Social Class and Religion

11 Key excerpts on "Social Class and Religion"

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  Identity Religion And Values

  Implications for Practitioners

  • C. Margaret Hall(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 7 Social Class and Religion

  All too often the existence of direct associations between social class membership and religious affiliation is publicly denied, especially in the United States where equal opportunity and individualism are essential components of national ideologies (Finke & Stark, 1992; Kosmin & Lachman, 1993). Furthermore, public opinion mistakenly cherishes the idea that religions are pure and untainted by social concerns, and derive from divine sources. For example, young children are taught religious “truths” rather than the history or social contexts of religious belief systems. However, from both evolutionary and historical perspectives religions have been viewed, described, and explained as social products (Ashbrook, 1993; Finke & Stark, 1992; Smith, 1991). Furthermore, people can become freer of the effects of social class biases in religion if they understand at least some ways in which social classes and religions influence each other (Cornwall, 1987).

  Religions and social classes interact in complex change processes that can to some extent be delineated within the environmental and social contexts of evolution, and the history of oppression and industrialization (Herberg, 1955). On a more personal basis, religion can both reinforce social status and be an inspiration or source of motivation for social mobility (Goode, 1968).

  When deliberately making moves to strengthen their identities, individuals make value choices to define how they may or may not be involved in social classes and religions (Hall, 1990a). Individuals and religions may emphasize the spiritual aspects of communion between individuals and supernatural powers in an effort to transcend the influences of social classes (Randour, 1993). In this way sufficient motivation to overcome or neutralize social class influences can be acquired, especially because, for example, doing God’s will and living in grace are not usually synonymous with following social class trends and life-styles. People also become more autonomous and independent when they identify with values that are not directly tied to social status (Roof, 1992).

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  Religion in Society

  A Sociology of Religion

  • Ronald Johnstone(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Religion and the Class System

  DOI: 10.4324/9781315662916-10

  Expressions of religion vary by social class.

  In Chapter 4 we introduced the topic of the relationship between religion and social class (social stratification), in outlining differences between denominations and sects. In fact, we observed that one of the dominant features of sectarian religion is its close association with lower- or working-class problems and life situations, together with the responses of persons of low social status to those problems and situations.

  In generalizing from investigations into the relationships between religion and social class, sociologists have made the primary observation that there are important differences in religious meaning related to social class/status. That is, religion tends to perform at least somewhat different functions for people in different classes. Or, put another way, people tend to seek or construct different things in religion depending on their social class position.

  Such assertions that stress the importance of social class with regard to religion should not really surprise us, inasmuch as nearly every beginning student of sociology becomes aware that one of the most significant variables in social life is social class/status. Although not strictly determinative, one’s social class/status position dramatically influences one’s behavior, attitudes, and aspirations—that is, both what one thinks and what one does throughout life. Depending upon peoples’ social class origins and lifetime position in the stratification system, they will find their lives affected in a multitude of ways—voting propensities, likelihood of psychosis, amount of travel, attitudes toward social issues, age upon marriage, size of family, sexual behavior, even life expectancy. Small wonder, then, that important relationships between Social Class and Religion have also been found. Differences by social class levels can be seen in differential affiliation with various religious groups, type and degree of involvement in the activities of religious groups, perceptions of the purposes and functions of religion for people, motivation for joining and belonging to religious groups, religious knowledgeability, and the like.

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  A Future for Religion?

  New Paradigms for Social Analysis

  • William H. Swatos, Jr., William H. Swatos(Authors)
  • 1992(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications, Inc

    (Publisher)

  38 Religion, Class Conflict, Social Justice those who do not adhere to its creed. In this chapter I will examine how religion contributes to social conflict. I will concentrate on how reli-gion, by justifying and legitimating class ideology, sanctifies views of one class that stand in diametric opposition to the views of members of other classes. Conflict Conflict is the hostile condition that results when the interests of one unit in the social system stand in opposition to or are threatened by another unit. Coser’s definition is somewhat more specific. He defines conflict as “a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, in-jure or eliminate their rivals” (1956, 8). Generally, one can say that con-flict and its associated hostility are the result of self and class interests associated with competition for scarce resources. Interests reflect a person’s perception of those conditions that ensure personal or class benefits (or both). In this chapter I will concentrate on the belief systems that provide religious justifications for class interests and thus enhance and support class conflict. I am not suggesting that class interests are the only form of conflict in religion. Of course, there are conflicts between various religions associated with matters of faith. These too, however, are part of a power struggle, namely a struggle between various religions who seek to control the definition of truth. Theologians who create and in-terpret religious belief systems also become a part of the intelligentsia, that is, a collectivity of persons who clarify or create ideologies by which classes and individuals justify their worldviews and the legiti-macy or nonlegitimacy of the political system. The difference between the secular and the sacred intelligentsia, that is, between nonreligious and religious ideologists, is that the latter unite other-worldly and this-worldly ends.

