Organized Religion as Opiate or Prophetic Stimulant: A Study of American and English Assessments of Social Justice in Two Urban Settings
Classic sociologicla theory and recent empirical research have questioned the influence of religion with regard to personal assessments of equitable relations among people of different races and social class backgrounds. Does an association with organized religion instill concern for equality or doe...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publications
1983
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1983, Volume: 24, Issue: 3, Pages: 206-224 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Classic sociologicla theory and recent empirical research have questioned the influence of religion with regard to personal assessments of equitable relations among people of different races and social class backgrounds. Does an association with organized religion instill concern for equality or does it provide a source of contentment "sedating" such concerns? While previous research is inconclusive given mixed findings, it is also limited by the lack of cross-national investigation and by the predominant focus upon attitudes toward equality with much less attention given to perceived inequalities. These issues are explored with data from interviews with a random sample of New Haven, Connecticut residents (N=113) and a demographically comparable random sample of London, England residents (N=101). The effect of nominal and strong identification with various faith groups on indexes of evaluated equality and perceived inequality are examined in multivariate regression analyses that control for race, gender, age, education, and occupational prestige. Cross-national results indicate that social conformity may be a common element of religious identification that lowers concern for social equality, while the actual faith, if highly internalized, reverses this relationship in part. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511815 |