Religion and Social Groups

A-Level Sociology · Beliefs in Society

The relationship between religion and social groups — who believes, who practices, and why — reveals how religion intersects with inequality.

Who is Religious? Class Patterns

Church of England attendance is historically associated with the middle and upper classes — the C of E was called "the Conservative Party at prayer"
Working-class religious participation has historically been lower in mainstream churches but higher in sects and Pentecostal churches
New Religious Movements (NRMs) vary: world-rejecting NRMs (e.g., cults) attract disaffected middle-class youth; world-affirming NRMs (e.g., Scientology) attract affluent professionals seeking self-improvement
New Age spirituality is disproportionately middle-class, female, and educated

Explanations

Functionalism: religion provides meaning and comfort at all class levels — but the type of religion varies

Marxism:

Marx: religion is the "opium of the people" — it compensates the working class for exploitation by promising an afterlife
The ruling class uses religion to legitimise inequality (divine right, "the meek shall inherit the earth")
Working-class sects (e.g., Methodism in the 18th–19th centuries) can represent a form of protest against the established church — but one that is ultimately contained within a religious framework rather than becoming political

Neo-Marxism:

Gramsci: the Church can either maintain ruling-class hegemony or be a site of counter-hegemony (e.g., liberation theology)
Maduro (1982): in Latin America, Catholic priests sided with the poor against oppressive regimes — religion as a force for revolutionary change

Weber:

Theodicy of disprivilege: religion provides the disadvantaged with an explanation for their suffering and a promise of future reward — this is why the oppressed are often MORE religious, not less
Theodicy of privilege: the wealthy use religion to legitimise their good fortune as deserved ("prosperity gospel")

Deprivation and Sect Membership

Relative deprivation helps explain why certain social groups are drawn to sects:

Weber and Niebuhr (1929): sects typically recruit from the marginalised and dispossessed — those who feel excluded from mainstream society and its rewards
Sects offer community, status, and meaning to those denied them by secular society
Working-class and ethnic minority groups are over-represented in many sects and Pentecostal churches because of their relative deprivation

Evaluation

The link between class and religion is weakening in secular societies where overall religiosity is declining
Immigration has complicated class-religion patterns — Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh communities cut across class lines
New Age is middle-class but marginal — can we generalise from it?

Religion and Gender

Key Pattern: Women Are More Religious

Virtually every measure of religiosity shows women are more religious than men:

Women are more likely to attend church, pray, and express belief in God
Women make up the majority of congregations in most Christian denominations
Women are more likely to participate in New Age movements and alternative spirituality
Brierley (2005): women make up approximately 65% of churchgoers
Aune et al. (2008): women are leaving organised religion faster than men — but they are more likely to adopt alternative spirituality

Explanations

Socialisation:

Miller and Hoffmann (1995): women are socialised to be more submissive, passive, and nurturing — qualities associated with religiosity
Caring roles (mothering) make women more aware of life's fragility and more receptive to religion's offer of comfort
Davie (1994): women's closer proximity to birth and death (through childbearing and caring for the elderly) makes them more attuned to "ultimate questions"

Compensation for Deprivation:

Glock and Stark (1969): women experience multiple forms of deprivation (social, economic, organismic) that make religion attractive as compensation
Organismic deprivation (physical and mental suffering): women suffer more from chronic illness and live longer — religion provides comfort
Social deprivation: women have historically had less power and status — sects and NRMs offer status and community

Nature of Women's Roles:

Greeley (1992): caring for others develops an "ethic of care" that is more compatible with religious values
Women who work part-time or full-time in the home may have more time and flexibility for religious participation
Bruce (1996): as women increasingly enter full-time paid employment, gender differences in religiosity may narrow

Feminist Perspectives:

De Beauvoir (1949): religion is a tool of patriarchy — it tricks women into accepting subordination by promising equality in the afterlife
El Saadawi (1980): religion is not inherently sexist — patriarchal men have distorted religious texts to justify male dominance
Woodhead (2002): women are not passive victims — many use religion as a source of empowerment, identity, and resistance
Muslim women may adopt the hijab as a conscious choice expressing identity, modesty, and resistance to Western objectification
Women in evangelical churches may find genuine community, support, and status within the religious sphere