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  Multicultural Education

  Issues and Perspectives

  • James A. Banks, Cherry A. McGee Banks, James A. Banks, Cherry A. McGee Banks(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  41 part 2 The two chapters in Part 2 discuss the effects of two powerful variables on student behavior, beliefs, and achievement: Social Class and Religion. Social class is a powerful variable in U.S. society despite entrenched beliefs about individual opportunity in the United States. As Weis, Han, and Jo point out in Chapter 3 and as Jonathon Kozol (2005) notes in his disturbing book, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, students who attend affluent middle- and upper-class schools have more resources, better teachers, and better educational opportunities than do students who attend low-income, inner-city schools. Students from the lower, middle, and upper classes usually attend different kinds of schools and have teachers who have dissimilar beliefs and expectations about their academic achievement. The structure of educational institutions also favors middle- and upper-class students. Structures such as tracking, IQ tests, and programs for gifted and students with disabilities are highly biased in favor of middle- and upper-class students. Students who are socialized within religious families and communities often have beliefs and behaviors that conflict with those of the school (Westover, 2018). Religious fundamentalists often challenge the scientific theories taught by schools about the origin of human beings. The controversy that occurred over intelligent design during the 2005–2006 school year epitomizes this phenomenon. Religious fundamentalists also attack textbooks and fictional books assigned by teachers that they believe violate or contradict their doctrines. Conflicts about the right to pray in the school sometimes divide communities. The school should help students mediate between their home cul- ture and the school culture. Lippy, in Chapter 4, describes the religious diversity within the United States and some of its educational implications.

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  The Promise of Salvation

  A Theory of Religion

  • Martin Riesebrodt, Steven Rendall(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • University of Chicago Press

    (Publisher)

  21 8 c h a p t e r t w o Religion as Social Reference: On Justifying the Concept of Religion T he universality or general applicability of a concept of religion depends not on the universality of discursively produced concepts but rather on the existence of certain types of meaningful action. I now turn, therefore, not to the analysis of concepts or classification systems but to the investi-gation of social practices and references. For interpretive sociology, what is really at stake in the conceptualization of religion is the perception of a difference between religious and nonreligious actions, actors, and institu-tions. This perception may be manifested in a diversity of situations and configurations. All societies and cultures distinguish between charismatically gifted persons and “normal” ones, or between religious specialists and laypersons, and the corresponding social distance can take various forms. Moreover, religious groups and institutions perceive each other as points of reference. This mutual connection is manifested in phenomena of demarcation and rapprochement, in the claiming of sacred times and places by religions that have replaced earlier ones, in religious politics, and in comparative descrip-tions made by outside observers. Similarities and differences can either be expressed descriptively or evaluated polemically. They can be organized in structures of competition or parallelism, in egalitarian or hierarchical orders. Every religion that reforms itself or is newly constituted necessar-ily distinguishes itself from preceding and alternative religions, or else it claims their legacies for itself. Religions adopt and superimpose themselves on the holy places and holy times of other religions. A plurality of religions forced premodern empires to develop a politics of religion.

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  Supernatural as Natural

  A Biocultural Approach to Religion

  • Michael Winkelman, John R. Baker(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Religion projects a cosmic order that serves as a general model of the Universe, and then socializes human beings to help to ensure that people’s morals, emotions, and judgments conform to these ideals. Symbol System. Religion expands the functions of symbols beyond their ordinary capacities. Symbols normally refer to things that we can see and touch, but in the context of religion, symbols are used to refer to things that we may never see or touch and even to things that we may be unable to experience or conceptualize. The symbols of religion not only depict Gods as social beings, but also draws on an interrelated set of symbols—a model of the Universe—that provides explanations for many aspects of human existence. Religious beliefs embody models for psychological (personal) and social reality. The norms, values, beliefs, and requirements of religion play a fundamental role in shaping individual social and psychological development. Consequently, one fundamental effect of religion is to teach individuals to understand the Universe. Moods and Motivations. Religion is one of the most significant cultural systems involved for socializing a person’s “moods and motivations.” Religion both shapes our innate emotional dispositions and elicits new emotional experiences and concerns. One fundamental function of religion is to channel the wide range of possible human developmental patterns into a particular configuration of dispositions involving habits, preferences, skills, attitudes, and motivations. Motivations are a particularly important aspect of religious socialization because they create a persistent tendency for humans to seek certain kinds of experiences and engage in certain kinds of behaviors. Religious socialization normally creates specific expectations regarding moods in different circumstances

