Conceptualizing and Measuring Forms of Religious Capital: Bible Study Exemplar

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Rakosky
2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bielo

In this article I contribute to the sociology and anthropology of American Evangelicalism by examining the discourse of group Bible study. Every week millions of Christians in the U.S. meet for group study, and in doing so, actively negotiate the categories of meaning central to their faith. Yet, this crucial practice has received scant attention from scholars. This study is grounded in theories of social practice and symbolic interaction, where cultural life is understood through its vital institutions, and institutions are treated as inter-subjective accomplishments. I employ the concept of ‘interactive frames’ to define how Evangelicals understand the Bible study experience. Ultimately, I argue that the predominant interactive frame for Evangelicals is that of cultivating intimacy, which directly reflects the type of personalized, relational spirituality characteristic of their faith. This, in turn, has serious consequences for how Bible reading and interpretation are performed in groups. I use a case study approach, providing close ethnographic analyses of a mixed-gender group from a Restoration Movement congregation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1671-1694
Author(s):  
R.M. Mel'nikov

Subject. The article addresses the impact of religious confession on wages and the likelihood of unemployment in Russia. Objectives. The aim is to test the hypothesis that religious faith and high church attendance are accompanied by an increase in employment earnings. Methods. Using the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey data, I estimate the Mincer's extended equation with variables that characterize the respondent’s religious commitment. To assess the impact of religious identity and the activity rate of attendance at religious services on the likelihood of unemployment and life satisfaction, I use probit models. Results. The estimates demonstrate that the Russian labor market rewards men with moderate and high degree of religious commitment; their wage growth reaches seventeen percent of the level of non-believers with comparable education and work experience. However, faithful Muslim women are employed in the lowest paid areas. Religious faith and regular church attendance have a positive effect on satisfaction with life (significant for Orthodox Christian women). Conclusions. Positive impact of religious capital on income and employment can be attributed to the development of business qualities that are rewarded in the labor market, the mutual support of religious network participants. Therefore, it possible to consider religious capital, along with educational capital and health capital, as a component of human capital and a factor of socio-economic development.


Author(s):  
Jerry Z. Park ◽  
Jenna Griebel Rogers ◽  
Mitchell Neubert ◽  
Kevin D. Dougherty

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 862-880
Author(s):  
Stuart Fox ◽  
Esther Muddiman ◽  
Jennifer Hampton ◽  
Ekaterina Kolpinskaya ◽  
Ceryn Evans

Intergenerational inequalities in economic security, health and political participation are frequently associated with inequalities in access to social capital. Millennials (those born after 1982) are often regarded as the least civically active generation, suggesting that they have less access to social capital, compared to other generations. Numerous studies have linked the decline of religion with falling social capital, as younger generations are deprived of a valuable source of social interaction; others, however, have claimed the link between the two is spurious because Millennials have developed different ways of interacting with social institutions and each other. Despite various studies exploring links between forms of religious and social capital, the role of religious decline in contributing to the intergenerational inequalities of today remains unclear. This study examines how religious capital is related to social capital for Baby Boomers and Millennials in the UK. Our analysis shows that while lower levels of religious capital are contributing to lower levels of social capital among Millennials, religious activity is also a more effective source of social capital for Millennials than their elders. We discuss possible interpretations of our data, including exploring whether greater religious engagement among Millennials may protect against intergenerational inequality and conflict.


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