The Global Sociology Blog

Via Epiphenom: How very Durkheimian.

The starting point:

nrc.nl – International – Features – Insecurity not education determines church attendance via kwout

So, how do these factors work when it comes to religiosity:

nrc.nl – International – Features – Insecurity not education determines church attendance via kwout

One look at the overwhelming religiosity in the United States certainly indicates that increased education does not necessarily correlate with overall religiosity. There have been changes in American religiosity (loss of membership for mainstream Protestant denominations and increased membership for evangelical denominations) but the overall religiosity is still very high for a high-income country.

When it comes to being active, I would argue that higher-income individuals have more “resources” to offer to their churches and organizations, such as social and economic capital. At the same time, then, these churches become centers of social networking that has more potential for middle and upper-class people. For poorer people, congregating at a common church promotes close ties and offers social solidarity to the members and support in the absence of strong welfare state.

The study also shows a cumulative effect: being born in a religious family / community makes one more religious and there is greater pressure to at least display signals of religiosity. No surprise here either.

What about the other variables? This is where it gets really Durkheimian:

nrc.nl – International – Features – Insecurity not education determines church attendance via kwout

This is not really surprising. Church attendance thrives on insecurity as a source of support and solidarity. Remove the sources of social insecurity and there is less need for religion. Also, social welfare removes some need for submission to traditional sources of authorities that used to be able to dole out a few favors and charitable donations. And since we also know that social mobility in the United States is more an ideological construct than a reality, it is possible that religion fills the gap that keeps the illusion alive.

Living in the risk society keeps a lot of snake oil salesmen of all types in business.