Class and Congregations: Class and Religious Affiliation at the Congregational Level of Analysis

Abstract

Since Niebuhr's seminal work on the social sources of denominationalism, nearly all research on the relationship between social class and religious affiliation has focused on the denominational (or individual) level of analysis. This research examines the effects of social class at the congregational level—effects that were previously glossed over by a unit of analysis that was too large. After demonstrating the relative strength of social class at the denominational and congregational level, I argue that our theoretical attempts to link class and religious affiliation must include congregational‐level explanations.