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  The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory

  • Bryan S. Turner, Bryan S. Turner, Bryan S. Turner, Bryan S. Turner(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Wiley-Blackwell

    (Publisher)

  This emphasis on the social setting and social con-sequences of religion, and persuaded by Tylor’s argument that a narrow definition of religion as belief in a supreme being would exclude tribal beliefs in spiritual beings (2001 [1912]: 31), led Durkheim to offer an expansive definition of the sacred. Durkheim argued that all religions make a classificatory distinction between the sacred – all those things set apart and forbidden – and the profane (2001 [1912]: 36), and what is deemed sacred does not inhere in the thing itself but is so defined by the particular society: “What makes a thing holy is . . . the collective feeling attached to it” (2001 [1912]: 308). “Since neither man nor nature is inherently sacred, this quality of sacredness must come from another source” (2001 [1912]: 76), and that source is society. Hence, “it is the unity and the diversity of social life that creates both the unity and the diversity of sacred beings and things” (2001 [1912]: 309). Durkheim also explicated a clear definition of what constitutes religion as a social practice, stating, “Religious phenomena fall quite naturally into two basic catego-ries: beliefs and rites. The first are states of opinion and consist of representations [symbols]; the second are fixed modes of actions [specific practices]” (2001 [1912]: 36). What we believe, or what we worship, and how we worship comprises the domain of religion. And not surprisingly, following Durkheim’s emphasis on the collective nature of social life, religious beliefs and rites or rituals are not unique to the individual but are, and must necessarily be, shared collectively: Religious beliefs proper are always held by a defined collectivity that professes them and practices the rites that go with them. These beliefs are not only embraced by all the members of this collectivity as individuals, they belong to the group and unite it. The individuals who make up this group is bound to one another by their common beliefs.

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  Readings in the Sociology of Religion

  The Commonwealth and International Library: Readings in Sociology

  • Joan Brothers, A. H. Richmond(Authors)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  This statement includes the question concerning the i m p a c t of religion on h u m a n society a n d its reverse. I n other w o r d s : the sociology of religion has the interrelationship a n d interaction of 29 30 P. H. VRIJHÖF religion a n d society as its subject matter. This definition suggests t h a t religion a n d society are independent, separate elements which (may) interact with each other. Religion is not a factor which goes without r e m a i n d e r completely into h u m a n relations or into society, nor can it be deduced or e x p l a i n e d either from h u m a n relations or from society. Religion is a meta-social p h e n o m e n o n , which surpasses m a n a n d society. Such, broadly speaking, was the concept of the older workers in the field ( M a x Weber, Troeltsch, S o m b a r t , etc.), the exponents of w h a t H e l m u t Schelsky called the n o w almost classical sociology of religion. 1 T h e r e are, however, some differences in their views, which c a n n o t be neglected. F o r Ernst Troeltsch the focal point was the sociologically relevant effects of religious p h e n o m e n a . Christianity, he considers, just like every other p h e n o m e n o n , such as sex, instinct, art, science, earning a living, or like every pastime or fleeting aim, has a sociological effect. 2 Troeltsch examines first t h e particular sociological concept of Christianity a n d its development a n d organization. H e comes next to his central inquiry into t h e relationship of this sociological development to social issues, i.e. the state, social economy a n d family. H e is primarily concerned with t h e real effects of the socio-religious b a c k g r o u n d on other areas of life, b u t he also reviews, on the other h a n d , t h e effects of political a n d social education u p o n religious c o m m u n i o n .

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  Readings in the Sociology of Religion

  The Commonwealth and International Library: Readings in Sociology

  • Joan Brothers, A. H. Richmond(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Pergamon

    (Publisher)

