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Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2012

Stephanie Clintonia Boddie, Rebekah P. Massengill and Anne Fengyan Shi

Purpose – In this chapter, we advance research on the socioeconomic ranking of religious groups by using both income and wealth to document the rankings of the six major religious…

Abstract

Purpose – In this chapter, we advance research on the socioeconomic ranking of religious groups by using both income and wealth to document the rankings of the six major religious groups in the United States – Jews, Catholics, mainline Protestants, evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, and the religiously unaffiliated – during 2001–2007, a period marked by both catastrophic economic losses and widespread economic gain.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Drawing from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID), we provide descriptive statistics to explore the socioeconomic differences among the six major religious groups. In addition, we note their ownership rates and changes in wealth and income during 2001–2007.

Findings – Overall, these findings point to enduring stratification in the U.S. religious landscape. Based on median net worth, leading into the Great Recession, the six major religious groups ranked in the following order: Jews, Catholics, mainline Protestants, evangelical Protestants, the unaffiliated, and black Protestants. At the same time, these findings point to the upward mobility of white Catholics, who increased their income and made the greatest increase in net worth between 2001 and 2007. These data also suggest a decline in the socioeconomic status of the religiously unaffiliated as compared to previous studies.

Research implications – These findings illustrate the degree to which certain religious groups have access to wealth and other resources, and have implications for how the years leading into the Great Recession may have influenced households’ vulnerability to financial shocks.

Originality/Value – We use both income and wealth to examine whether different religious groups experienced any changes in income and wealth leading into the 2008 economic downturn.

Details

Religion, Work and Inequality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-347-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 April 2012

Darren E. Sherkat

Purpose – The connections between religious factors and stratification outcomes were long ignored in the sociological literature, yet a growing number of studies show that…

Abstract

Purpose – The connections between religious factors and stratification outcomes were long ignored in the sociological literature, yet a growing number of studies show that religion remains important for determining the life chances of individuals. I add to this literature by examining how religious affiliation is associated with the structure of occupational attainment in the United States.

Methodology – I analyze data from the 1972–2008 General Social Surveys to show how religious affiliation is related to occupational attainment and occupational mobility by gender and race.

Findings – I find that sectarian Protestants occupy the lower rungs of the occupational structure, even relative to their low rates of educational attainment. In contrast, Jews and nonidentifying respondents show considerable occupational advantage. Catholics also have specific patterns of occupational attainment that hint at their growing wealth parity with mainline Protestants. I also show that religious influences hold across racial and gender groupings, and across cohorts.

Social implications – Religion continues to significantly influence the occupational structure in the United States, and sectarian religion serves as an important anchor hindering occupational attainment.

Details

Religion, Work and Inequality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-347-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 21 September 2015

Abigail A. Sewell and Rashawn Ray

Past research indicates that blacks are less trusting of physicians than are whites; yet, researchers have not examined within group differences in physician trust by religious…

Abstract

Purpose

Past research indicates that blacks are less trusting of physicians than are whites; yet, researchers have not examined within group differences in physician trust by religious denomination – an effort that is complicated by the high correlated nature of race and religion. To better understand black-white differences in physician trust, this chapter examines heterogeneity in trust levels among blacks associated with religious designations that distinguish Black Protestants from other ethnoreligious groups.

Methodology/approach

Using data from the 2002 and 2006 General Social Surveys, this study adopts an intersectional (i.e., race x religion) typology of religious denomination to understand the black-white gap in physician trust. Weighted multivariate linear regression is employed.

Findings

Black-white differences in physician trust are identified only when religious affiliation is considered but not when religious affiliation is omitted. Blacks who are affiliated with Black Protestant churches are more trusting than other religious groups, including Evangelical Protestants, Mainline Protestants, and blacks who are affiliated with other faiths.

Originality/value

This chapter indicates that there is more heterogeneity in trust levels among blacks than between blacks and whites. Moreover, the findings suggest that religion can play an important role in bridging the trust gap between blacks and the medical sciences.

Details

Education, Social Factors, and Health Beliefs in Health and Health Care Services
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-367-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1980

Robert D. Osborne

Accusations of religious discrimination in employment in Northern Ireland have long been made and have included both the public and private sectors. In view of the volume and…

Abstract

Accusations of religious discrimination in employment in Northern Ireland have long been made and have included both the public and private sectors. In view of the volume and persistance of the accusations it is perhaps surprising that until recently no large scale objective research has been reported, either on the scale of religious discrimination in the Northern Ireland labour market or on the prevailing patterns in employment and occupations by religion. The aim of this paper is briefly to mention the most significant of the previous assessments of patterns in employment, to examine in some detail the patterns prevailing in employment from data contained in the 1971 Northern Ireland population census and finally briefly to discuss the role of discrimination and other factors in generating these patterns.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1992

Tony Gallagher

Unlike many of the issues raised during the Northern Ireland CivilRights campaign of the late 1960s, employment discrimination hasremained high on the political agenda, leading to…

