Jaime Kucinskas
Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair of Religious Studies
Jaime Kucinskas’ research interests span the sociology of morality, religion, inequality, social movements, and cultural and organizational change. Kucinskas’s book, The Mindful Elite (Oxford University Press 2019), on the emergence and efficacy of the mindfulness movement in the United States. The book was awarded a 2019 Honorable Mention for the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Book Award in the Sociology of Religion section. A chapter in the book was also given the section’s Graduate Student Paper Award in 2013. She continues to study how spirituality is embedded in different social and institutional contexts. She is additionally conducting research on federal civil servants’ responses to times of rapid change and chaotic leadership. Kucinskas earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in sociology at Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree at Colorado College.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to Sociology
Sociology of Religion
American Society
Race, Class, Gender
Research Methods
Seminar: Globalization and Its Discontents
Research Interests
Morality; Civic and Political Behavior; Public Administration; Work & Organizations; Spirituality & Religious Culture; Climate Change
Distinctions
- Best Book Award, Public and Nonprofit Management Section, Academy of Management, 2026
- Samuel and Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching Award, Hamilton College, 2023
- Honorable mention, ASA Section of the Sociology of Religion’s Distinguished Book Award, 2019
- Early Career Achievement Award (for assistant and associate faculty), Hamilton College, 2019
- Graduate Student Paper Award, ASA Sociology of Religion Section, 2013
- Best Article Award, ASA Global and Transnational Section and ASA's Political Economy of the World System Section, 2012
Selected Publications
Books
Monographs
- Jaime L. Kucinskas. 2025. The Loyalty Trap: Conflicting Loyalties of Civil Servants under Increasing Autocracy. Columbia University Press
- Jaime Kucinskas. 2019. The Mindful Elite: Mobilizing Change from the Inside Out. Oxford University Press
Edited Volume
- Brian Steensland, Jaime Kucinskas and Anna Sun, Eds. 2022. Situating Spirituality: Context, Practice, and Power. Oxford University Press
Articles
- Braunstein, Ruth, Jaime Kucinskas, Brian Steensland, Daniel Winchester. 2026. “Religion Unbundled: Toward a Twenty-First-Century Paradigm for the Sociology of American Religion” American Sociological Review
- Jaime Kucinskas and Yvonne Zylan. 2023. “Walking the Moral Tightrope: Federal Civil Servants’ Loyalties, Caution and Resistance Under the Trump Administration” American Journal of Sociology 128(7): 1761-1808.
- Jaime Kucinskas and Evan Stewart. 2022. “Selfish or Substituting Spirituality? Clarifying the Relationship Between Spiritual Practice and Political Engagement” American Sociological Review 87(4)
- Stephen Wu, Stephen Ellingson, Paul Hagstrom, and Jaime Kucinskas. 2021. “Religion and Refugee Well-Being: The Importance of Inclusive Community” Journal for the Social Scientific Study of Religion 60(2):291-308
- Larry W. Isaac, Anna W. Jacobs, Jaime Kucinskas, and Allison McGrath. 2020. “Social Movement Schools: Sites for Consciousness Transformation, Training, and Prefigurative Social Development” Social Movement Studies 19:2: 160-182
- Jaime Kucinskas, Bradley R.E. Wright, and Stuart Riepl. 2018. “The Interplay between Meaning and Sacred Awareness in Everyday Life: Evidence from a Daily Smartphone Study” The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
- Jaime Kucinskas, Bradley R.E. Wright, Matt Ray, and John Ortberg. 2017. “States of Spiritual Awareness by Situation, Social Interaction, and Time” Journal for the Social Scientific Study of. Religion 56: 2: 418-437
- Jaime Kucinskas, Tamara van der Does. 2017. “Gender Ideals in Turbulent Times: An Examination of Insecurity, Islam, and Muslim Men’s Gender Attitudes during the Arab Spring.” Comparative Sociology, Volume 16, Issue 3, pages 340 – 368.
- Jaime Kucinskas. 2014. “The Unobtrusive Tactics of Religious Movements.” Sociology of Religion 75: 4: 537-550.
- Ho-fung Hung and Jaime Kucinskas. 2011. “Globalization and Global Inequality: Assessing the Impact of the Rise of China and India, 1980-2005.” American Journal of Sociology 116: 1478-1513.
- Jaime Kucinskas. 2010. “A Research Note on Islam and Gender Egalitarianism: An Examination of Egyptian and Saudi Arabian Youth Attitudes.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 49: 761-770.
National Media
The Conversation
- Civil servant exodus: How employees wrestle with whether to stay, speak up or go (co-authored with Yvonne Zylan)
- Trump is making it easier to fire federal workers, but they have some legal protections ? 3 essential reads (interview by Amy Lieberman)
- Civil servants brace for a second Trump presidency
- Meditation can reduce stress – but the pressure to overwork remains
- Politicians may rail against the ‘deep state,’ but research shows federal workers are effective and committed, not subversive (co-authored with James L. Perry)
- Yoga versus democracy? What survey data says about spiritual Americans’ political behavior (co-authored with Evan Stewart)
Public Radio
- CBC’s The Current: ‘Staying in the Zone’: Why Bianca Andreescu credits meditation for keeping her head in the game
- The Academic Minute: Sacred Experiences
Wired
- As Scientists March, Federal Researchers Weather Trump Storm
- Scientists Actually Did Some Science at the March for Science
The Atlantic
- Khazan, Olga. “‘Negative Psychological Impacts’? Why Saudi Women Aren’t Allowed to Drive”. The Atlantic, October 7, 2013.
Professional Affiliations
American Sociological Association
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Appointed to the Faculty
2014Educational Background
Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington
M.A., Indiana University, Bloomington
B.A., Colorado College
