Daniel Bolger

About

I am a sociologist concerned with social inequality and its potential remedies.

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Southern Methodist University. I also serve as a Visiting Research Collaborator in the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and an Alumni Scholar at the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice University. 

I previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Center for Research on Child & Family Wellbeing at Princeton University. I completed my Ph.D. in Sociology at Rice University in 2022.

My research has been covered in The New York Times, The Associated Press, NPR Houston, BET, Religion News Service, KMGH-TV Denver, and Contexts Magazine.

Bolger Headshot
Garage Door
Houston Skyline
Church Steeple

Research Interests

My research explores the cultural dimensions of social inequality. My primary focus is understanding how attempts to address inequality might actually perpetuate it. I have explored these questions within a variety of contexts, including social service organizations, disability assistance programs, scientific workplaces, and churches. 

Selected Publications

Bolger, Daniel. 2026. “Community-Based Organizations and the Production of Collective Efficacy in Majority Black Neighborhoods in Houston, Texas”. Journal of Urban Affairs 48 (5): 1783-99.
Bolger, Daniel, Kathryn Edin, Timothy J. Nelson, and Christine Jang-Trettien. 2026. “The Making of an Epidemic of Pain”. Social Problems.
Bolger, Daniel. 2025. “Getting Out and Giving Back: Repertoires of Destigmatization in the Private Social Safety Net”. Social Forces 103 (3): 886–904.
Bolger, Daniel, and Michelle Sarah Livings. 2025. “Exploring Variation in Welfare Attitudes Among Low-Income Parents”. Journal of Poverty.
Bolger, Daniel, and Esther Chan. 2024. “Unequal Returns: Exploring Racial Differences in the Mental Health Benefits of Religious Service Attendance Among Low-Income Mothers”. Race and Social Problems 16: 267-80. Referenced from doi.org: Unequal Returns: Exploring Racial Differences in the Mental Health Benefits of Religious Service Attendance among Low-Income Mothers.
Jang-Trettien, Christine, and Daniel Bolger. 2024. “Racialized Administrative Burden in Disability Assistance Programs in Two Rural Counties”. Social Service Review 98 (3): 446-81. Referenced from www.journals.uchicago.edu: Racialized Administrative Burden in Disability Assistance Programs in Two Rural Counties.
Bolger, Daniel, and Elaine Howard Ecklund. 2022. “Seeing Is Achieving: Religion, Embodiment, and Explanations of Racial Inequality in STEM”. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Referenced from www.tandfonline.com: Seeing is Achieving: Religion, Embodiment, and Explanations of Racial Inequality in STEM.
Bolger, Daniel, and Pamela Prickett. 2021. “Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations”. Religions.
Bolger, Daniel. 2021. “The Racial Politics of Place in Faith-Based Social Service Provision”. Social Problems.
Bolger, Daniel. 2021. “The Collective Construction of Need: Group Styles of Determining Deservingness in Christian Social Service Agencies”. The Sociological Quarterly.
View All Publications
Study: Clergy feel ill-equipped to help Black and Latino congregants with mental health
Sept. 16, 2022
Clergy of color face unprecedented mental health challenges
Sept. 16, 2022
Black Pastors Say They Are Overwhelmed With People Coming To Them For Mental Health Care
Sept. 16, 2022

Contact Info

Daniel Bolger

Department of Sociology

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX 75205

[email protected]

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