Religion Among America's Elite: Persistence and Change in the Protestant Establishment
Recently, a number of authors have argued that the Protestant Establishment has lost its historical grip on American society and culture, while other writers emphasize the persistence of WASP hegemony. I examine the extent to which the Protestant denominations that achieved prominence during the col...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Oxford Univ. Press
1994
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| In: |
Sociology of religion
Year: 1994, Volume: 55, Issue: 4, Pages: 419-440 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Recently, a number of authors have argued that the Protestant Establishment has lost its historical grip on American society and culture, while other writers emphasize the persistence of WASP hegemony. I examine the extent to which the Protestant denominations that achieved prominence during the colonial period (Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and the United Church of Christ [Congregationalists]) continue to be overrepresented among the nation's elite (relative to their percentage in the total United States population). Data about American elites in the early 1930s and the mid 1970s show that the Protestant Establishment has lost some of its earlier prominence, but that its members are still overrepresented among America's elite, particularly in the economic and political spheres. Jews have made important gains and are now overrepresented in all spheres but agriculture. Moderate Protestant groups which grew most rapidly in he nineteenth century (e.g., Methodists and Lutherans) have gained, especially in agriculture, but are still underrepresented in most other areas. Catholics have gained, but remain underrepresented in all spheres. Conservative Protestants (Baptists) have lost ground in all areas except agriculture, where they are slightly overrepresented. I conclude with implications for future research. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711980 |