Socioeconomic Status and Religious Participation

Abstract

The relationship between socioeconomic status and frequency of religious participation is examined for a 1970 U.S. sample of males and females. Although some support is found for the frequently observed positive relationship between these two variables, the data require that such a generalization be qualified. The zero-order relationship generally is stronger for males than females and is positive and weak for Protestants, but is essentially zero for Catholics and negative in sign for Jews and unaffiliated whites. Where the relationship is positive, it is not entirely explainable by the positive relationship of our measure of general social participation with both SES and religious participation. In addition, the examination of interactions with marital status and the presence of children under age 16 indicated that the SES-religious participation relationship is strongest for those who are married and responsible for young children. Even with these significant variations by relevant subpopulations, we conclude that the explanatory power of socioeconomic status in predicting religious participation is small both in absolute terms and in comparison with other possible determinants examined.