second Vatican Council. The pre- Vatican II era is characterized in terms of mechanical solidarity such that a common group identity and culture based on work is shared. By contrast, apostolic sisters of the post-Vatican II period seem to exemplify the concept of organic solidarity; there is more variation with regard to occupations and life-style. The analysis focuses on the life histories of sisters residing in South Texas. In particular, the analysis relates the diversification in their careers to changes in their ideology and lifestyle, and the changing demographic and financial status of their congregations. We suggest that the diversification of occupational choices among sisters parallels that of working women more generally.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
APPLEBAUM, H. A.
(1981) Royal Blue: The Culture of Construction Workers. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
2.
BLAKE, R. A.
(1986) “World without nuns.”America (October 11): 185-186.
3.
BURTON, K.
(1957) The Golden Door: The Life of Katherine Drexel. New York: P. J. Kennedy.
4.
DURKHEIM, E.
(1964) The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press. (Original published 1893)
5.
EBAUGH, H.R.F.
(1977) Out of the Cloister. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press.
6.
EBAUGH, H.R.F.
and P. RITTERBAND (1978) “Education and the exodus from convents.”Soc. Analysis39 (3): 257-264.
7.
FEE, J. L.
, A. M. GREELEY, W. C., McCREADY, and T. A. SULLIVAN (1981) Young Catholics in the U.S. and Canada. New York: Sadlier.
8.
FOX, M. F.
and S. HESSE-BIBER (1984) Women at Work. New York: Mayfield.
9.
GOTTEMOELLER, D.
(1980) “Changing mission in religious life,” pp. 13-30 in Starting Points. Washington, DC: Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
10.
GUNNING, M. P.
(1971) To Texas With Love: A History of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. Austin: Best Printing Co.
11.
HILLERY, G. A. Jr.
(1969) “The convent: community, prison or task force.”J. for the Scientific Study of Religion8: 140-151.
12.
HILLERY, G. A. Jr.
(1983) “Monastic occupations: a study in values,” pp. 191-210 in I. Simpson and R. L. Simpson (eds.) Research in the Sociology of Work: Vol. 2. Peripheral Workers. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
13.
HULME, N.
(1957) The Nun Story. London: Muller.
14.
JOHANN, E.
(1977) “We... are asking for more voice,” pp. 9-25 in J. Chittisteret al. (eds.) Climb Along the Edge: An Analysis of Change in Religious Life. New York: Paulist Press.
15.
JOSEPH, N.
(1986) Uniforms and Nonuniforms: Communication Through Clothing. Contributions in Sociology 61. New York: Greenwood.
16.
JOSEPH, N.
and N. ALEX (1972) “The uniform: a sociological perspective.”Amer. J. of Sociology77 (4): 719-730.
17.
KENNELLY, K. M.
(1984) “Historical perspectives on the experience of religious life in the American church,” pp. 79-97 in R. J. Daleyet al. (eds.) Religious Life in the U.S. Church. New York: Paulist Press.
18.
KORNBLITH, A. B. (1975) “Symbolic aspects of the uniform as a function of the race and occupation of its wearer: a status inconsistency approach.” Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York.
19.
LONG, C. D.
(1958) The Labor Force Under Changing Income and Employment. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
20.
MAYNARD, T.
(1945) Too Small a World: The Life of Francesca Cabrini. Milwaukee: Bruce.
21.
McCLORY, R. J.
(1987a) “Task force advises failing religious communities.”National Catholic Reporter23 (22): 8.
22.
McCLORY, R. J.
(1987b) “Future of aging nuns unclear.”National Catholic Reporter23 (21): 1, 26, 28.
23.
McCLORY, R. J.
(1987c) “Twists of circumstances land older nuns in the lurch.”National Catholic Reporter23 (21): 27.
24.
NEAL, M. A.
(1984) Catholic Sisters in Transition: From the 1960s to the 1980s. Consecrated Life Studies 2. Willmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc.
25.
NEAL, M. A.
(1985) “American sisters now,” pp. 141-160 in M. Glazier (ed.) Where We Are: American Catholics in the 1980's. Wilmington, DE: Michael Galzier, Inc.
26.
Official Catholic Directory (1966) General Summary. New York: P.J. Kennedy.
27.
Official Catholic Directory (1981) General Summary. New York: P.J. Kennedy.
28.
Official Catholic Directory (1987) General Summary. New York: P.J. Kennedy.
29.
OPPENHEIMER, V. K.
(1970) The Female Labor Force in the United States. Population Monograph Series, No. 5. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press.
30.
POPE PAUL VI
(1966) “Gaudium et Spes” (Pastoral Constitution On the Church in the Modern World), pp. 199-308 in W.M. Abbott (ed.) The Documents of Vatican II. New York: Corpus Books.
31.
POPE PAUL VI (1967) “Populorum Progressio” (On the Development of Peoples). Boston: St. Paul's Editions.
32.
POPE PAUL VI (1975) “Evangelii Nuntiandi” (On Evangelization in the Modern World). Boston: St. Paul's Editions.
33.
SAN GIOVANNI, L.
(1978) Ex Nuns: A Study of Emergent Role Passage. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
34.
SULLIVAN, T. A.
and J. E. MUTCHLER (1985) “Equal pay or equal work? The implications of underemployment for comparable worth.”Research in the Sociology of Work3: 175-192.
35.
SWEET, J. A.
(1973) Women in the Labor Force. New York: Seminar.
36.
TENZEL, J. H.
, L. STORMS, and H. SWEETWOOD (1976) “Symbols and behavior: an experiment in altering the police role.”J. of Police Sci. and Admin.4 (1): 21-27.
37.
THOMAS, M. E.
(1948) Footprints on the Frontier: A History of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Concordia, Kansas. Westminster, MD: Newman Press.
38.
VAN MAANEN, J.
(1982) “Fieldwork on the beat,” pp. 103-151 in J. Van Maanen, J. M. Dabbs, Jr., and R. R. Faulkner (eds.) Varieties of Qualitative Research. Beverly Hills: Sage.