Religion and Ethnicity

Key Patterns

Ethnic minorities in the UK are generally more religious than the White British population
2021 Census: 93% of British Muslims identified as religious; only 46% of White British identified as Christian
Higher rates of attendance, prayer, and religious identification across all major minority ethnic groups
Black Caribbean communities: strong Pentecostal and evangelical traditions
South Asian communities: high levels of religious practice across Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh traditions
Religion is often closely tied to ethnic identity and community cohesion

Explanations

Cultural Defence (Bruce, 2002):

Religion provides a focal point for identity in a potentially hostile or unfamiliar society
For migrant communities, religion maintains cultural ties to the homeland and provides a sense of belonging
Mosques, temples, and churches serve as community centres, advice services, and social networks
Example: the role of Black Pentecostal churches in providing community for Caribbean migrants facing racism in 1950s–60s Britain

Cultural Transition (Bruce, 2002):

Religion helps first-generation migrants navigate the transition to a new society by providing familiar rituals, language, and community
Bruce predicts that as integration progresses across generations, religious participation will decline (secularisation will eventually reach these communities too)

Evaluation of Bruce:

Bird (1999): criticises Bruce for assuming that ethnic minority religiosity is primarily about identity rather than genuine belief — this is patronising and reduces religion to a social function
Second and third-generation British Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs often maintain high levels of religiosity — contradicting Bruce's prediction of decline
Modood (1994): for many British Muslims, religion is NOT declining across generations but is being renegotiated — young British Muslims may be more religiously committed than their parents, combining Islamic faith with British identity

Deprivation:

Ethnic minorities experience higher rates of poverty, racism, and social exclusion
Religion provides theodicy (explanation for suffering), community support, and status within the religious group
This aligns with Weber's concept of the theodicy of disprivilege

Religion and Age

Key Patterns

Older people (65+) are more likely to attend church and identify as religious than younger people
Under-25s are the least likely age group to identify as religious — over 50% of 18-24 year olds in the UK report "no religion"
However, there is a resurgence of religious interest among some young people through NRMs, evangelical Christianity, and Islam
The generational effect: older people are not becoming more religious as they age — they belong to a generation that was more religious overall

Explanations

Socialisation and Generational Change:

Older generations were socialised in a more religious era (1940s–60s) when church attendance was normative
Younger generations have been socialised in a secular culture — religion was not part of their upbringing
Voas and Crockett (2005): each successive generation is less religious than the last — this is a cohort effect, not an ageing effect. It means secularisation is progressive and irreversible (once a generation is socialised without religion, they do not "return" to it later)

Proximity to Death:

Older people may become more religious as they approach mortality — religion offers comfort and meaning in the face of death
Evaluation: this "disengagement" explanation lacks empirical support — most studies show the cohort effect is stronger

Ageing and Social Change:

Older people may feel marginalised by rapid social change — religion provides stability, routine, and community
Retirement can lead to social isolation — church provides a social network

Young People and New Forms of Religiosity:

While church attendance among the young is very low, some young people are attracted to:
Evangelical and charismatic Christianity: contemporary worship styles, small group communities, social media presence
Islam: revival among young British Muslims who see Islam as a positive identity
New Age and spirituality: interest in mindfulness, yoga, and alternative spirituality — though these are often not recognised as "religion"
Online religion: religious engagement through YouTube, podcasts, and social media

Summary Table

Social Group	Key Pattern	Key Explanation
Working class	Higher sect membership; lower mainstream church	Relative deprivation; compensation; theodicy of disprivilege
Women	More religious on all measures	Socialisation; deprivation; caring roles; proximity to birth/death
Ethnic minorities	More religious than White British	Cultural defence; cultural transition; deprivation; genuine belief
Young people	Less religious; some drawn to NRMs/evangelicalism	Generational change; secularisation; but new forms emerging

Exam Tip

Questions on religion and social groups often ask you to focus on one group (gender, ethnicity, or age). Do not just list statistics — explain the patterns using sociological theories (Weber, Bruce, Davie, Woodhead). The best answers show how class, gender, ethnicity, and age interact — e.g., the high religiosity of older working-class Black Caribbean women can be explained by the intersection of all four factors.

Religion and Social Groups