Muslims and atheists in the United States are more likely than those of Christian faiths to experience religious discrimination, according to new research led by the 91̽��.

In the study, which focused on public schools because they are government-run, community-facing institutions, the researchers tested responses to an individual’s expression of religious belief. In addition to finding greater bias against religious minorities, the researchers also saw that ardent expressions of faith, regardless of religious tradition, were more prone to discrimination.

“The U.S. is becoming a much more culturally diverse society than in the past, and the rate of change is happening very swiftly. So we wanted to ask: How are our public institutions keeping up? Can they provide equal accommodations and protection under the law?” said , a 91̽�� professor of sociology and lead author of the , which published Aug. 30 in Public Administration Review.

Religious bias may be a very serious problem, but it has been studied less than other types of discrimination, such as race- or gender-based discrimination, Pfaff added.

“Schools bear this enormous responsibility and perform this important service, and one thing that’s changing quickly, among the population, is religion. So how are schools handling all that change?” he said.

Pfaff points to national statistics that reflect the change: The percentage of Americans who identify as “unchurched” has increased ; the percentage of Americans who identify as Muslim, while small, , by 2050.

For this study, which was conducted in spring 2016, researchers sent an email to some 45,000 school principals in 33 states, including Washington. The email was presented as a note from a family new to the community. The randomized messages varied by belief system — Catholic, Protestant, Muslim or atheist, signaled by a faith-oriented quote in the email signature — and also varied the degree of religious expression in the body of the note. The basic version asked for a meeting to learn about the school; a second version sought to find a school that was the right fit for their beliefs; and a third inquired about accommodation of religious needs at school. A control email presented as a family new to the community, interested in learning about the school, but with no religious expression or a faith-oriented email signature.

The research team chose the audit approach, with its contrived email, over a more standard survey on the assumption that asking people questions about religious bias may not yield genuinely honest answers, Pfaff said. Much research in the social sciences suggests that subjects are unlikely to volunteer what they think will be perceived as discriminatory opinions.

While none of the principals’ responses were explicitly negative, Pfaff said, it was the lack of response that indicated a pattern. Somewhat less than half of emails got a response. But those that signaled affiliation with Islam or atheism, indicated by a famous quote attributed to either the Prophet Muhammad or Richard Dawkins in the email signature, were about 5 percentage points less likely to receive a response than the control emails. Email response rates to notes accompanied by a quote from Pope Benedict XVI or the Rev. Billy Graham mirrored those of the control emails.

Principals displayed across-the-board bias in response to the more overt emails that suggested that their schools might have to accommodate religious requests from parents. In the presence of such treatment language in the email text, the probability of a response declined by as much as 13 percentage points for atheists, nearly 9 percentage points for Muslims, 7.8 percentage points for Catholics and 5.5 percentage points for Protestants. This finding strongly suggests that some bias may result from the perception that religious accommodations of various kinds might be difficult or costly, burdens that principals want to avoid, Pfaff said.

The study’s findings were evident nationwide; emails were sent to principals in 33 states, and even when testing the potential effect of local demographics — whether an urban, diverse community, Democratic or Republican-leaning, or a more homogenous, rural one — the observed discrimination against religious minorities was consistent. That suggests that religious discrimination can occur anywhere, that it’s not reflective of geography or political ideology, Pfaff said.

“Religious bias in response to a routine inquiry from a public school official, amounting to a 5 to 13 percent lower chance of response, reflects substantial evidence of bias,” Pfaff said.

The findings may indicate that the perceived cost in dealing with a person or situation factors in to whether they receive a reply. In that case, the perceived cost may have as much to do with community attitudes and norms about religion in school, or about specific religions, as the principal’s own beliefs or biases, Pfaff said. However, bias against Muslims and atheists on the basis of self-identification, without any request for accommodation, could stem from discrimination rooted in moral judgments. From a discrimination-research perspective, frontline bureaucrats, such as city or county workers or school principals, are an appropriate study pool — perhaps even more than elected officials — because they have so many seemingly routine interactions with the public.

Many other factors could also contribute to a lack of response, Pfaff added, not the least of which is workload and competing demands on a principal’s time. But the pattern of who did not receive a response was clear in the patterns of discrimination against Muslim and atheist emails, as well as discrimination against more overt displays of any faith.

Judaism was not included in the study because at the time previous research suggested little discrimination, and very positive public attitudes, toward Jews. In the years since, however, public expressions of anti-Semitism have increased, and in retrospect, including Judaism in the study would have been valuable, Pfaff acknowledged.