170

Abstract

Unlike many of the issues raised during the Northern Ireland Civil Rights campaign of the late 1960s, employment discrimination has remained high on the political agenda, leading to two major pieces of legislation, in 1976 and 1989. Briefly examines the background to the claim of religious discrimination against Catholics, before going on to review analyses of the 1971 and 1981 censuses, the main statistical source on patterns of employment in Northern Ireland, which confirm that there are significant differentials in the socio‐economic profiles of the Catholic and Protestant communities. In addition, discusses the monitoring provisions of the 1989 Fair Employment Act and points to some current debates on how the future effectiveness of the Act should be assessed.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 December 2003

Ana Cristina B Martes and Carlos L Rodriguez

Using Brazilian communities in the Greater Boston area as the focus of the study, this chapter will address the following main questions: Are there differences between Protestant

Abstract

Using Brazilian communities in the Greater Boston area as the focus of the study, this chapter will address the following main questions: Are there differences between Protestant and Catholic churches in terms of their impact on the creation and development of social capital? And, if such differences exist, how do membership and involvement in the churches’ social networks affect ethnic entrepreneurship? Our preliminary conclusions suggest that there are various differences between the two churches in aspects that have the potential to impact social capital, and that the social networks built around and supported by the Brazilian Protestant churches in Massachusetts have been more effective for social capital formation. In consequence, these churches provide a “safer” environment, with higher levels of perceived solidarity and trust, and as such more favorable for ethnic entrepreneurship initiatives and social mobility. In order to lay the theoretical ground for addressing these questions, we will make a brief review of existing research on the association between social capital and ethnic entrepreneurship. We will also discuss the issue of church-membership as a source of social capital creation and growth, and its effects on ethnic business development.1

Details

Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Structure and Process
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-220-7

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1981

Michael Lessnoff

The celebrated “Weber thesis” is, in essence, an assertion of causal connections among four terms, namely the “protestant ethic” (PE), the “spirit of capitalism” (SC), “modern…

Abstract

The celebrated “Weber thesis” is, in essence, an assertion of causal connections among four terms, namely the “protestant ethic” (PE), the “spirit of capitalism” (SC), “modern western capitalism” (MWC) and the “industrial revolution” (IR), as follows:

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Book part
Publication date: 8 November 2017

Valérie Peyronel

The chapter deals with social inequalities in post-conflict and post-2007/2008 financial crisis Northern Ireland. From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Northern Ireland was…

Abstract

The chapter deals with social inequalities in post-conflict and post-2007/2008 financial crisis Northern Ireland. From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, Northern Ireland was characterised by a Catholic/Protestant sectarian conflict and affected by marked political, economic and social discrepancies disadvantaging the Catholic minority.

The combined effects of the economic boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and of the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, improved the social and economic living conditions of Northern Ireland citizens and diversified the ethnic composition of the population, as immigrants were attracted by new opportunities offered in the booming Northern Ireland labour market. The 2007/2008 financial crisis was to curb these positive trends, although Northern Ireland’s economy has now recovered as its unemployment rate indicates.

In the light of this specific context, this chapter first examines key indicators of social inequalities in Northern Ireland: wealth, employment and housing. It then focuses on traditional indicators of Catholic/Protestant inequalities: education employment and housing. It finally examines to what extent the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the 2006 St Andrew’s Agreement and the 2014 Stormont House Agreement have tackled the issue of social inequalities.

Details

Inequalities in the UK
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-479-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1992

Norma Heaton

Labour market statistics suggest that the rate of economic activityfor women in Northern Ireland is among the lowest of the UK regions.Reviewing recent research, explores possible…

Abstract

Labour market statistics suggest that the rate of economic activity for women in Northern Ireland is among the lowest of the UK regions. Reviewing recent research, explores possible causes, and goes on to examine similarities and differences in Catholic and Protestant women′s participation in paid work.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2019

Nicholas Larsen and Barry R. Chiswick

The purpose of this paper is to explore how potential exposure to missionary activity impacts both English language proficiency and labor market earnings of male and female…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how potential exposure to missionary activity impacts both English language proficiency and labor market earnings of male and female immigrants to the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses the pooled files of the American Community Survey (2005–2009). To estimate the relationship between the missionary activity of both Protestants and Catholics on an immigrant’s English language proficiency using a linear probability model and their labor market earnings using the human capital earnings function that is estimated with an ordinary least squares model. Among other relevant variables, the analysis controls for the colonial heritage of the immigrant’s country of origin.

Findings

Overall, and within colonial heritages, the results indicate that male and female immigrants from countries with a higher concentration of Protestant missionaries tend to exhibit higher levels of English language proficiency and earnings, and those from countries with a greater concentration of Catholic missionaries exhibit lower levels of both, compared to countries with lower concentrations of missionaries. Furthermore, a greater proficiency in English enhances earnings. One of the important implications of the findings in this paper is that a “missionary variable” often used in other studies is too aggregate and may mask important findings because of strikingly different effects of Protestant and Catholic activities and characteristics of the missionaries.

Originality/value

This study explores for the first time how, through a missionary concentration variable, potential exposure to missionary activity impacts the English language proficiency and earnings of immigrants.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 40 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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