  Like sociology, it is a h u m a n science, conducted by m e n a n d b o u n d b y their h u m a n i t y . Both sciences face equally the task of seeking concepts of religion a n d c h u r c h w h i c h will be valid now . T h e sociologist of religion will decide h o w far these concepts are applicable in his analyses. I n this connection there a r e clear-cut differences between R o m a n Catholic a n d Protestant sociologists, 87 even if, as V o g t says, certain e c u m e n i c a l perspectives h a v e n o w b e c o m e e v i d e n t . 8 8 T h e central p r o b l e m will be : h o w is religion—which occurs in specific human a n d social relationships—to be defined (as religious or as non-religious faith), a n d h o w c a n this religion b e r e g a r d e d 8 6 Bonhoeffer, Widerstand und Ergebung, p. 261. 8 7 The same view is found in N. de Voider, De actuele problematick van de godsdienstsociologie. In: Tidschrift voor Philosophie, No. 3, September 1954, pp. 477, 486. 8 8 Vogt, op. cit., p. 78. 58 P. H. VRIJHOF as a primarily social p h e n o m e n o n ? This does not represent a r e t u r n to the h e r m e n e u t i c circle: it seeks a n answer to the question which W e b e r h a d already implicitly asked: h o w can m a n , as m a n , be religious, or non-religious? G e r h a r d Ebeling is right w h e n he points out the absolute necessity for a n existential interpretation of religion a n d lack of religion; in other words, w h a t is the relationship of religion or lack of religion to the humanity of m a n ? T h i s would call for study of the g r o u n d t h a t is c o m m o n to religion a n d to lack of religion, study of the extent to which they are identical, even in their antithesis.

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  Social Structures, Social Capital, and Personal Freedom

  • Peter Lawler, Dale McConkey(Authors)
  • 2000(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  A brief glimpse of history reveals sundry religious conflicts in the form of crusades, jihads, holocausts, and civil wars. Karl Marx ([1844] 1963) bemoaned religion's tendency to foster class divisions within societies by justifying the interests of 84 Social Structures, Social Capital, and Personal Freedom the dominant class and encouraging the oppressed to ignore their economic interests in favor of seeking a future glory in heaven. Religion has also played a significant role in many of the political conflicts in the United States during the last half of this century, including the mobilization of the civil rights move- ment during the 1950s and 1960s and the fueling of the "culture wars" during the 1980s and 1990s. The above examples notwithstanding, religion is also renowned for its uni- fying, cooperative, functional capacities. Since the infancy of the social sciences in the nineteenth century, theorists have contended that the universal (or near- universal) existence of religion proves its social usefulness—if not its super- natural truthfulness. Although most of the founding fathers of sociology (including Comte, Durkheim, Weber, and Marx) saw little veracity in the claims of religious doctrines, they all understood the real consequences that such belief held both for individuals and societies. Religion, they agree (with the exception of Marx), fulfills many fundamental human needs, and it also contributes to the survival and maintenance of societies. For Geertz (1966), religion is functional because it offers answers to the greatest struggles in life: bafflement and uncer- tainty, death and suffering, and ethical and moral discernment. Similarly, relig- ion offers individuals a complete "sacred canopy" that envelops all of the norms, beliefs, values, and practices of one's culture to make it believable and plausible (Berger 1967).

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  Religion, Work, and Inequality

  • Lisa Keister(Author)
  • 2002(Publication Date)
  • Emerald Publishing Limited

    (Publisher)

  Sherkat, D. E., & Ellison, C. G. (1999). Recent development and current controversies in the sociology of religion. Annual Review of Sociology , 25 , 363–394. Vezzoni, C. (2008). Contesto territoriale e voto nelle elezioni del 2006: Un approccio multilivello. Polis , 22 (2), 193–220. Weber, M. (1919). Wissenschaft als Beruf . Munich: Duncker & Humblot. Social Stratification and Church Attendance in Contemporary Italy 335 RELIGION, RELIGIOSITY, AND CULTURAL STRATIFICATION: THEORETICAL LINKS AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Tally Katz-Gerro and Mads Meier Jaeger ABSTRACT Purpose – Religion is an important driving force behind many lifestyle decisions. Therefore, it is surprising that research on cultural consumption and stratification has linked religion and religiosity with consumption patterns only to a limited degree. In this chapter, we outline several theoretical directions that can be used for studying the link between religion, religiosity, and cultural consumption and the consequences of this link for cultural stratification. Design/Methodology/Approach – Our empirical analysis is based on data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), con-ducted in 2007 and pertaining to samples from 33 countries. Findings – We present cross-national evidence illustrating that, first, there is a positive correlation between religiosity and cultural consumption in many countries and, second, there is little evidence that religion is significantly linked to cultural consumption. Furthermore, we find that the Religion, Work and Inequality Research in the Sociology of Work, Volume 23, 337–366 Copyright r 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 0277-2833/doi:10.1108/S0277-2833(2012)0000023017 337 effect of religiosity on cultural consumption is comparable to that of important socioeconomic factors such as education and socioeconomic status. We offer three possible explanations to the findings.

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