The focus of the study on public schools suggests specific policy solutions, such as briefing school administrators and staff about existing laws and constitutional standards concerning non-discrimination and legitimate religious accommodations, Pfaff said. Hiring a more diverse administrative staff and maintaining a general awareness of changing neighborhood demographics and public values could help better prepare school officials to serve their communities.

Co-authors were Charles Crabtree of Dartmouth College; Holger Kern of Florida State University; and John Holbein of the University of Virginia.

For more information, contact Pfaff at pfaff@uw.edu.

A novelist’s thoughts on storytelling, a geologist’s soil restoration strategy, an environmentalist’s memoir, a celebration of Latino music influences, a poet’s meditations on her changing city …

Yes, and a best-selling author’s latest work, a podcast reborn as a book, a collaboration of world-class violists and even tales of brave Icelandic seawomen — at this festive time of year, 91̽�� faculty creations can make great gifts for the Dawg on your shopping list.

Here’s a quick look at some gift-worthy books and music created by 91̽��talents in the last year or so — and a reminder of some perennial favorites.

Charles Johnson, “.” Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of “” and longtime professor of English, discusses his art in a book stemming from a year of interviews. “There is winning sanity here,” the New York Times wrote: “Johnson wants his students to be ‘raconteurs always ready to tell an engaging tale,’ not self-preoccupied neurotics.” Published by .

Marisol Berríos-Miranda, Shannon Dudley and Michelle Habell-Pallán, ““ An extraordinary exhibit at the Smithsonian and Seattle’s Experience Music Project (now Museum of Pop Culture) comes to life as a book, detailing Latino influence on American popular music from salsa to punk, Chicano rock to the Miami sound. Berrios-Miranda is an affiliate associate professor of ethnomusicology, Dudley an associate professor of music and Habell-Pallán an associate professor in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies. It’s a dual-language volume — English on the right side, Spanish on the left. And as a bonus the authors have created an American Sabor on iTunes and Spotify; the book flags specific songs with a playlist icon. Published by 91̽�� Press.

David R. Montgomery, “.” Montgomery, a professor of Earth and space sciences, won praise for his popular 2007 book “.” Several books later he returned in 2017 with this view of environmental restoration based on three ideas – “ditch the plow, cover up, grow diversity.” said Montgomery’s well-expressed views “will convince readers that soil health should not remain an under-the-radar issue and that we all benefit from embracing a new philosophy of farming.” Published by .

Margaret Willson, Willson is an affiliate associate professor of anthropology and the Canadian Studies Arctic Program. In her years working as a deckhand she came across historic accounts of a woman sea captain known for reading the weather, hauling in large catches and never losing a crew member in 60 years of fishing. “And yet people in Iceland told me there had been few seawomen in their past, and few in their present,” she said. “I found this strange in a country of such purported gender equality. This curiosity led to the research and all that came from it.” Published by .

Estella Leopold, “.” Leopold is professor emeritus of biology and the youngest daughter of , who wrote the 1949 classic of early environmentalism, “.” She returns to scenes of her Wisconsin childhood in this follow-up, describing her life on the land where her father practiced his revolutionary conservation philosophy. Published by .

David Shields, “.” Shields is a professor of English and the best-selling author of many books, starting with his 1984 novel “.” In 2017 he brought out this collection of essays that the New York Times called “a triumphantly humane book” and him “our elusive, humorous ironist, something like a 21^st century Socrates.” The paper’s praise continued: “He is a master stylist — and has been for a long time, on the evidence of these pieces from throughout his career. . . All good writers make us feel less alone. But Shields makes us feel better.” Published by .

Joseph Janes, “.” The year 2017 saw Janes’ popular podcast “” become a book under a slightly different title. Janes is an associate professor in the Information School who writes here about the origin and often evolving meaning of historical documents, both famous and less known. Some of his favorite “documents” are Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s fictional list of communists, the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and the backstory to what’s called the Rosie the Riveter poster. Published by .

Frances McCue, Well-known Seattle poet, teacher and self-described “arts instigator,” McCue is a senior lecturer in English. She was a co-founder of Hugo House, a place for writers, and served as its director for 10 years. Those experiences fuel this book of poems about the changing nature of the city. “This is Seattle. A place to love whatever’s left,” she writes. Published by .

