st_class and religion final report

8/8/2019 ST_Class and Religion Final Report

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Class & Religion

Done by Leung Weiwen, Luwin Wong & Karen Tse

SOCG102 Sociological Theory

For Asst Prof Nicholas Harrigan

Abstract: This paper examines Weber’s notion of differential theodicies for status

groups and its relevance in contemporary societies. In particular, we looked at

how Christians from different social classes might differ, through their reported

subscription to different biblical verses. Results from our study were inconclusive,

but may suggest that Weber’s theory might in fact be irrelevant today.



Table of Contents

Table of Contents ..........................................................................2

Introduction ...................................................................................3

Literature Review ..........................................................................4

Data Collection and Methodology ..................................................5

Results ..........................................................................................6

General Discussion .....................................................................10

Further Discussion ......................................................................11

Conclusion ...................................................................................11

Reference ....................................................................................12

Appendix A: Survey Questions .....................................................13



Introduction

Religion affects how people behave and shapes our social interactions. Beliefs or lack thereof not only

govern our conduct but determine our life circumstances. Unlike Marx and Durkheim, Weber had

postulated throughout his life that religious values influence and mould the social structure, instead of

reflecting it. Weber had argued that Protestantism promoted capital accumulation and strong work ethic

amongst its believers, and consequently this gave rise of capitalism. In particular, he pointed out how

types of beliefs of salvation within and across religions appeals to people of specific social status

groups. He noted that his “concern is essentially with the quest for salvation…insofar as it produced

certain consequences for practical behaviour in the world,” particularly “a positive orientation to

mundane affairs” (1963: 149). The varied ideas emphasised by different religions affect what idea one

holds about salvation, and this consequently shape their actions in economic activities in particular; thus

subscription to religion and economic circumstance are intrinsically linked.

His notion of differential theodicies for status groups has been one of the most influential schools of

thoughts in classical sociological theory. Hence, we are interested in examining if it is still relevant in

contemporary societies. The question our research aims to answer: does Weber’s theory of how religion

serves different functions for different classes hold true among Christians in Singapore?

We posit the following hypothesis in line with Weber’s concept: economic circumstance determines

ideas; class is therefore the main determinant for the function religion serves. The proposed underlying

mechanism is that people from higher classes tend to emphasise the blessings and glory religion offers

because they are self-sufficient and simply desire an added “gloss” to their lives; the middle class

desires a religion which identifies with their strivings to discipline them to undertake their mundane

work industriously; the poor desires a religion which is more mystical and emphasise liberation from

present suffering in a better future because they require hope.

To test the above hypothesis and how it holds true for Christians in Singapore we have decided to

operationalise class as income level, and the function which religion serves as the preference for or

identification with specific Bible verses we have put forward in our survey. We postulate that if the

hypothesis is correct, individuals of different income levels will report different preferences for

different categories of Bible verses which appeal to their respective classes. Conversely, our initial

hypothesis would not be supported if there is no significant correlation.

However, results from the survey did not confirm our hypothesis. We did not find any patterns which

could validate our contention that different classes might in fact prefer specific Bible verses. Though

findings of the study could not substantiate our initial hypothesis, we have identified how our survey



design could indeed be revised to better capture the underlying. As Aronowitz pointed out in “How

Class Works”, previously defined classes no longer fit well in our society, we do not reject the idea that

perhaps classes are more homogenous today such that differences between ideologies within religion is

negligible.

Literature Review

Previous researches of religion focusing on economic were clearly divided along two branches. The first

looked at the influence of economic circumstances on religious behaviour, the second explored the

converse, i.e., how religious behaviour influences economic outcomes. Since Weber’s theory that

religion serves different functions for different classes, scholars have hypothesised that norms tied to

religious identities affect economic outcomes (Benjamin, Choi, & Fisher, 2010). McCleary and Barros

(2006) found in their study that the belief in heaven and hell itself has a positive correlation with GDP

growth rates; they had concluded that such beliefs were related with Weber’s postulate of Protestantism

- work ethic, honesty, trust, and thrift – which resulted in such trends. Similarly, Guiso, Sapienza, and

Zingales (2003) have also observed that Christian faiths uphold attitudes which are conducive to

economic growth.

