Religious Inequality in America: The View from 1916

The Censuses of Religious Bodies contain detailed information about early 20th-century American religious groups. However, these data have not been used to their full potential—likely because until recently, most of the data in these volumes had not been digitized. We undertook a large data entry in...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Wilde, Melissa J. 1974- (Author) ; Huttenlocher, Tessa D. (Author) ; van Stee, Elena G. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 2025, Volume: 64, Issue: 2, Pages: 251-259
Further subjects:B comparative-historical
B complex religion
B Organizations
B Wealth
B Inequality
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Description
Summary:The Censuses of Religious Bodies contain detailed information about early 20th-century American religious groups. However, these data have not been used to their full potential—likely because until recently, most of the data in these volumes had not been digitized. We undertook a large data entry initiative to make these data available to contemporary researchers. This research note introduces scholars to the data set and presents the first quantitative analysis of the wealth held (and not held) by American religious groups a century ago. By quantifying the vast historical disparities between religious traditions, we provide new empirical support for complex religion theory, which argues that religion has been and continues to be a site of stark social inequalities. We hope our findings and work digitizing these data will spur future research into how socioeconomic disparities between religious groups have persisted or been disrupted over time.
ISSN:1468-5906
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12941