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Social Groups and Religiosity - Coggle Diagram
Social Groups and Religiosity
Class
Working class
Marx argues religion ‘cushions oppression’ by making working class people feel better about their oppressed situation. Also Marx describes religion as an ‘opium of the masses’, helping them cope with alienation.
‘Instrument of oppression’ keeping working class people ‘in their place’ and distorting their reality.
Liberation theology.
Norris and Inglehart - existential security theory.
Weber - ‘theodicy of disprivilege’ (justification/explanation for disadvantage).
Mainstream religion continues to legitimise privilege and inequality - giving blessings to rituals involving royalty.
The Church of England does tend to have higher numbers of the middle class to its services.
Middle class
Weber- Protestant work ethic. Entrepreneurs of the MC developed capitalism through religious ‘zeal’.
Nanda 2008 - Ultra-Hindu nationalism justifying/legitimating middle class wealth/success
Stark & Bainbridge- NRMs (New Religious Movement) appeal to middle classes as they help overcome feelings of relative deprivation, and help fill the spiritual void - spiritual deprivation (eg. Barker’s Moonies)
Statistically the middle class are more likely to participate in Church of England services - attending church more than the working class. This may be due to the elite being presented as part of the religious establishment.
World rejecting NRMs such as the Moonies and Scientology have been found to target younger, middle class individuals - the appeal is that they offer friendship, support and the promise of success. NRMs and NAMs can fill the spiritual gap to the lives of those who have already benefited from a capitalist structure.
Evaluation
Troeltsch found that lower social classes were more likely to join sects due to the marginalisation that they experienced e.g. the Jim Jones’ ‘People’s Temple’ drew many deprived African-Americans into its movements.
Ethnicity
Trends
72% of the UK Population is Christian
Black Christians view religion as more important than White Christians.
Black Christians make up 40% of memberships at Pentecostal Churches
Reasons
Globalisation - Most ethnic minorities migrate from poorer countries where religion is more valued so bring this with them when moving and pass this down to their children. However, this disregards their roles as immigrants in a new society and how this may give religion the role of a cultural defence or a cultural transition.
Cultural defence- Bruce argues that ethnic minorities use religion to protect themselves from an uncertain or hostile environment that includes the oppression of racism that ethnic minorities face. Religion supports them by preserving their culture and languages providing a basis for community solidarity amongst minorities.
Cultural transition - Can be used as the easing of people into a new culture, which can be used to explain high religiosity in first generation immigrants. Bruce sees this as true, however once people have made this transition, religion may lose its role and therefore decline in importance.
Gender
Trends
Institutional churches are more patriarchal, NRMS/NAMs are more equal
Women express greater interest in religion, have great personal commitment and attend church more (Hoffman 1995)
There are twice as many women as men in sects (Bruce 1993)
80% of those in the ‘holistic milieu’ of NAMs in Kendal were female (Heelas & Woodhead 2005)
Women closer to questions of life and death (Davie 2007)
Women are more likely to engage in NAM
Males dominate within clergy in churches as well as services
Women more religiously active, 57% of attendance at church were women, but women leaving church at a faster rate than men (Brierley)
1.8 million women were church goers against only 1.36 million men
Reasons
Miller and Hoffman - Socialisation- women are socialised into passiveness, obedience and nurture which are characteristics associated with being religious.
Structural locations- men are more likely to work full time, whilst women are usually less involved in the labour force.
risk - women are more averse to risk then men and fear going to hell
Grace Davie- women are closer to questions of life and death because they fulfil carer roles (women give birth and see their partners die because they tend to live longer- connected to experiences of nature, life and death.
Women are more attracted to NAMs because they’re often associated with nature through childbirth etc and these often celebrate nature and involve cults of healing which give women a higher status and sense of self worth. It also attracts women because it emphasises the importance of being authentic and the subjective experience.
Institutional churches are more patriarchal; NRMs/NAMs/sects are more equal, eg.scientology/Jehovah's witnesses
Social class - has an effect on womens attendence. Working class women tend to follow religious groups where they are more passive
Age
Trends
The older one tends to get the more likely they are to become religious.However kids under 15 have high attendance rates (likely because they have no choice). Also over 65 year olds tend to have less attendance in church possibly due to frailness however so they can still believe. Young people have been found to be attracted to NRMs due to their more radical answers and lack of adult commitment. For example Eileen Barker found that the NRM of the moonies was mainly young this was because they provided a family away from their family or a surrogate family.
Reasons
Voas and Crockett - Generational effect = is the view that society gets more secular and new generations have less traditional values. Older generations have more traditional religious values. The ageing effect = older people turn to religion as they get older, and they become more spiritual when they are elderly.
Wallis - World rejecting sects have less rules / required commitments and so appeal to the younger generation