Dr Andrew McKinnon
BA MA PhD
Senior Lecturer
- Email Address
- andrew.mckinnon@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 272723
- Office Address
School of Social Science Edward Wright Building University of Aberdeen Aberdeen • AB24 3QY Scotland, United Kingdom
- School/Department
- School of Social Science
Biography
I was trained at the Universities of British Columbia and Toronto before coming to Aberdeen at the beginning of 2008. Most of my long-standing research interests involve two themes: the place of religion in social life, and our fundamental theories of the social world. I have also spent a lot of time thinking about metaphors in religious thought and practice, as well as in scholarly theories of religion. I am not committed to a particular methodological approach having done quantitative, qualitative, and historical research, and think it is most important for methods to be appropriate to the questions we're asking.
Over the past several years I have been doing research on conflicts over homosexuality in the worldwide Anglican Communion with Christopher Brittain, interviewing church leaders in Britain and from around the globe.
I am an experienced PhD supervisor, and I am happy to hear from prospective PhD students interested in either sociology of religion (especially religion and conflict, sexuality, Anglican/Episcopal churches, evangelicalism, historical sociology of religion) or theory (especially critical or classical theory; rhetoric). Please take a look at my publication list and see if you think there might be a good fit with the doctoral research you might wish to undertake.
Memberships and Affiliations
Head of the Department of Sociology
Academic Senate
Editorial Board for Studies in Critical Research on Religion (book series) and Critical Research on Religion: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Associate Editor of The Canadian Journal of Sociology
Latest Publications
Method for an historical political sociology of religion
McKinnon, A.Journal of Classical SociologyContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X241257459
The sociology of conversion narratives: A conundrum, a theory, and an opportunity
McKinnon, A.Journal of Contemporary Religion, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 89-105Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMarx and Marxisms
McKinnon, A.The Cambridge History of Atheism. Bullivant, S., Ruse, M. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 465-481, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersChristians, Muslims and Traditional Worshippers in Nigeria: Estimating the relative proportions from eleven nationally representative social surveys
McKinnon, A.Review of Religious Research, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 303-315Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGrowth of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion): fishing for converts, but are there holes in the net?
McKinnon, A.Journal of Empirical Theology, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 188-200Contributions to Journals: Articles
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Sociology.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Research Specialisms
- Religion in Society
- Religious Studies
- Social Theory
- Sociology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
Current research interests include:
• Sociological theory, especially with reference to religion (sociological use of metaphors, classical theory, critical theory)
• Conflict in the Anglican Communion (research conducted with Dr. Christopher Brittain, Divinity, University of Aberdeen)
• Historical Sociology (especially in relation to religion and conflict, violence and social control, energy).Teaching Responsibilities
I currently teach the postgraduate Advance Social Theory (SO5014) a level four honours course, Sociology of Religion and Culture (SO4539), and I contribute to the postgraduate Advanced Qualitative Methods (SO5011).Page 1 of 1 Results 1 to 40 of 40
Method for an historical political sociology of religion
McKinnon, A.Journal of Classical SociologyContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X241257459
The sociology of conversion narratives: A conundrum, a theory, and an opportunity
McKinnon, A.Journal of Contemporary Religion, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 89-105Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMarx and Marxisms
McKinnon, A.The Cambridge History of Atheism. Bullivant, S., Ruse, M. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 465-481, 17 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersChristians, Muslims and Traditional Worshippers in Nigeria: Estimating the relative proportions from eleven nationally representative social surveys
McKinnon, A.Review of Religious Research, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 303-315Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGrowth of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion): fishing for converts, but are there holes in the net?