Studies have also provided substantial evidence that there is significant positive correlation between

income and effect of religion in different societies. Steen (1996) found that Jewish men draw

significantly higher salary compared to men raised in all other religions in the U.S; men raised as

Catholics also have significantly higher earnings than men raised as Protestants. This result was also

confirmed by studies on other samples, such as Tomes (1983) and Woodrum (1985). These studies

suggest strongly that religion is indeed a crucial dimension which could very likely impact one’s

economic outcomes. Woodrum’s study also revealed that religion is a significantly stronger indicator of

income and entrepreneurship, compared to non-religious variables such as education. Such studies on

have concluded that religious affiliation, church denominations do correlate with social class defined by

wealth. However, explanations to these trends were never firmly established (Di Matteo, 2007).

Other scholars prefer to avoid correlating religion directly with economic prosperity; they try to relate it

to fundamental institutions that have been shown to be conducive to growth (Guisoa, Sapienzade, &

Zingales, 2003). Putnam (1993) attributed the lack of trust toward others in the South of Italy to the

strong Catholic tradition; Landes (1998) also found the failure of Spain in the 16th and 17th century a

result of the intolerant culture practised by the Catholic Church. These studies offer evidences that show

a robust correlation between a country's primary religion and its economic outcomes.



Religion’s effect on one’s economic circumstances is a particular difficult area to study, as it requires

one to fully appreciate and anatomise the practices and how they came to be ingrained into a believer’s

life. In this paper, we hope to use the Bible to illustrate how beliefs are linked to respective social class,

and finally, how one could draw a line between motivations of different religions. Our research is

unique as is the first to attempt to model functions of a religion directly to its teaching doctrine. Inaddition, although religion and class is a pervasively explored topic in past researches, most were inter-

religion or inter-denominational. We aim to establish if this set of theory applies at an intra-religion

level – within Christianity – in our case.

In the next section, we will describe the design of our study and its rationale, as well as our data set.

Results are then presented in Section 4. The final sections will summarise our results and provide

concluding statements regarding our study.

Data Collection and Methodology

We conducted an anonymous survey of Christians from different churches and denominations to ensure

that the results can be generalised across all Christian denominations. There were 78 respondents to our

survey from an age range of 18 to above 25.

The survey consisted of 2 sections (see Appendix A). The first section consisted of questions pertaining

to participants’ demographics, such as household salary range, age, gender, occupation and household

size. Although we did have data on occupation of our respondents, we felt it was a less accurate proxy.

Instead, we considered income as the best measure to social class to fit the purpose of our study. But

respondents were asked to estimate their household salary range instead, as we have anticipated to

survey students who draw no income. Our question on household size was designed so that we could

capture the respondent’s household salary per capita. However, later we realised most respondents’

household size fell under the same bracket, and thus calculation would not make significant difference

to our analysis. In addition, we also asked questions related to respondents’ religiosity, such as their years as a believer, the regularity of their church attendance, along with their church and denomination

to ensure that results would be representative of all Christians in Singapore.

In the next section, we assessed respondent’s attitudes and preference towards Bible verses which we

have preselected. We first asked participants to name their favourite Bible verse, if any.

Participants were then asked to rate a list of Bible verses on a nominal scale of 1 to 7 according to how

closely they identify with these verses, with 1 being the weakest and 7 being the strongest. Instead of asking respondents explicitly what function religion serves to them, we thought it was better to ascertain

this through their preference and identification with Bible verses. The former approach would invite



socially desirable or “politically correct” answers. The latter, besides not suffering any of the above

problems, is much less inflammatory or offensive to the participants to our research. We assumed that

this was a feasible methodology. The Bible guides believers in their daily lives, and is common feature

in all Christian’s lives. Therefore, the meanings of these verses must have already been formed in

Christians as they learned about God or interacted with other Christians.

A total of 29 verses were presented, each falling into the categories which we posited to best

encapsulate the function of religion which appeals to a particular social class. Verses of different

categories were presented in a random order and are thus unostensible to ensure that respondents would

not be self-conscious when answering this section. The categories of Bible verses chosen include:

i) Verses that focus on material wealth and present glory.

ii) Verses that focus on an afterlife: promise of salvation from suffering.

iii) Verses that focus on work ethics; how to live a moral, industrious life

We paid considerable attention in selecting the verses, to ensure that verses selected fall into only one

specific category. Over a hundred verses were initially selected, and this list was further refined when

we eliminated verses which were ambiguous or less relevant. Finally, ‘neutral’ verses, or verses that do

not belong into the above three categories, were also interspersed with the other preselected verses. This

was due to feedback we received from respondents during the pilot test, that it was too obvious what the

survey was trying to find. Thus, the final list of Bible verses included in the survey was based on the

consensus of all researchers.

