Study on Islam Earns ASA Award

For many westerners, Islamic law (the shari'a) is often associated with repressive regimes. But a DePauw University sociologist has co-authored a study that finds Islamic orthodoxy - measured as the desire to implement the shari'a - is associated in every country with support for such economic reforms as increasing the responsibility of government for the poor, reducing income inequality, and increasing government ownership of businesses and industries." For that study, Nancy J. Davis is the co-recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Article Award from the American Sociological Association's Sociology of Religion section.