McKinnon, A.Journal of Empirical Theology, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 188-200Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAnglican disputes over sexuality in the intersection of global power relations
McKinnon, A., Brittain, C. C.Intersecting Religion and Sexuality: Sociological Perspectives. Yip, A., Page, S. J. (eds.). Brill, pp. 85-102Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004390713_006
Reshaping Offline Community in the Image of Online Experience: The Impact of Digital Media on Church Conflict in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
Brittain, C. C., McKinnon, A.Ecclesial Practices, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 48-66Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDemography of Anglicans in Sub-Saharan Africa: Estimating the Population of Anglicans in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda
McKinnon, A.Journal of Anglican Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 42-60Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHabitus
McKinnon, A.Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Entries for Encyclopedias and DictionariesSymbolic Power and Violence
McKinnon, A.Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Entries for Encyclopedias and DictionariesRitual, narrative and time: Bridging between Durkheim and Ricoeur
McKinnon, A.Journal of Classical Sociology, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 215-230Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBelonging without believing: religion and attitudes towards gay marriage and abortion rights in Northern Ireland
Hayes, B. C., McKinnon, A.Religion, State and Society, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 351-366Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Anglican Communion at a Crossroads: The Crises of a Global Church
Brittain, C. C., McKinnon, A.Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania. 264 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksRitual
McKinnon, A.Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Entries for Encyclopedias and Dictionaries- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118430873.est0318
Religion and Social Class: Theory and Method After Bourdieu
McKinnon, A.Sociological Research Online, vol. 22, no. 1, 15Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe sacramental mechanism: Religion and the civilizing process in Christian Western Europe with particular reference to the peace of god movement and its aftermath
McKinnon, A.Sociological Theory and the Question of Religion. McKinnon, A., Trzebiatowska, M. (eds.). 1st edition. Taylor and Francis, pp. 105-126, 22 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315609775
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Anglicans in a globalizing world: the contradictions of Communion
McKinnon, A., Brittain, C. C.Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Anglican Communion: Powers and Pieties. Day, A. (ed.). AshgateChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersHomosexuality and the Construction of 'Anglican Orthodoxy': The Symbolic Politics of the Anglican Communion (Reprint of Brittain and McKinnon 2011)
Brittain, C. C., McKinnon, A.Religion, Sexuality and Spirituality. Cusack, C. M., Prior, J. H. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersHomosexuality and the Construction of 'Anglican Orthodoxy: The Symbolic Politics of the Anglican Communion (Reprint of Brittain and McKinnon 2011)
Brittain, C. C., McKinnon, A.Religion and LGBTQ Sexualities: Critical Essays. Hunt, S. (ed.). AshgateChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315244785
Religion and the Civilizing Process: The Pax Dei Movement and the Christianization of Violence in the Process of Feudalization
McKinnon, A.Sociological Theory and the Question of Religion. McKinnon, A., Trzebiatowska, M. (eds.). AshgateChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersSociological Theory and the Question of Religion
McKinnon, A. (ed.), Trzebiatowska, M. (ed.)Routledge. 276 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksElementary Forms of the Metaphorical Life: Tropes at Work in Durkheim’s Theory of the Religious
McKinnon, A.Journal of Classical Sociology, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 203-221Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIntroduction: Thinking theoretically in the sociology of religion
McKinnon, A., Trzebiatowska, M.Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Forewords and Postscripts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315609775
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
George Herbert Mead on humans and other animals: social relations after human-animal studies
Wilkie, R., McKinnon, A.Sociological Research Online, vol. 18, no. 4, 19Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3191
Ideology and the Market Metaphor in Rational Choice Theory of Religion: A Rhetorical Critique of “Religious Economies”
McKinnon, A. M.Critical Sociology, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 529-543Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMetaphors in and for the Sociology of Religion: Towards a Theory after Nietzsche
McKinnon, A. M.Journal of Contemporary Religion, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 203-216Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBourdieu, Capital and Conflict in a Religious Field: The Case of the ‘Homosexuality’ Conflict in the Anglican Communion
McKinnon, A. M., Trzebiatowska, M., Brittain, C. C.Journal of Contemporary Religion, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 355-370Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHomosexuality and the Construction of “Anglican Orthodoxy”: The Symbolic Politics of the Anglican Communion
Brittain, C. C., McKinnon, A.Sociology of Religion, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 351-373Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSociological Epistemology: Durkheim’s Paradox and Dorothy E. Smith’s Actuality
Hart, R. J., McKinnon, A.Sociology, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 1038-1054Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510381609
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/3057/1/smith_paper_revisions_3.pdf
Energy and society: Herbert Spencer’s ‘energetic sociology’ of social evolution and beyond
McKinnon, A. M.Journal of Classical Sociology, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 439-455Contributions to Journals: ArticlesThe Sociology of Religion: The Foundations
McKinnon, A.New Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion. Turner, B. (ed.). Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 33-51, 19 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444320787.ch1
Elective affinities of the Protestant ethic: Weber and the chemistry of capitalism
McKinnon, A. M.Sociological Theory, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 108-126Contributions to Journals: ArticlesReview of 'Martin Riesebrodt, the promise of salvation: a theory of religion'
McKinnon, A.Canadian Journal of Sociology, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 470-473Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and ArticlesFor an ‘Energetic’ Sociology, or, Why Coal, Oil and Electricity Matter for Sociological Theory
McKinnon, A. M.Critical Sociology, vol. 33, no. 1-2, pp. 345-356Contributions to Journals: Literature ReviewsOpium as Dialectical Metaphor: Religion, Expression, and Protest
McKinnon, A.Marxism Critical Theory and Religion: a Critique of Rational Choice. S. Goldstein, W. (ed.). E.J. Brill, pp. 11-29, 18 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersRitual Re-definition as Passport Control: A Rejoinder to Timothy Fitzgerald after Bourdieu
McKinnon, A. M.Method & theory in the study of religion, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 179-188Contributions to Journals: Comments and DebatesReading ‘Opium of the People’: Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion
McKinnon, A. M.Critical Sociology, vol. 31, no. 1-2, pp. 15-38Contributions to Journals: ArticlesJacques Ellul
McKinnon, A.Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Entries for Encyclopedias and DictionariesThe Religious, the Paranormal and Church Attendance: A Response to Orenstein
McKinnon, A. M.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 299-303Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSociological Definitions, Language Games and the "Essence" of Religion
McKinnon, A. M.Method & theory in the study of religion, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 61-83Contributions to Journals: Articles