Scott L. Montgomery, “.” Scientific research that doesn’t get communicated effectively to the public may as well not have happened at all, says geoscientist Montgomery in this second volume of a popular 2001 book. A prolific writer, Montgomery is a lecturer in the Jackson School of International Studies. “Communicating is the doing of science,” he adds. “Publication and public speaking are how scientific work gains a presence, a shared reality in the world.”  Published by .

Odai Johnson, “.” The true cultural tipping point in the run-up to the American Revolution, writes Johnson, a professor in the School of Drama, might not have been the Boston Tea Party or even the First Continental Congress. Rather, he suggests, it was Congress’ 1774 decision to close the British American theaters — a small act but “a hard shot across the bow of British culture.” Published by .

Here are some recordings from 2017 involving faculty in the 91̽��School of Music:

Melia Watras, “.” Music professor Watras offers a collaboration from of world-class violists performing and sharing their own compositions with each other. Her own playing has been described in the press as “staggeringly virtuosic.” Richard Karpen, School of Music director, is among several guests. The title comes from the number of strings on the instruments used: two violas, one violin, and the 14-string viola d’amore. .

Cuong Vu 4-Tet, “.” A live collaboration between Vu, 91̽��Jazz Studies chair, and renowned jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, who is an affiliate professor with the School of Music. Recorded in 2016 at Meany Theater, Vu and Frisell were joined by artists in residence Ted Poor on drums and Luke Bergman on bass. Released on .

Craig Sheppard, “.” Sheppard, longtime professor of music and a world-class pianist, plays sonatas and mazurkas by Frederic Chopin recorded live at Meany Theater in February 2017. The Seattle Times said of an earlier Chopin concert of Sheppard’s that his playing featured “exquisite details … it was playing that revealed layer after layer of music in each piece, as if one were faceting a gemstone. Released on .

Here are some other notable recent UW-authored books:

• Research on poverty and the American suburbs in “,” by Scott Allard, professor in the Evan School of Public Policy & Governance.
• Literature meets science to contemplate the geologic epoch of humans in “,” co-edited by Jesse Oak Taylor, associate professor of English.
• A popular science exploration of machine learning and the algorithms that help run our lives in “,” by Pedro Domingos, professor of computer science and engineering.
• A close look at four of America’s electoral adventures in “” by Margaret O’Mara, professor of history.
• A fully revised second edition of Earth and space sciences professor Darrel Cowan’s popular 1984 book, “.” This 378-page paperback is filled with details about Washington state geology.
• The story of a city’s transition from the Ottoman Empire to Greece in “” by Devin Naar, professor of history and Jewish studies.
• A city that “thinks like a planet” is one both resilient to and ready for the future that the changing Earth will bring, says Marina Alberti, professor in the College of Built Environments in “.
• Todd London, professor and director of the School of Drama, follows the professional theater experiences of 15 actors from the 1995 class of Harvard’s American Repertory Theater in “.”
• Dr. Stephen Helgerson, a 91̽��School of Public Health alumnus and physician in preventive medicine for four decades, uses the novella form to tell of the influenza epidemic’s arrival in his state in “.”
• On the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, an exploration of faith that results in the common good in “,” co-authored by Steve Pfaff, professor of sociology.
• Calm down from holiday — and tech-induced stresses — by thinking mindfully with “” by communication professor David Levy.

Finally, still-popular and pertinent books from a few years back include the second edition of “” by Jeffrey Ochsner, professor of architecture; “” by Randlett with Frances McCue; “” by Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric sciences; and the ever-popular “” by Bill Holm, professor emeritus of art history. All of these were published by , which has many other great titles.

In “,” Pfaff and Goldman focus on a different angle — not on the state of religion but on the strident beliefs of those whose work results in a common good. Timed to coincide with the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the book is meant to reflect on where religion has been, and where it’s going, Pfaff said.

“It’s not that religion is declining, or that people have lost interest in the supernatural or spirituality,” he said. “It’s that a lot of people who are interested in spirituality and religion and lives of holiness are assembling more eclectic personal religions. They may still have a foot in those traditional churches, but they’re also willing to place a foot someplace else.”

The book is available this month from Bloomsbury Publishing.

What is a spiritual virtuoso, and how does one incite change?