Results

There were three major findings. First, our results did not support our hypothesis. Second, the

Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of our test items – the Bible verses, was low, signaling a lack of internal

consistency. Our last finding was something we were not looking out for. Monthly household income

was positively correlated with time spent in church.

Our results did not support our initial hypothesis. We found that respondents from different household

income do not prefer particular verses over others.

Household

income ($)

Average score

for material

Average

score for

Average

score for

Average

score for



verses diligence trial neutral

0-2000 4.61 5.04 4.75 5.76

2001-5000 5.19 5.5 5.03 6.06

5001-8000 4.92 5.27 5.00 5.99

8001-10000 4.69 5.38 4.33 6.19

Above 10000 5.04 5.23 5.00 6.24



Household income showed no significant correlation with respondent’s degree of identification with the

first three categories of verses. Verses associated with material blessing had a correlation of 0.057 with

income, whilst those associated with diligence showed a 0.0077 correlation with income. Those

associated with hope in current suffering or trial showed the least correlation with income: 0.0041.

Only ‘neutral’ verses, or those not associated with any of the three categories, showed a statistically

significant correlation with income: 0.20. It is important to note again that the vast majority of

participants came from households with four or five members. Hence, adjusting the household income

to take into account size of household would not have made a significant difference.

We also ran the Cronbach’s Alpha test on several groups of verses in the survey. Our analysis revealed

that groups of verses that we thought were measuring the same thing scored lowly on the Cronbach’s

Alpha Test. The alpha rarely exceeded 0.500 out of 1. For example:



Proverbs 22:29

Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will serve before kings;

he will not serve before obscure men.

Job 36:11

If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in

contentment.

Deuteronomy 28:12

The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and

to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.

Standard readings of these verses suggest that God will reward believers with material blessings. Yet,

respondents’ scores to each of these verses were not consistent. The Cronbach’s Alpha for these three

verses, for example, was 0.342.

One interesting result we found was a 0.21 correlation coefficient between one’s household income and

the number of hours spent in church, or on church related activities. In the vertical axis, ‘1’ denotes 1 to

5 hours in church, ‘2’ denotes 6 to 10 hours in church, ‘3’ denotes 11 to 15 hours in church, ‘4’ denotes

16 to 20 hours in church, and ‘5’ denotes 20 or more hours in church.

In the graph below, one can discern the positive upward trend:

Although this trend is statistically significant (>0.13), it is not a particularly strong one. .

No statistically significant correlation was found for any of these pairs:

• Denomination and degree of identification with different Bible verses

• Age and degree of identification with different Bible verses



• Number of years as a believer and identification with different Bible verses

General Discussion

First, we discuss the low correlation found between our hypothesised variables – 1) Class – represented

by income level, and preference for, or identification with particular elements of the Christian faith – represented by the prima facie meaning of selected Bible verses. Our results revealed no significant

variation in the preference for any particular category of Bible verses across the 5 income level groups

that we surveyed. For the lower middle income level group ($2,000-5000), the average rating for verses

expositing “material blessings” at 5.19 surpassed the highest income level group’s (above $10,000)

rating of 5.04. Likewise, the highest income level group rated verses in the “trial” category more highly

at 5.00, than the lowest income level group (under $2000), who only gave it a mean of 4.75. One

possibility to account for this might be that 45 of the 70 respondents (approximately 64%) were

students, most of whom were local undergraduates. Class, apart from economic earnings, is also

represented by economic opportunity. As opportunities afforded by local degrees are similar for the

majority of students, this makes local undergraduate students a common class, regardless of their

household income level. Students also tend to share common lifestyle habits, ambitions and values, all

of which can contribute to the creation single “class of students”. Having students within all income

level groups, as opposed to groups constituted purely of people representative of its intended class,

might affect the preference of those groups for the Bible verses. There was, however, a greater

preference across all income level groups for neutral verses, which can be explained by the fact that the

verses presented under the neutral category included the most popular verses amongst Christians.

