Sociology of Naturalistic Orthodoxy

A branch of sociology that examines how naturalistic orthodoxies are socially constructed, maintained, and challenged within academic and intellectual communities. The sociology of naturalistic orthodoxy investigates how naturalism becomes the default worldview through education and training, how it's maintained through institutional mechanisms (funding priorities, publication standards, professional boundaries), how dissenters (intellectuals who appeal to supernatural or non-natural explanations) are marginalized or excluded, and how the orthodoxy responds to challenges from religious thinkers, postmodernists, and other heretics. It also examines naturalism as a boundary marker—distinguishing "serious" scholarship from "faith-based" thinking, "real" knowledge from "mere belief." The sociology of naturalistic orthodoxy reveals that naturalism's dominance isn't just about evidence; it's also about social power, institutional authority, and the natural human tendency to treat one's own worldview as simply "how things are."

Example: "Her sociology of naturalistic orthodoxy research showed how scholars who questioned naturalism were systematically excluded from prestigious journals and conferences—not because their arguments were weak, but because they violated the orthodoxy that defined 'serious' scholarship. The boundary policing was invisible to those who benefited from it."

Sociology of Naturalistic Orthodoxy by Abzugal March 16, 2026