Carl Bowman
Encyclopedia
Carl Bowman is an American
sociologist, who is widely recognized for his studies of Anabaptist religious groups
and is perhaps the foremost expert on the social and cultural history of the Church of the Brethren
.
, preeminent Brethren historian, as one that would "shape the interpretation of Brethren history for many decades." Bowman conducted the 1985 Brethren Profile Study, the first nationally-representative survey of Brethren during the twentieth century, and served for many years as Contributing Editor to "The Brethren Encyclopedia, Volume IV" (2005)http://www.brethrenencyclopedia.org/Product-EncyclopediaVol4.html.
On the broader topic of Anabaptist religious groups
, Bowman co-authored "On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren" (2001)http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/2077.html with Donald Kraybill
. He was a Research Fellow at Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studieshttp://www.etown.edu/YoungCenter.aspx?topic=Home and directed the Brethren Member Profile 2006, the second nationally-representative survey of Brethren in the United States.
Bowman was Chair of the Department of Sociology at Bridgewater College
in Bridgewater, Virginia
from 1988 until 2007. He has served as Director of Survey Research for the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culturehttp://www.virginia.edu/iasc/directory.html since 1995. Bowman has designed social surveys on political and moral culture that were fielded by the Gallup Organization and was a statistical software consultant for SYSTAT Software
.
, and Wanda Martin Bowman, an elementary school teacher, Bowman moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia at the age of five. Except for short periods in Pennsylvania
, Wisconsin
, and Spain
, he has lived in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains
for most of his life. He is married to Laura Desportes and is a parent to four children.
in 1979, an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1981, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia
in 1989. His dissertation, "Beyond Plainness: Cultural Transformation in the Church of the Brethren from 1850 to the Present," was completed under the direction of James Davison Hunter, author of Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America (1991).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist, who is widely recognized for his studies of Anabaptist religious groups
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
and is perhaps the foremost expert on the social and cultural history of the Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
.
Author and educator
The author of various books, chapters, and monographs, Carl Bowman is perhaps best known as the author of "Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People" (1995)http://www.americanplaces.org/books/book_pages/brethren_s-c_bowman.shtml. His analysis of Brethren history was characterized by Donald F. DurnbaughDonald F. Durnbaugh
Donald F. Durnbaugh was a noted historian of the Church of the Brethren who published more than 200 books, articles, reviews, and essays on its history...
, preeminent Brethren historian, as one that would "shape the interpretation of Brethren history for many decades." Bowman conducted the 1985 Brethren Profile Study, the first nationally-representative survey of Brethren during the twentieth century, and served for many years as Contributing Editor to "The Brethren Encyclopedia, Volume IV" (2005)http://www.brethrenencyclopedia.org/Product-EncyclopediaVol4.html.
On the broader topic of Anabaptist religious groups
Anabaptist
Anabaptists are Protestant Christians of the Radical Reformation of 16th-century Europe, and their direct descendants, particularly the Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites....
, Bowman co-authored "On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren" (2001)http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title_pages/2077.html with Donald Kraybill
Donald Kraybill
Donald B. Kraybill is a prolific author, lecturer, and educator on Anabaptist faiths and living. Kraybill is widely recognized for his studies on Anabaptist groups, and is the foremost living expert on the Old Order Amish....
. He was a Research Fellow at Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studieshttp://www.etown.edu/YoungCenter.aspx?topic=Home and directed the Brethren Member Profile 2006, the second nationally-representative survey of Brethren in the United States.
Bowman was Chair of the Department of Sociology at Bridgewater College
Bridgewater College
Bridgewater College, is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal-arts college located in Bridgewater, Virginia, a town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States...
in Bridgewater, Virginia
Bridgewater, Virginia
Bridgewater is an incorporated town in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,644 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bridgewater is home to the Reds of the Rockingham County Baseball League...
from 1988 until 2007. He has served as Director of Survey Research for the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culturehttp://www.virginia.edu/iasc/directory.html since 1995. Bowman has designed social surveys on political and moral culture that were fielded by the Gallup Organization and was a statistical software consultant for SYSTAT Software
SYSTAT
SYSTAT is a statistics and statistical graphics software package, developed by Leland Wilkinson in the late 1970s, who was at the time an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago...
.
Family background
Born in 1957, the second of four children born to Fred M. Bowman, a minister in the Church of the BrethrenChurch of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
, and Wanda Martin Bowman, an elementary school teacher, Bowman moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
of Virginia at the age of five. Except for short periods in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, he has lived in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
for most of his life. He is married to Laura Desportes and is a parent to four children.
Education
Bowman completed a B.A. in Sociology from Elizabethtown CollegeElizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
in 1979, an M.S. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1981, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1989. His dissertation, "Beyond Plainness: Cultural Transformation in the Church of the Brethren from 1850 to the Present," was completed under the direction of James Davison Hunter, author of Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America (1991).
Works
- A Profile of the Church of the Brethren, 1987. Brethren Press.
- Brethren Society: The Cultural Transformation of a Peculiar People, 1995. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Anabaptist Currents: History in Conversation with the Present, with Stephen L. Longenecker (eds.), 1995. Penobscot Press
- The State of Disunion: 1996 Survey of American Political Culture (Vols I and II), with James Davison Hunter, 1996. In Media Res Foundation.
- The Politics of Character, with James Davison Hunter, 2000. In Media Res Foundation.
- On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren, with Donald B. Kraybill, 2001. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- The Brethren Encyclopedia, Volume IV (Contributing Editor), 2005. Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc.
- Portrait of a People: The Church of the Brethren at 300, 2008. Brethren Press.