SP: A spiritual virtuoso is a person who seeks an active life of holiness, someone who is not just content to practice religion in the ordinary or routine sense but who really wants to become holy and excel at religion. The term virtuoso comes to us from music or athletics or other endeavors, where a person, through practice and commitment, aspires to be greater than the average performer. Max Weber [a sociologist of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries] observed that a lot of creativity in religion was driven by people who seemed to have an interest in excelling at it, who wanted to live a life in which they sought out opportunities for sanctification through aestheticism, ethical achievements or maybe a prophetic commitment to rectifying a wrong. In our book, we tried to expand on that idea by arguing that these people also sometimes engage in spiritual innovations that they wish to share. This kind of spiritual virtuosity can be the foundation of movements of change; these virtuosi are driven by the impulse to share or spread new techniques for holiness, new opportunities for religion, and to bring those from the realm of those who are highly privileged spiritually, socially and materially.

Can anyone become a spiritual virtuoso?

SP: Anyone could become a spiritual virtuoso, but that doesn’t mean that everyone wishes to be one. People vary in their desire and their capacity for intense spirituality. There are many spiritual virtuosi among us: Some of them are prominent, and some of them are working down the hall from us in another office. We see some of them in our churches, temples, synagogues or yoga studios, and some we encounter because they’re passionately in favor of social or moral causes. There are many of us who aspire to holiness, but we practice it in a variety of ways.

Your book draws upon three historical movements to make your case: the Protestant Reformation, the anti-slavery movement and the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s. What do these seemingly disparate movements have in common?

SP: When Martin Luther insisted that everyone could and should live a life of active holiness, he and his colleagues insisted on putting the tools in people’s hands. That gave people a chance to remake religion: first, Christianity, then the broadening of spiritual possibilities beyond that. One of the important innovations came about mostly because of the anti-slavery movement. In America and England in the 18^th century, Anglo and American religions were being reshaped: There was less emphasis on the professional clergy, religious hierarchy and theological orthodoxy in favor of a private relationship with God. It empowered lay preaching and preaching by women and nonwhites, and it insisted on trying to give ordinary people a say in the moral questions of the age. The belief was that society was in trouble, and the only way to reform it was to unleash these moral and spiritual energies of common people who were spiritual equals of the elites. This was tremendously democratizing and really radical in its implications.

Virtuosi in the antislavery movement argued that you couldn’t really be holy, no matter how good you were, no matter how close you became to God, if you lived in a society that was enmeshed in sin. For them, slavery enmeshed everyone in sin. Ultimately, many denominations split on the slavery question, and the movement had enormous implications for American ideas about human rights, and for getting abolition on the national agenda.

With the Human Potential Movement, the idea was that American society had become too materialistic and conformist. The same kind of discontent that fueled the counterculture and 1960s social movements was also going on among religious people. It captured a moment that said American society could be different, less materialistic, more diverse, more experimental, less conformist. As a coherent religious and psychological movement, it didn’t last very long, but it had an outsize influence. A lot of things that were considered fringe before the late 1960s became commonplace, like yoga, transcendental meditation and Zen Buddhism.

How does Steve Jobs fit into all this?

SP: As a young person, Steve Jobs was extremely interested in a life of holiness, which meant exploration of Eastern religions at ashrams and in Zen monasteries — and psychedelia. Jobs was very effectively able to develop in Apple products a look and style that was different and was able, through his persona, his advertising, to portray Apple users as different from other people: more creative, less materialistic, less hierarchical. People like Jobs were masters at recognizing that people have a yearning for this holiness, for transcendence, for something other than the grubby, the material, the ordinary. But when commerce displaces religious commitment it can be hard to find one’s way to holiness; one loses part of what makes holiness meaningful.

You note that people today often cobble together their own belief system from a number of traditions and practices.

SP: Today, because of religious pluralism, immigration and the exposure to religious ideas through media, people have access to many answers to religious questions like, how do I be spiritual? How do I achieve holiness? What is the good life? So they have a choice: Do they stick with a conventional, highly organized religion and make a lifelong, exclusive commitment to that, or do they assemble something else? Maybe they put together a kind of mixed religious portfolio, in which they draw from the tradition of their birth, from traditions they’ve encountered, maybe from devotional books, or something they learned from a yoga studio. A third possibility is complete individualism, where people assemble a completely eclectic, personal religion. A lot of people who are worried about the coherence of religion or culture are afraid that most people are going to do that. My own hunch is that most people won’t. Part of what’s satisfying about many spiritual experiences is not just the personal and private but the collective. People want to worship together, engage in devotional practices together. A completely personal religion, drawn from many elements, is possible, but I don’t think that will ever crowd out other forms of religion. What I think will become predominant is that people will have a diverse portfolio, drawing on different religious traditions and answers to questions to pursue the imperative that began in the 16^th century, that one can and should live a life of holiness.