Defamilialization theory, which emerged in the 1990s, explores the reduction of caregiving responsibilities within families, particularly in relation to childcare and eldercare. This theory evolved alongside Esping-Andersen's welfare regime theory and the feminist welfare state theory, which critiques Esping-Andersen and incorporates a family-oriented perspective. Despite their shared focus on the interplay between welfare states and families, the theory has since split into two distinct academic approaches. Consequently, empirical research on defamilialization has progressed without a platform for mutual dialog. This study first reviews the development of these two branches of the defamilialization theory, tracing their divergent paths since the 1990s. The split arose because mainstream comparative welfare research failed to recognize the version of defamilialization developed in the early 1990s. Consequently, both branches continued to coexist without referencing each other's ideas. Next, the study underscores that an exclusive reliance on one of these approaches inadequately reflects the nuances of defamilialization in regions such as Southern Europe and East Asia in comparative welfare research. Lastly, it argues that fostering a mutually verifiable research that overcomes the coexistence of the defamilialization theories can enhance discussions around family policy formulation in these regions.

Since the late 2000s, child poverty has become a significant focus, prompting increased attention on supporting poor children. Teachers, positioned as important actors in addressing these issues, are tasked with swiftly identifying and supporting children in poverty. However, the sociology of education often overlooks how teachers identify children as being poor. Furthermore, while teacher hierarchy has been suggested as a factor contributing to the exclusion of poor students, most studies are speculative and lack empirical data. Therefore, this study examined the practices of self-identifying as someone in poverty and recognizing others as poor from the standpoint of an ethnomethodological conceptual analysis. A case study approach was employed, using interview data from an elementary school teacher who presented herself as having experienced poverty.

The findings revealed that when presenting oneself as a party to “poverty,” the connection between the concept of poverty and the concept of household makes it difficult to delineate the boundaries of the party to poverty. In addition, in identifying poverty as a teacher, it was noted that the teacher's duties as a teacher are also limited by his/her association with the household.

Symbolic realism, as proposed by Robert Bellah（1927-2013）in the 1960-70s, has been forgotten in the history of sociology. According to symbolic realism, religion is a reality sui generis; thus, religion cannot be reduced to anything. By contrast, many positivistic social scientists tend to disregard religion or explain it as a result of other factors in utilitarian terms. Additionally, post-modernists recognize that the normative dimension of social life, including religious order, is a human construction. However, whereas the importance of religious phenomena is being recognized increasingly, positivistic sociologists and post-modernists have failed to adequately analyze religion.

This study reevaluates the implications of symbolic realism in the sociology of religion. Based on examining the effect of the social situation in the 1960s on Bellah's theory and thought, Bellah criticized utilitarian trends in the American society and Parsons' normative position influenced symbolic realism. To recognize the richness of reality and human action as multilayered and open, Bellah focused on social scientists at the turn of the century. Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber are typically regarded as rationalists; however, Bellah interprets them as symbolic realists. Based on Parsons' interpretation, Bellah argues that these three social scientists adopted a scientific approach and discovered symbolic reality, which cannot be reduced to scientific propositions. Based on the theory of “multiple realities” by Alfred Schutz, Bellah recognizes religion as a reality sui generis. To bridge religion and social sciences, Bellah considers Tillich's theology favorable.

In summary and discussion, this paper argues that sociologists of religion must endeavor to bridge religion and social sciences, reconsider secularization theory as a constituent of the theory of modern society, and critically respond to symbolic realism.

This study aims to identify age-related changes in the influence of non-regular employment of an individual's initial job on mental health in Japan and differences in this trend based on the year an individual enters the workforce. In Japan, research has emphasized the “entrapment scenario,” which refers to the difficulty in becoming a full-time worker when one's initial job was non-regular employment, and its relation to poverty and mental health. Although European health studies have argued that disparities in early life become increasingly serious with age, little debate has been conducted to clarify whether the same is true for mental health disparities based on one's employment status at one's initial job. In addition, potential changes over time in the influence of non-regular employment on individuals' mental health in their initial jobs are rarely discussed, despite the fact that non-regular initial employment changes every year. Based on the above, this study estimates growth curve models using data from the Japanese Life Course Panel Survey. The findings indicate that for individuals who started their initial jobs after 2000, disparities in men's mental health widened with age. However, disparities in women's mental health were the greatest at younger ages. Furthermore, when controlling for marital status, current employment status, and household income, the influence of initial job partially decreased for men but slightly increased for women. The discussion anticipates drawbacks to having non-regular employment as one's initial job. Previous studies have not focused on this and gender gaps in the Japanese workforce.