Second, we discuss the low Cronbach Alpha. A plain, objective reading of the Bible verses might reflect

categories of “material blessings”, “diligence” and “trial”. Christians, however, would have been

exposed to these verses within a certain context – a sermon preached, or a devotional article, The

context and theological framework within which the verses are learnt or understood might differ

significantly from the prescribed categories. This would lead to a varied interpretation of the presentedverses, and reduce the consistency between them. A three person selection panel – the authors – of the

verses most representative of the three categories might also be subject to the bias of small numbers.

The unanimity of a larger panel would generate verses which possess greater internal reliability. A

differently designed survey, one which has the respondent simply state the reason for a belief in the

Christian faith, might more accurately reveal their true motivations. A more significant correlation of

their stated reasons to class might be thus achieved.

We now discuss the positive correlation of household income with time spent in church income. This

would suggest that one of the functions of religion is to confer respectability and a sense of social



identity. Because of their respective economic situations, the upper classes don't need religion to

achieve this; the working classes cannot achieve respectability through religion alone; while the middle

classes want both respectability and a sense of social identity and use religion to get it.

As such, it could be interpreted two ways: social classes of Christians in Singapore are simply not

stratified enough so that the distinctions between classes is not strong, or that the design of the study

was flawed and thus unable to reveal how religion serves different functions for Christians of different

social classes.

Further Discussion

The present research adds to the body of knowledge for future research in the realm of class and

religion. Having designed and carried out an experiment involving the Christian faith, this experiment

can be replicated across the major religions which have their foundations on a body of scripture, testing

for the role different religion serves for the different classes.

An essential goal of Christianity is the conversion of non-Christians to the faith. The results of our

research might aid the task of Christendom in highlighting that income level has little bearing on a

person’s religious inclinations. A different strategy, other than appealing to material blessings, work

ethics and liberation from hardship would better serve the Christian community in their evangelistic

efforts.

Conclusion

We sought to establish a relationship between class and religion, but found nothing significant. The

simplest explanation is that a relationship does not exist – which might well be the case. If Christians

claim to believe in their God because of the miracles witnessed as well as the spiritual presence and

reality of their God in their lives, then the findings would be unsurprising. After all, Christians profess

to worship a transcendent God; not one bounded by their class or created by circumstantial need or

economic circumstance. Our findings would thus be consistent with the general claims of the Christian

faith.



Reference

Benjamin, D. J., Choi, J. J., & Fisher, G. (2010, February 14). Religious Identity and Economic Behavior.

David Landes (1998), The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (New York: Norton: 0393040178), pp. 186-265.

Di Matteo, L. (2007). The Effect of Religious Denomination on Wealth: Who Were the Truly Blessed? Social Science History , 31 (3), pp. 299-341.

Guiso, L., Sapienzade, P., & Zingales, L. (2003, January). People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes.

Journal of Monetary Economics , 50 (1), pp. 225-282.

Guiso, L., Sapienzade, P., & Zingales, L. 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?" Journal of

Economic Perspectives, 20(2): 23–48.

McCleary, RM, Barro, RJ. (2006). Religion and Economy. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20 (1), pp 49-72.

Steen, T.P. (1996) Religion and earnings: evidence from the NLS Youth Cohort. International Journal of Social Economics. 23(1), pp 47-58.

Tomes, N, 1985. "Religion and the Earnings Function," American Economic Review, American Economic

Association, vol. 75(2), pp 245-50

Weber, M. 1963. The Sociology of Religion. Boston: Beacon Press.

Woodrum, E. 1985 "Religion and Economics among Japanese Americans: A Weberian Study." Social Forces,

64 (1), pp. 191-204.



Appendix A: Survey Questions

Instructions

This section is designed to find out more about you. This includes your religious,educational, social and economic status. Kindly fill up to the best of your ability. (:

Part I: Personal Particulars

Gender

Male

Female

Age

18-21

22-25

Above 25

No. of years as a believer

0-2

3-5

6-8

9-11

Above 11

Denomination

Methodist

Presbyterian

Anglican

BaptistOthers

No. of hours spent in church (incl. church related activities) permonth

0-5

6-10

10-15

16-20

Above 20



Part II: Bible Verses

1) Do you have a favourite Bible verse(s)?

If so, please

specify:_______________________________________________________________________________________

___________________

For the following questions, we will present list of a Bible verse(s). Kindly rate how closely you

identify with, find relevant or find appealing. With 1 being the least

identifiable/relevant/appealing and 7 being the most.

