Religion And Social Class Case Study

1. Identify what conclusions can be drawn regarding the association between religion and social class, race and gender. It appears from the datasheets provided, that Protestants are about the same across all classes. It is the largest religion in the US, a slight difference as you go down the socioeconomic ladder the numbers get higher. Catholics are the second largest group with slightly higher numbers in the middle & working class. There are more Atheists than Jews it shows, with an overwhelming majority of Jews are in the upper class. (Data Sheets) The same data reveals that Black people are almost all Protestants along with a majority of Whites. The majority of Catholic worshipers listed as other, I assume that means anyone who is not

He attributes “Social Solidarity” or “Collective conscience” to religion. He says it gives us our “Skeleton of thought” and affects the way we see our entire world time, space, cause and effect. (Conley 594) Weber gave us his “Iron cage” concept, attributed to Capitalist ideals of the Protestants. If one is a Protestant with a strong work ethic chances are he will be prosperous and be in a higher class. The networking involved in church life also can enhance one’s class. I propose that it is easier for one’s social class to determine their religion; than for their religion to determine their

For others it is the need to blame an evil entity for the bad things that happen; if you have evil you must have good as well. In modern times with all of our science, explaining many of what seemed miraculous in the past, one would think religion would be less popular. It seems however, religion is now more wide spread than ever before. Marx’s “Conflict Theory” lead him to believe that if workers could see the truth of how they were being dupped, they would rebel and over throw the oppressors. (Conley 590) Weber believed that the writings of Ben Franklin were the basis for the Protestant work ethic, saying it conveyed the “Spirit of Capitalism”. Protestants felt they must give God a good day’s work. Capitalism turned out not to need God, it worked just fine without the evolvement of religion. As he states in his “Iron cage” theory though Capitalism, once unleashed would keep us all trapped in the rat race gaining just to gain. (Conley 593) This is a good place to talk about the relationship between religion and class. The upper class would surely be the ones Marx thought workers would rebel against, since they are the owners of industry. Middle and working classes needed religion to give them something to look forward to in the afterlife. Women and minority groups have another reason altogether for religion in their lives. They too needed