Armand Lind Mauss (June 5, 1928 – August 1, 2020) was an American sociologist specializing in the

sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of Quantitative research, quantit ...

. He was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

and was the most frequently published author of Sociology works on

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

during his long career. A special conference on his work in

Mormon studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

was held in 2013 at California's

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

(CGU), the papers from which were subsequently published by the

University of Utah Press The University of Utah Press is the independent publishing branch of the University of Utah and is a division of the J. Willard Marriott Library. Founded in 1949 by A. Ray Olpin, it is also the oldest university press in Utah. The mission of t ...

in the format of a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'', where he was honored as "one of the most prominent Mormon intellectuals of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries."

Early life and family

Mauss was born on 5 June 1928 in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, and grew up in California, graduating from Oakland High School in 1946. A lifelong member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, as a young adult he served a full-time, two-year

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

for the church in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, and he served throughout his life in many other lay ecclesiastical roles. In 1949, he accompanied his family to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

where his father was called to preside over the missionary work of the LDS Church in

east Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. In 1954, Mauss graduated from

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

of Tokyo, a distinguished

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

institution, with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in History and

Asian Studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...

. While in Japan, he was also inducted into the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, serving four years in

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

. In 1950, he met Ruth E. Hathaway, and they married in 1951. They eventually became parents of six sons and two daughters. After returning to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Mauss earned in 1957 an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in history, with an emphasis on Asia, and in 1970, he earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Sociology, with a dissertation titled ''Mormonism and Minorities'', both at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Academic work

After several years of

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

teaching in California, Mauss joined the faculty at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

(USU) for two years. He next served on the Sociology faculty at Washington State University (WSU) for three decades, starting in 1969 and formally retiring from WSU in 1999. During his career, he taught and published in several different fields of Sociology and

Social Problems A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

, but his work in the Sociology of Religion was ultimately the most visible. He has enjoyed invitations as a visiting professor to several

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. During 2004–2010, he was a visiting scholar in the School of Religion at CGU, where he taught courses on the History and Sociology of the Mormons. While at CGU, he helped develop the Mormon Studies Council and the

Howard W. Hunter Howard William Hunter (November 14, 1907 – March 3, 1995) was an American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1994 to 1995. His nine-month presidential tenure is the shortest ...

Chair in Mormon Studies, first occupied by Richard L. Bushman. Author or editor of several books and scores of academic articles, Mauss also served as editor of the ''

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion The ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' (''JSSR'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell in the United States under the auspices of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, dedicated to ...

'' from 1989 to 1992. He has received three different awards from the

Mormon History Association The Mormon History Association (MHA) is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field. MHA was founded in ...

for his books and other works and two awards from the

Dialogue Foundation ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' is an independent quarterly journal that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement. The journal publishes peer-reviewed academic articles on subjects such as anth ...

for his articles in '' Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', the major independent scholarly journal in

Mormon Studies Mormon studies is the interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary list of academic disciplines, academic study of the beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beliefs, practices, Latter Day Saint movement#History, histor ...

. Mauss had a formative influence on the rise and survival of ''Dialogue'', serving 20 years on its editorial or advisory boards and then ten years as either chairman or member of the Dialogue Foundation's board of directors. Mauss was, additionally, president of the

from 1997 to 1998.

Publications

;Books * * (Edited with Julie C. Wolfe). * (Second Author/Editor with Lester E. Bush Jr.) * * * ;Representative essays and articles * "Mormonism and Secular Attitudes toward Negroes," ''Pacific Sociological Review'' 9(2):91–99l (1966). (Journal later renamed ''

Sociological Perspectives ''Sociological Perspectives'' is the official publication of the Pacific Sociological Association. It is a peer-reviewed academic journal published in six issues each year by SAGE. It was first published in 1957 as ''The Pacific Sociological Revie ...

''.) * "Mormon Semitism and Anti-Semitism," ''Sociological Analysis'' 29(1):11–27 (1968). (Journal later rename
Sociology of Religion
) *"Skidders and their Servants: Variable Goals and Functions of the Skidroad 'Rescue Mission,'" ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' 13(4):421–36 (1974). (Second author with Reginald W. Bibby.) * "On Being Strangled by the Stars and Stripes:The New Left, the Old Left, and the Natural History of American Radical Movements," ''Journal of Social Issues'' 27(1):183–202 (1971). *The Problematic Prospects for Prevention: Should Alcohol Education Programs Be Expected to Reduce Drinking by Youth? ''Journal of Studies on Alcohol'' 49(1): 51-61 (1988). (First author with Ronald H. Hopkins, Ralph A. Weisheit, and Kathleen A. Kearney.) *Salvation and Survival on Skid Row: A Critical Comment, ''Social Forces'' 60(3): 898-904 (1982). * "Strictly Speaking . . . : Kelley's Quandary and the Vineyard Christian Fellowship," ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion''32(2):125–135 (1993). (Second author with Robin D Perrin.) *"Apostasy and the Management of Spoiled Identity" in ''The Politics of Apostasy: The Role of Apostates in the Transformation of Religious Movements'', ed. David G. Bromley (New York: Praeger, 1998), 51–73. * "Mormonism's Worldwide Aspirations and Its Changing Conceptions of Race and Lineage," ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' 34(3–4):103–133 (2001). * "The Emergence of Mormon Studies in the Social Sciences, in "''American Sociology of Religion: Histories''," ed. Anthony J. Blasi (Leiden and Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2007), 121–150. * "Seeking the 'Second Harvest'? Controlling the Costs of Latter-day Saint Membership in Europe," ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'' 41:1–54 (2008). * Authority and Dissent among the Latter-day Saints, in ''The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism'', eds. Terry L. Givens and Philip Barlow (New York and Oxford, UK:Oxford University Press,2015).

References

Notes

Works cited

External links

Claremont Graduate University 2013 special conference on Mauss work

Howard W. Hunter FoundationMauss' faculty page
WSU Department of Sociology
Mauss' Professional C. V.

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauss, Armand 1928 births 2020 deaths American Latter Day Saint writers American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers American sociologists Editors of Latter Day Saint publications Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Historians of race relations Mormon studies scholars Writers from Salt Lake City University of California, Berkeley alumni Washington State University faculty Sociologists of religion American Mormon missionaries in the United States 20th-century Mormon missionaries American memoirists Mormon memoirists Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) Oakland High School (Oakland, California) alumni