Favourite Pastime

Shopping

Sports and games

TV/movies

Cooking/dining

Others:_______________

Occupation

Professional/Technical

Sales/Clerical

Management/Administration

Homemaker

Student/RetiredOthers:___________________

Monthly Household Income

$0 – 2,000

$2,001 – 5,000

$5,001 – 8,000

$8,001 – 10,000

Above $10,000

Size of Household

1

2-3

4-5

Above 5



Verse

Reference Text Rating Scale

Pro 6:6-8

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;

consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Gen 2:15

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in

the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of

it.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Psalm 35:27

27 May those who delight in my vindication

shout for joy and gladness; may they alwayssay, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the

well-being of his servant."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

John 3:16

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his

one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in

him shall not perish but have eternal life.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Matt 23:12

12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pro 14:23

23 All hard work brings a profit,but mere talk leads only to poverty. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Matt 25:29

29For everyone who has will be given more,

and he will have an abundance. Whoever does

not have, even what he has will be taken from

him.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Deut 6:5

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and

with all your soul and with all your

strength.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pro 22:29

29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will serve before kings;

he will not serve before obscure men.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Matt 19:29

29And everyone who has left houses or

brothers or sisters or father or mother or

children or fields for my sake will receive a

hundred times as much and will inherit eternal

life.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 Jn 1:2 2Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good

health and that all may go well with you, even

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%203:16&version=NIV#fen-NIV-26127a%23fen-NIV-26127a





as your soul is getting along well.

Heb 10:24-

25

24And let us consider how we may spur one

another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let

us not give up meeting together, as some are

in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one

another—and all the more as you see the Day

approaching.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Luke 5: 27-

28

"Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got

up, left everything and followed him. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mal 3:10

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,

that there may be food in my house. Test me

in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I

will not throw open the floodgates of heaven

and pour out so much blessing that you will nothave room enough for it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Heb 12:2-3

2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and

perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set

before him endured the cross, scorning its

shame, and sat down at the right hand of the

throne of God. 3Consider him who endured

such opposition from sinful men, so that you

will not grow weary and lose heart.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pro 10:22

22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,

and he adds no trouble to it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Eph 1:5-6

In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his

sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with

his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his

glorious grace, which he has freely given us in

the One he loves.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Tim 6:7-

10

7For we brought nothing into the world, and we

can take nothing out of it.

8

But if we have foodand clothing, we will be content with that.9People who want to get rich fall into

temptation and a trap and into many foolish

and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin

and destruction. 10For the love of money is a

root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for

money, have wandered from the faith and

pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 Thes 3:10

10

For even when we were with you, we gave youthis rule: "If a man will not work, he shall

not eat."1 2 3 4 5 6 7



Col 3:23-24

23Whatever you do, work at it with all your

heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,24since you know that you will receive an

inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the

Lord Christ you are serving.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Acts 4:32-

35

32

All the believers were one in heart and mind.No one claimed that any of his possessions was

his own, but they shared everything they had.33With great power the apostles continued to

testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,

and much grace was upon them all. 34 There

were no needy persons among them. For from

time to time those who owned lands or houses

sold them, brought the money from the sales35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was

distributed to anyone as he had need.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Eccl 5:10

10 Whoever loves money never has money

enough;

whoever loves wealth is never

satisfied with his income.

This too is meaningless.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Rom 12:1

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of

God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living

sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this isyour spiritual act of worship.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Cor 4:11-13

11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we

are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are

homeless. 12We work hard with our own hands.

When we are cursed, we bless; when we are

persecuted, we endure it; 13when we are

slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this

moment we have become the scum of the

earth, the refuse of the world.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Job 36:11

11 If they obey and serve him, they will spend

the rest of their days in prosperity

and their years in contentment.1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Matt 16:24-

25

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone

would come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross and follow me. 25For

whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but

whoever loses his life for me will find it.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 Cor 13:13 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7



love. But the greatest of these is love.

Phil 4:11-13

11I am not saying this because I am in need, for

I have learned to be content whatever the

circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in

need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I

have learned the secret of being content in any

and every situation, whether well fed or

hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I

can do everything through him who gives me

strength.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Deut 28:12

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the

storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your

land in season and to bless all the work of your

hands. You will lend to many nations but will

borrow from none.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Thanks for participating in the survey. (:

st_class and religion final report

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