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. In
addition, 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 Average score Average Average Average

income ($) for material score for score for 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 presented
verses, 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
Baptist
Others

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

month
0-5
6-10
10-15
16-20
Above 20
 Favourite Pastime
Shopping
Sports and games
TV/movies
Cooking/dining
Others:_______________

Occupation
Professional/Technical
Sales/Clerical
Management/Administration
Homemaker
Student/Retired
Others:___________________

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
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.

Verse
Text Rating Scale
Reference
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.
Pro 6:6-8
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in
the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
it.
Gen 2:15
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness; may they always
say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
well-being of his servant."
Psalm 35:27
16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Matt 23:12
23 All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Pro 14:23
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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
him.
Matt 25:29
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
strength.
Deut 6:5
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before kings; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
he will not serve before obscure men.
Pro 22:29
29And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or
children or fields for my sake will receive a 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
hundred times as much and will inherit eternal
life.
Matt 19:29
3 Jn 1:2 2Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
health and that all may go well with you, even
 as your soul is getting along well.
24
And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds. Let
25

us not give up meeting together, as some are

in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
another—and all the more as you see the Day
Heb 10:24- approaching.
25
"Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got
Luke 5: 27- up, left everything and followed him. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
28
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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and pour out so much blessing that you will not
have room enough for it.
Mal 3:10
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
2

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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinful men, so that you
will not grow weary and lose heart.
Heb 12:2-3
22
The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,
and he adds no trouble to it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Pro 10:22
In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and will— to the praise of his
6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
glorious grace, which he has freely given us in
the One he loves.
Eph 1:5-6
7
For we brought nothing into the world, and we
can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food
and clothing, we will be content with that.
People
9
who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish
and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and destruction. 10
For the love of money is a
root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and
1 Tim 6:7- pierced themselves with many griefs.
10
10
For even when we were with you, we gave you
this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
not eat."
2 Thes 3:10
 23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
24
since you know that you will receive an 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the
Lord Christ you are serving.
Col 3:23-24
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.
33
With great power the apostles continued to
testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and much grace was upon them all. 34
There 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
were no needy persons among them. For from
time to time those who owned lands or houses
sold them, brought the money from the sales
35
and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was
Acts 4:32- distributed to anyone as he had need.
35
10
Whoever loves money never has money
enough;
whoever loves wealth is never 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Eccl 5:10
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 is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
your spiritual act of worship.
Rom 12:1
11
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we
are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are
homeless. 12
We work hard with our own hands.
When we are cursed, we bless; when we are
persecuted, we endure it; 13
when we are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this
moment we have become the scum of the
1 Cor 4:11- earth, the refuse of the world.
13
11
If they obey and serve him, they will spend
the rest of their days in prosperity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and their years in contentment.
Job 36:11
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. 25
For 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
Matt 16:24- whoever loses his life for me will find it.
25
1 Cor 13:13 13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 love. But the greatest of these is love.
11
I am not saying this because I am in need, for
I have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. 12
I 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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I
13

can do everything through him who gives me

strength.
Phil 4:11-13
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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
hands. You will lend to many nations but will
borrow from none.
Deut 28:12

Thanks for participating in the survey. (: